T-mobile Prepaid promotion

[Athena]

Originally posted by: StormSide
Don't forget 35% live cashback!! Search t-mobile on live.com and click the 35% link!!

I'm not sure you can use CashBack for online refills but it will definitely work with the phone+card. For less than $35 you can get a new phone plus $25 worth of minutes. A new subscriber could activate the phone, get a $100 PIN from CallingMart for $88 and add then use the $25 and get the Gold member premium.

Phone and 1150 minutes good for a year -- nice startup deal.

 

[KPACOTKA]

What about anonymity of using t-mobile? Can you buy everything for cash including phone, SIM and refill cards without providing addresses, names, CC number and so on?

 

[mikeford]

Refill card amount / minutes
$10 / 30
$25 / 130
$50 / 400
$100 / 1000

*** But I sure remember getting 1150 for $100 in the past.

 

[StormSide]

Originally posted by: KPACOTKA
What about anonymity of using t-mobile? Can you buy everything for cash including phone, SIM and refill cards without providing addresses, names, CC number and so on?

??? Whatcha hidin?

 

[KPACOTKA]

Just precaution of identity theft.

 

[Athena]

Originally posted by: KPACOTKA
What about anonymity of using t-mobile? Can you buy everything for cash including phone, SIM and refill cards without providing addresses, names, CC number and so on?

If you buy your phone and refills at a mass market, brick and mortar store, and never get involved with customer service, there's no record of anything associated with you.

T-mobile prepaid phones are occasionally on sale at Target and even more infrequently at Staples or Office Depot but the best deals are offered at the T-mobile site (e.g. this one + Cashback) and refills are definitely cheaper though the sites mentioned in this thread.

 

[Athena]

Originally posted by: KPACOTKA
Just precaution of identity theft.

That's an issue with anything you buy on the Internet. You can minimize exposure by using a separate bank account for online purchases but you are still identifiable through the transaction trail.

FWIW: I just noticed that Walgreens is selling an AT&T Nokia GoPhone this week for $19.99. AT&T's prepaid program is okay but T-Mobile is definitely more economical over the longterm. No matter what denomination you buy with AT&T, the rate per minute is still 25¢ (vs. 10¢ or less with higher denomination T-Mobile cards) and only the $100 cards come with 1-year expiration (vs. any denomination at T-Mobile once you've reached Gold).

 

[KPACOTKA]

So if I buy t-mobile phone in b&m store it already includes SIM card and I do not need to buy it separately, right?
Just got a letter from batteries.com stating that customer profile was stolen from their site, and everyone is on a risk of identity theft. Cyber crime just grows nowadays. SPAM boxes grow rapidly, my router log has tons of intruder?s entries, SHA algorithm is breakable as recent discovery stated?

 

[Athena]

Yes, if get a phone from Target, Office Depot, or somewhere else, it will come with a SIM. You can also check with a local T-Mobile store to see if they have any specials going on. If you get it at a T-Mobile store, they will ask for personal data and try to activate it but you can say that you don't want that.

Identity theft and credit card fraud are two different things. Identity theft requires information that can be used to open new accounts. Online vendors don't collect enough info to enable that; they just have credit card information that can be used for fraudulent charges against the account -- which are a hassle but can be cured.

 

[imported_Husky55]

First off, I really appreciate the info from this thread. I am a complete noob when it comes to cell phone and pay as you go plans.

So if I understand correctly, if I already have an unlocked GSM phone I can buy a Tmobile Pay as you Go SIM card on Ebay, plug the SIM card in my unlocked phone and buy another $100 refill and I am set for a year.

Is my phone number from the SIM card secure from ID theft? In other words, is it safe to buy Tmobile SIM from Ebay? Can I buy directly from TMobile? Is it safer? I have a nice unlocked phone and would prefer to keep it.

How is TMobile coverage in Connecticut?

Sorry for the noob questions.

