Best Bang For Your Buck Phone Plan

[Annon2255]

My Verizon contract is up and I'm tired of paying so much. I've been looking at Cricket Wireless' prepaid 2.5 gig plan. It's for two lines, and I saw with them you get 10 dollars off with an extra line. So for the two lines it would only be 90 dollars pre-paid. Additionally if we sign up for auto-pay we get 5 another five dollars off a month, bringing the total price down to 85 a month for 2.5 gigs a line, unlimited talk, unlimited text.

Is this the best plan out there right now, or is there something else I should consider?

Thanks in advance.

 

[cronos]

I could never consider an 'unlimited talk/txt' plan as 'bang for buck', as nobody needs 'unlimited' anything, and on these plans, you're paying for them. But maybe that's just me.

If you're truly looking for a 'bang for buck' plan, you need to specify how many minutes/txt/data you need in a month, and then we can talk.

I however suspect you don't care at all about 'bang for buck' and just want something cheaper than your current plan in Verizon. In this case, you have dozens of options. Still need to know your data needs in a month, though.

 

[Ravynmagi]

How many minutes do you need a month and how much data do you use?

I still like T-Mobile's $30/month 100 minutes, 5GB plan. But that would only fit for people that don't talk very much on their phones and need it mostly for data.

 

[RossMAN]

IMHO BrightspotMobile.com offers the best bang for your buck however there are a few catches:

1) They're a T-Mobile MVNO, so hopefully they have solid coverage in your area.
2) Do you have a Target RedCard? If you do, you can buy airtime at your local Target B&M with 5% discount which is $33.24 (vs $35.00) per month.
3) Only 300 voice minutes per month
4) No SMS short codes, for example Redbox, banking notifications, UPS delivery notifications - nope, nope and nope. Personally this was a deal breaker for me.
5) Do you shop at Target? Every 6 months they mail you a $25 Target gift card.

If you can live with those catches, it's an incredible deal.

If AT&T coverage is good in your area then I'd stick with Cricket Wireless. By the way, SMS short codes do work on Cricket.

 

[luv2liv]

my friend has Republic Wireless and he likes it. pays 10 bux per month. but had to pay full price of the moto x for $300. indoor coverage is great on wifi. outdoor coverage is provided by Sprint.

 

[MadScientist]

I switched from Verizon to Page Plus (aka Kitty Wireless) when they dropped my employee discount. They use Verizon's cell phone towers so coverage is the same. Kept my old phone and no charge to port my number over. No contract, I pay month to month.
https://www.pagepluscellular.com/
http://www.kittywireless.com/

 

[Annon2255]

Use several hundred minutes a month, 500+ for each line. I use over 2 gigs a month in data, the other line uses about 1.5. The only reason I'm shying away from T-Mobile is that I have family in rural areas where T-Mobile coverage isn't very good, and I don't want to lose service when I'm visiting. AT&T, however, has very good service around here.

I considered PagePlus, but I was concerned that the 39.95 plan wouldn't have enough data, and the $55.00 plan would end up being more than Cricket for two lines. Do they have some sort of deal where having more lines gets you a discount? Also, aren't you restricted to what phones you can use on PagePlus? Along the same lines, are there any restrictions about what phones you can use on Cricket? I will be adding one iPhone 6 after they are released and want to make sure it won't be a hassle to get it activated.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

 

[Yuriman]

I'm on Republic Wireless and am really happy with it. $10 per month when I'm at home / going to school, and I switch over to the $25 plan for unlimited data when traveling - or at least I did until I picked up a freedompop hotspot, free 500mb per month. My wife is traveling in Costa Rica and we've had no problems with Wi-Fi calling, and handover between Wi-Fi and Sprint or Verizon's towers is seamless. I don't think this would be a great fit for you though because you have to buy one of their phones.

Ting is probably the cheapest overall while still providing good service. BYOD too, I believe.

 

[ericlp]

dunno... guess I'm a cheap ass bastard... Just converted my S4 to Page Plus 12 plan.

12 bucks a month for 250 mins and 250 texts. I don't need data because at home, I got cable, and at work/school I got free highspeed internet, seems where ever I go, the mall, shopping safeway or target even walmart has free internet. Sometimes it's just good not to have it 24/7! Anyway.......

I also, have Straight Talk home phone unlimited plan for 15 a month. I know what your thinking... Why not just get ST 45 dollar for unlimited minutes cell plan... Well look here...

15 + 12 is 27 - 45 = 18 bucks. Big deal you say... Well, that is true. But first I can only use my S4 on ST I gotta pay 45 bucks minimum... but here is where it get's better. I set my wife up on the 12 as well... she also has an S4. We only use our phones for texting or calling to say where we are.... I also use it at work (rarely) just in case something fails so I don't need a lot of minutes.

