T-Mobile 55+ Unlimited Data Plans, What?

[Qs Laptop]

I was shopping for cell phone plans as I'm getting sick of Verizon's crappy customer support. No, I don't think T-Mobile would be much better, but like insurance and TV streaming services sometimes it pays to check out cell phone plans once every couple of years.

Anyway, I saw that T-Mobile had a 55+ discount plan. Imagine my surprise when I compared the Magenta Max Plan with the Magenta Max 55+ plan side-by-side. Here's what I saw:



They call that a discount? I guess they don't like boomers too much at T-Mobile!

 

[Chuckanut]

Alas, T-Mobile is no longer the Un-Carrier. I a grandfathered in to the $60 for two lines plan which is still a descent rate, but nothing that can't be duplicated with some research. But, it does include free service in a lot of countries outside the USA. I expect when I go to 5g I will have to give that up. So far I have seen no good reason to go to 5g.

 

[bobandsherry]

Alas, T-Mobile is no longer the Un-Carrier. I a grandfathered in to the $60 for two lines plan which is still a descent rate, but nothing that can't be duplicated with some research. But, it does include free service in a lot of countries outside the USA. I expect when I go to 5g I will have to give that up. So far I have seen no good reason to go to 5g.

Not sure what plan you are grandfathered in. I'm not aware of any plans that limit your band. I'm on some 10 year old plan. I have 10 lines and pay $200/mo or less, plus have Netflix discount and free international data and text. I have no issues with 5G.

 

[Sunset]

I've used Mint Mobile in the past, it works well and is cheap.

I don't stream movies on my phone so when I use them I get a really cheap plan.

https://www.mintmobile.com/plans/

 

[tulak]

There’s a Magenta plan 55+ for two lines for $70. That doesn’t seem to bad to me. It even includes basic Netflix.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I have T-Mobile prepaid for a flat fee of 15/month. Unlimited talk and text with 3gigs of data. I never come close to using it all because of my home Wi-Fi.

 

[ExPatKiwi]

Yip T-mobile magenta users here too with 3 lines includes Netflix and taxes $110/month. Unlimited high speed and international data roaming.

 

[Dtail]

Still have Cricket with 4 lines unlimited for $100.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Alas, T-Mobile is no longer the Un-Carrier. I a grandfathered in to the $60 for two lines plan which is still a descent rate, but nothing that can't be duplicated with some research. But, it does include free service in a lot of countries outside the USA. I expect when I go to 5g I will have to give that up. So far I have seen no good reason to go to 5g.

We also have this plan and we have 5g, you do not give it up. We love it and like you are grandfathered in at $60 Including Taxes. Would not change it even if we found it cheaper someplace else. It has worked well for us. We call Canada and like to go to Mexico so it works well for us.

 

[CRLLS]

OP. take a look at the "final" cost. I have a T-Mobile 2-line 55+ plan and the $70 advertised is the price I pay. When I had AT&T, the price quoted did not include adders like 911 fees, taxes, and a host of other add-ons. I think the same add-ons were added when I looked at T-Mobile's non 55+ plans. I don't know what it is like today.

 

[bobandsherry]

OP, you priced out the MAX plan, has some benefits such as discounts from time to time on phone upgrades. Look at the simple Magenta plan and price will be more reasonable and maybe in line with what you were looking for.

 

[gauss]

I use T-Mobile network via Tello - a MVP reseller.

I have 2 lines and pay about $14/month.

I don't have unlimited data, but I am able to rollover unused data from month to month. I have broadband internet at home that I used while there.

This works quite well for me.

-gauss

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

T-mobile Connect starts at $10 a month which is a pretty good deal and priority service
https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans/connect

Tello is a T-mobile MVNO and you can pick one of their plans or customize your own depending on your needs. As Gauss says you can rollover unused minutes/data if you manually renew and you can change plans anytime you want. For example start with an 8GB plan and then the next month reduce your plan to 1GB and manually renew the plan and any unused data from the 8GB rolls over and keeps rolling over as long as you renew manually each month.
I highly recommend Tello, I've been with them for 5 years now. They are also offering 50% off select plans for the first month
https://tello.com/buy/custom_plans

 

[youbet]

So far I have seen no good reason to go to 5g.

I haven't either. Since my Verizon plan includes more data than I'll ever use (1,004 GB /Mo) with no throttling, I'm hanging onto it until I see a good reason to switch. So far, switching to get 5G service hasn't qualified as a "good" reason for us. We use my phone as a hot spot extensively while out with the camper and 4G seems to be working just fine for all our streaming needs.

I'm sure improving technology will change my mind as time goes by, but for now, 4G fills our needs.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

My daughter has Verizon and a 5G phone but it turns out that they charge extra for 5G so she has not bothered with it right now. I keep telling her to move to T-Mobile or Tello where it's free with your plan.