 

[dbk]

Originally posted by: Husky55
First off, I really appreciate the info from this thread. I am a complete noob when it comes to cell phone and pay as you go plans.

So if I understand correctly, if I already have an unlocked GSM phone I can buy a Tmobile Pay as you Go SIM card on Ebay, plug the SIM card in my unlocked phone and buy another $100 refill and I am set for a year.

Is my phone number from the SIM card secure from ID theft? In other words, is it safe to buy Tmobile SIM from Ebay? Can I buy directly from TMobile? Is it safer? I have a nice unlocked phone and would prefer to keep it.

How is TMobile coverage in Connecticut?

Sorry for the noob questions.

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/P...429a-82fa-000007a2ac12

 

[Athena]

Originally posted by: Husky55
So if I understand correctly...

1. Yes

2. See the link in the post above to purchase a SIM directly from T-Mobile. You might want to try the Live Search/Cashback route to bring the total cost below $5 (free shipping)

3. Click the Coverage link at the web site to see what it's like in Connecticut.


Although buying refills $100 at a time yields the best cost per minute, that's not necessarily the most economical choice for everyone. My mom is a very low volume user and is still working through minutes that were rolled over from a $100 refill a few years ago. She mainly uses her phone a minute at a time to tell us she's ready to be picked up from somewhere or to say that she's getting a ride home with someone else. If her usage pattern were to change, I would increase the size of refills but right now 150 minutes more each year are more than sufficient.

Basically, I'm paying less than $25/year for her to have a phone available whenever and wherever she needs it-- a personal pay phone if you will -- and I consider that a real bargain.

 

[Gilby]

Originally posted by: Athena

Although buying refills $100 at a time yields the best cost per minute, that's not necessarily the most economical choice for everyone.

Again, at gold level, $50 and $100 cards are both at 10 cents per minute. 1000 minutes for $100 and 500 minutes for $50.

 

[mikeford]

Originally posted by: Gilby

Originally posted by: Athena

Although buying refills $100 at a time yields the best cost per minute, that's not necessarily the most economical choice for everyone.

Again, at gold level, $50 and $100 cards are both at 10 cents per minute. 1000 minutes for $100 and 500 minutes for $50.

Show me.

Rate table I found on tmobiles web page has $50 as 400 minutes, and $100 as 1000 minutes.

 

[dbk]

Originally posted by: mikeford

Originally posted by: Gilby

Originally posted by: Athena

Although buying refills $100 at a time yields the best cost per minute, that's not necessarily the most economical choice for everyone.

Again, at gold level, $50 and $100 cards are both at 10 cents per minute. 1000 minutes for $100 and 500 minutes for $50.

Show me.

Rate table I found on tmobiles web page has $50 as 400 minutes, and $100 as 1000 minutes.

What Is Gold Rewards Status?
Gold Rewards is a status that is reached once a T-Mobile To Go customer has applied more than $100 worth of refills (in any combination of $10, $25 or $50 refills) to his or her account or has purchased and applied a $100 refill to the account. Once a customer reaches Gold Rewards status, he or she automatically receives 15% more minutes for free and any unused minutes won't expire for a full year!

you have to reach that status first before the rate kicks in

 

[Athena]

Originally posted by: mikeford
Rate table I found on tmobiles web page has $50 as 400 minutes, and $100 as 1000 minutes.

The T-Mobile chart at CallingMart.com is better and the note is clear: "The $100 refill value already includes the 15% bonus minutes in the 1000 minutes that you will receive. Hence, there will be no more additional 15% to the 1000 minutes."

Five years ago when we started with T-Mobile-to-Go, the $100 refill card was worth only 870 minutes (in those days, T-mobile had an annual December promotion that gave you 1-year expiration no matter what the denomination too). The "gold" rule is that you get extra minutes after you've spent $100 (effectively not until dollar $101) but people didn't understand what was going on so they change things and a $100 refill is now instantly gold. Unfortunately, T-Mobile hasn't done a good job of explaining that.