Wife is 12 - 45 = 33 bucks so we save 50 a month 600 a year vs ST alone. If we wanna BS with family we use the home phone unlimited. 600 a year is no chump change.

Works for us!

Just make sure you keep that (mobile data) unchecked and any apps you got don't over ride that. Plus I notice by never turning on mobile data my battery lasts longer.

 

[Medikit]

I think that Cricket Wireless is an incredible deal for what you get which is access to AT&T's network. They are going to have much better indoor penetration than T-mobile due to access to the sub 1ghz spectrum.

 

[glenn1]

I think that Cricket Wireless is an incredible deal for what you get which is access to AT&T's network. They are going to have much better indoor penetration than T-mobile due to access to the sub 1ghz spectrum.

Unless I'm missing something, Cricket and Straight Talk plans price the same ($45) but throttling begins earlier on the former (2.5 vs. 3 GB)? If they both use the ATT network why would someone pick Cricket?

 

[soccerballtux]

I thought cricket was sprint mvno????? I need to brush up

 

[isekii]

best bet is to join up on someone elses family plan and pay them like 40-45 bucks a month

My brother had a plan where he was paying like 120-130 for him and his wife. and i moved him to my family plan where he gets

unlimited talk text 5gb data each line for a total of 10gb between them and I just charge him 65 bucks.

 

[glenn1]

I thought cricket was sprint mvno????? I need to brush up

Got acquired by ATT earlier this year. From Wiki:

Cricket's CDMA subscribers are covered in about 98% of the United States using its home network and roaming agreements with Sprint among other CDMA carriers. Following the acquisition by AT&T, Cricket released devices that access AT&T's GSM, 3G, HSPA+, and 4G LTE network, once on the AT&T network Cricket customers have coverage in 97% of the United States.

 

[Tom]

My Verizon contract is up and I'm tired of paying so much. I've been looking at Cricket Wireless' prepaid 2.5 gig plan. It's for two lines, and I saw with them you get 10 dollars off with an extra line. So for the two lines it would only be 90 dollars pre-paid. Additionally if we sign up for auto-pay we get 5 another five dollars off a month, bringing the total price down to 85 a month for 2.5 gigs a line, unlimited talk, unlimited text.

Is this the best plan out there right now, or is there something else I should consider?

Thanks in advance.

Reading the terms for the two line discount, it can't be combined with the auto-pay discount.

So if that's correct, it seems like it's the same price as StraightTalk, $45 per line.

 

[RossMAN]

Reading the terms for the two line discount, it can't be combined with the auto-pay discount.

You are correct, the discounts cannot be combined. Trust me I already tried ()

 

[justin4pack]

We just switched from ATT to tmobile. Here is why. with 3 lines we were paying over $260 a month. with 3 lines now we are paying 110 month.

That's with unlimited call/text. and with 1G data per line. But you can stream music for free and it does not go against your data. we chose 1G because we are on wifi most the time. to add 3G its only an extra $10 a month. Plus the way there phones work is pretty great. Solid coverage where I am at though.

 

[Dulanic]

best bet is to join up on someone elses family plan and pay them like 40-45 bucks a month

My brother had a plan where he was paying like 120-130 for him and his wife. and i moved him to my family plan where he gets

unlimited talk text 5gb data each line for a total of 10gb between them and I just charge him 65 bucks.

Yeah I don't know why more don't do it. I added my father and mother in law to my T-Mo plan and it costs me all of $10 each (Plus $8 and $22 per month for their phones.) so... $42? I charge each $40 per month for their lines which reimburses me for the hassle of dealing /w them every time they have an issue and for my time and it takes $40 off my side of the bill.

 

[HumblePie]

If you are a cheap bastard and barely use your phone, there are plenty of plans out there for $30 or under that have limited minute and data setups.

If you need to use your phone more than a few hours per month, then stepping up to some unlimited plans is where you need to be.

Here are the options depending upon your area. Prices vary based on number of lines and data cap needed.

1) Straight Talk - $45 a month, 2.5 GB data until being throttled, and unlimited otherwise. Great for a single line and uses the AT&T network as well as the Sprint Network if you have a CDMA phone.

2) Metro PCS - About the same as Straight Talk just $5 more.

Neither of the above carriers have contracts or help you out with phones. Phones available are limited, but either company allows you to bring any phone compatible with their network. You will just have to buy the appropriate sim card and then do a little programming to get your phone on the network. Customer service with both carriers is crap though.