 

[youbet]

My daughter has Verizon and a 5G phone but it turns out that they charge extra for 5G so she has not bothered with it right now. I keep telling her to move to T-Mobile or Tello where it's free with your plan.

What would be the advantage to her of having 5G service? At least at the present time.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Blazing fast speed and we're surrounded by it.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/mobile...551200139866.c?id=pcmcat1551200139866#jl-faqs

 

[Qs Laptop]

I appreciate the advice and the anecdotes about particular plans/pricing but the point of my original post was to point out that T-Mobile is punishing people aged 55 and over because their price for 55+ is higher than their usual pricing.

 

[tulak]

I’m seeing Magenta Max for $140 and Magenta Max 55+ for $90. This is for two lines, which I think was the only option when the 55+ plans were originally created. Makes sense to me since they probably weren’t meant to be family plans.

You’re right though, add four lines and the 55+ plan is more expensive than the regular plan.

Still a good deal if you only need two lines.

 

[RetMD21]

I appreciate the advice and the anecdotes about particular plans/pricing but the point of my original post was to point out that T-Mobile is punishing people aged 55 and over because their price for 55+ is higher than their usual pricing.

Maybe you can get the $170 rate if they don't check your dob

 

[Chuckanut]

You’re right though, add four lines and the 55+ plan is more expensive than the regular plan.

So how many lines do I need to add to make them all Free?

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Teacher Terry, what happens on this plan if you were to use all your data up before your renewal date? Is it a hard cut off or can you buy extra data and if so how much.
i couldn't find an answer on their website.

 

[mz44]

Anyone use Visible? They use Verizon networks and offer reasonable unlimited plans. Haven't switched from Verizon yet.

 

[audreyh1]

I was shopping for cell phone plans as I'm getting sick of Verizon's crappy customer support. No, I don't think T-Mobile would be much better, but like insurance and TV streaming services sometimes it pays to check out cell phone plans once every couple of years.

Anyway, I saw that T-Mobile had a 55+ discount plan. Imagine my surprise when I compared the Magenta Max Plan with the Magenta Max 55+ plan side-by-side. Here's what I saw:

View attachment 42246

They call that a discount? I guess they don't like boomers too much at T-Mobile!

That’s because it’s for 4 lines? Most 55+ plans are optimized for 1 or 2.

We’re paying $90 for 2 phones MAX 55+ and also getting Netflix.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Anyone use Visible? They use Verizon networks and offer reasonable unlimited plans. Haven't switched from Verizon yet.

Funny you should mention Visible. Just last night I did extensive research on MVNO's (read: prepaid plans.) Not only does Visible use Verizon network but it is owned by Verizon. You can get unlimited text, unlimited calling, unlimited data, and a mobile hot spot for $40 a month (tax and fees included.) If you have 2 lines the cost is $35 a month (per line); 3 lines $30; 4 lines $25. So a family of four would pay $100 a month for unlimited everything.

Sounds great....except.

1. Visible practices data deprioritization. This means if there are a lot of people using the Verizon network the regular Verizon customers get priority, meaning they get the fastest connections and Visible customers get slow connections.

2. Their 5G speeds are capped at 200 Mbps. While 5G can hit 1 Gbps, 2 Gbps, or even higher, Visible caps the top speed at 200 Mbps. Not a practical issue as most people will do fine at 15-20 Mbps (but not gamers.)

3. Video streams at only 480p resolution.

4. Their support consists of chat only. No 800# to call. No email support.

Also, I did a lot of searching and I found plenty of people complaining about slow network connections with Visible, speeds around 2-5 Mbps, resulting in dropped calls, missed texts, stuttering videos, etc. I mean there were A LOT of people complaining about this. Yes, I understand it depends on where you are located, but there were a lot of people saying they didn't have these problems with their previous network carrier.

During my research I found US Mobile. It offers a plethora of calling plans and all are super inexpensive. You can go on either Verizon or T-Mobile networks. Their unlimited text, unlimited calling, unlimited data plan is $45/month, dropping down in price as you add lines, eventually getting to $25 a month for a family of four.

They don't do data deprioritization on Verizon 5G plans. You are treated the same as if you were a Verizon customer when it comes to data speeds during high volume use.

They don't have a data speed cap.

They stream video at up to 4K resolution.

They have chat, email, and 800# phone support.

I ended up signing up with US Mobile and my free SIM card should arrive in a couple of days. I'm going to put the SIM card in my old, inactive Pixel 2XL phone (I will get a new phone number.) I will do side-by-side comparisons with my Pixel 5a phone on Verizon and my wife's Pixel 2XL, also on Verizon. I have 14 days free trial period. If I like US Mobile I will get my Pixel 5a on their network (keeping my current phone number), drop my Pixel 2XL, and get my wife and two sons signed up on it. Or maybe my sons will go their own separate way on cell phone service.

Right now I'm paying Verizon $174 a month for our four lines and only getting 10 GB of data. If US Mobile works for us we could be getting unlimited data on 5G for only $100 a month.