3) Cricket is similar to the previous two, but has more phones and phone financing available. Still not as many phones available for it as the big 3 carriers though. Customer service is marginally better.


Now if you are doing multiple lines and need unlimited.. T Mobile tends to be king here for price for plans. They finance phones separately with no interest. This is what I switched to recently with my wife. She was on Straight Talk for 2 years while I've been with Sprint for almost 17 years. Most of that time on a SERO plan with Sprint.

We went with T Mobile 4 lines for $100 bucks. Unlimited talk, text, and data. Although 4G LTE data is capped at 2.5GB per line. We don't go over that. Most of the data usage we have is with streaming music which doesn't count towards data usage on T Mobile from the major streaming applications. We both got new phones, the LG G3, with the 24 month payment plan from T Mobile. Phones are $25 a month on top of the service plan. Once paid off, you don't have to pay that anymore. T Mobile offers a 15% military discount so I'm only paying $85 a month for 4 lines right now. I have 2 extra lines, and I might just let either friends or family use them for a small $20 a month charge.

The other thing with T Mobile, if you get 4 or more lines, they throw in an extra mobile data line for a data device like a 4G ready tablet. Of course you have to own the tablet, and the data is capped at 1GB for 4G's speeds per month. Still it's an extra bonus you don't have to pay for.

So the outcome is this. Previously wife was paying $50 after taxes and such on Straight Talk a month. I was paying $60 with Sprint after taxes. That's $110. My service with Sprint has always sucked. Spotty connections and shitty data speeds. Hers has always been great connections. Straight Talk and T Mobile use the same network, so for me it is a massive improvement in usability of my phone. We are paying $85 + $20 (insurance on the phones which I only like keeping for 1 year) + $50 (for the phones and taxes are paid up front) + $10 in fees/taxes on the service plans. Bringing my total to $165 for now per month. Once the phones are paid off and I'm done with the insurance my costs will be $95 ish per month. Cheaper than what I am paying now. I get better service, new phones, and better connectivity for myself. If I make some money off my other lines I can shave $40 off my bill doing that.

 

[HumblePie]

Unless I'm missing something, Cricket and Straight Talk plans price the same ($45) but throttling begins earlier on the former (2.5 vs. 3 GB)? If they both use the ATT network why would someone pick Cricket?

Actually, cricket, straight talk, and t mobile all use AT&T network. T Mobile got usage of the AT&T network recently.

Cricket basically has more phones "ready" and financing for the phones. Plus better local shop customer service support. Straight Talk is just junk for customer service support. Still, I had my wife using Straight Talk for 2 years because it was the best bang for the buck for her at the time.

 

[vi edit]

Most of the data usage we have is with streaming music which doesn't count towards data usage on T Mobile from the major streaming applications.

Really? With T-Mobile if you stream via Pandora or Spotify you aren't charged for data? Never heard that before. Interesting.

 

[isekii]

Really? With T-Mobile if you stream via Pandora or Spotify you aren't charged for data? Never heard that before. Interesting.

That was their whole be schtick with uncarrier 6

 

[HumblePie]

Really? With T-Mobile if you stream via Pandora or Spotify you aren't charged for data? Never heard that before. Interesting.

Haven't seen the commercials for it? Pandora, Rhapsody, iHeartRadio, Slacker, Spotify, and other major application streamers for music aren't charged against your data rate for T Mobile. So if you listen to music a lot as the majority of your data download, then only having 2.5GB 4G cap isn't all that small at all.

 

[isekii]

Yeah I don't know why more don't do it. I added my father and mother in law to my T-Mo plan and it costs me all of $10 each (Plus $8 and $22 per month for their phones.) so... $42? I charge each $40 per month for their lines which reimburses me for the hassle of dealing /w them every time they have an issue and for my time and it takes $40 off my side of the bill.

yep i still have a spare line i use as a backup. But I've never been throttled yet and it takes effort to get above 5gb i'll try giving it a shot by going over to see how badly i get throttled.

 

[vi edit]

Haven't seen the commercials for it? Pandora, Rhapsody, iHeartRadio, Slacker, Spotify, and other major application streamers for music aren't charged against your data rate for T Mobile. So if you listen to music a lot as the majority of your data download, then only having 2.5GB 4G cap isn't all that small at all.

I haven't ever lived in a heavy T-Mobile market. It's been smaller to mid size cities which isn't T-Mobiles bread and butter. I've seen limited commercials of theirs outside of maybe the super bowl when they used to have the hot brunette on the motorcycle. That must have been a fairly recent change because on their own website it shows as "new" to the plans.