2020 cell phone plans

[wmc1000]

Now that ATT/CRICKET have added a 2GB data PREPAID cell phone plan to counter the T-MO Connect plan for $15 plus taxes and fees per mo. is anybody considering these?

DW and I use less than 1GB monthly and currently piggyback on DD's family plan paying her $35 monthly for each line and are considering going to the ATT prepaid plan figuring with taxes and fees it will lower our costs at least $20 per mo. total.

 

[GTFan]

Mint mobile, $17/mo. with taxes for a 3GB plan (paid yearly). Uses T-Mo network, been on it over a year now with no real issues. Haven't seen anything cheaper with a reasonable amount of data (1GB or more).

YMMV, as with all providers.

 

[nate2953]

+1 for Mint Mobile. I’m on their 12 GB/mo plan and if you prepay for the whole year I paid 218.18 for 12 months.

No complaints whatsoever.

 

[wmc1000]

Our DD gets a $100 per mo. max cell phone bill reimbursement from her company so we need to stay on a monthly plan that allows 5 phones for it to work in her favor.

 

[wmc1000]

I guess she could split off her phones and still get close to the max reimbursement for her family and we could do something like mint mobile. Thanks for that info.

 

[bobandsherry]

Our DD gets a $100 per mo. max cell phone bill reimbursement from her company so we need to stay on a monthly plan that allows 5 phones for it to work in her favor.

So you pay $35 so she can get a reimbursement? If you can get what you want for less than DD should be offering that cost to you. Otherwise you are subsidizing her in addition to her employer. If you cool with that then OK. But on our family plan we divi things up so high data and text pay a reasonable share of the bill, no one feels anyone should subsidize them and we all end up paying a fair price based on our use and compared to other similar offerings.

 

[gauss]

For $5 a month I get 500MB of smartphone data (4G LTE). I think they have other plans too (ie 1 GB, 2GB etc. for maybe $5 or $10 more).

I think for an additional $1, I would get voice minutes too, but I already have a flip phone.

If I ever run out of data prematurely, I could pay my $5 early to start a new billing cycle. This is a great plan for me and my DW - so I guess Tello is actually getting $10/month from us (p.s. that is out the door pricing - no taxes/fees etc.)

You do need a Sprint compatible phone for tello.

-gauss

 

[Markola]

Does anyone use Google FI? I’m interested in that plan or learning about other providers that would allow my phone to work with minimum hassle while traveling all around the world.

 

[wmc1000]

So you pay $35 so she can get a reimbursement? If you can get what you want for less than DD should be offering that cost to you. Otherwise you are subsidizing her in addition to her employer. If you cool with that then OK. But on our family plan we divi things up so high data and text pay a reasonable share of the bill, no one feels anyone should subsidize them and we all end up paying a fair price based on our use and compared to other similar offerings.

If we split the base plan cost plus the individual line costs it comes to $42 per line so at the time the $35 per line per mo. was less than the actual bill cost for each. Yes, I know her OOP cost is zero but we felt we were getting a good deal too! Would prefer to stay on AT&T GSM since some people we knew that had T-MO GSM service had soem spotty areas near where another DD lives.

 

[pb4uski]

We use airvoicewireless $20 unlimited plan... unlimited talk & text, 1.5GB high-speed data and 1.5GB reduced speed data for $18/month on prepay. While the $15/month ATT/Cricket 2GB data offer mentioned in the OP is appealing, I'm not sure if I'll switch to save $3/month.

 

[BeachOrCity]

For anyone who has Comcast / Xfinity for home internet and doesn't need unlimited Data, the xfinity mobile plan is one of the best there is.
No per device charge up to 5 devices. All data is shared, so you can put your spouse / kids / parents etc on this plan under your household account.
$12/GB pay as you go / roundup / no rollover
or
$30 for 3GB or $60 / 10GB + $12 per GB / roundup / no rollover

Unlimited data is more normal reseller industry pricing.

No charge for texts and calls

To get this pricing you have to use comcast / xfinity for home internet.

 

[wmc1000]

Just checked Mint Mobile Coverage map to see if signal has improved in the last year or so. Looks like outside coverage is pretty thorough but indoor coverage is still pretty spotty even for our neighborhood which is in a close suburb to Indianapolis.

 

[GTFan]

+1 for Mint Mobile. I’m on their 12 GB/mo plan and if you prepay for the whole year I paid 218.18 for 12 months.

No complaints whatsoever.

Wow how did you get the 12GB plan that cheap, was it an intro or did you have a cashback deal? Don't need that much data but you're only paying $18 a year more than the 3GB plan we have (it's $15/mo. plus taxes). The 12GB plan on their site is $25/mo. +tax paid yearly, and that's the usual discounted price.

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

 

[GTFan]

For anyone who has Comcast / Xfinity for home internet and doesn't need unlimited Data, the xfinity mobile plan is one of the best there is.
No per device charge up to 5 devices. All data is shared, so you can put your spouse / kids / parents etc on this plan under your household account.
$12/GB pay as you go / roundup / no rollover
or
$30 for 3GB or $60 / 10GB + $12 per GB / roundup / no rollover

Unlimited data is more normal reseller industry pricing.

No charge for texts and calls

To get this pricing you have to use comcast / xfinity for home internet.

There is no charge for talk/text but they do charge taxes/fees per line, so it's not free per se. But still very cheap if you're almost always on WiFi.

 

[GTFan]

Just checked Mint Mobile Coverage map to see if signal has improved in the last year or so. Looks like outside coverage is pretty thorough but indoor coverage is still pretty spotty even for our neighborhood which is in a close suburb to Indianapolis.

Very cheap to try Mint with one of the intro promos they have, wife and I paid $20 total (per line) for 3 months. We ported over from T-Mo easily when we started, you can always port out if you don't like the service.

 

[nate2953]

Wow how did you get the 12GB plan that cheap, was it an intro or did you have a cashback deal? Don't need that much data but you're only paying $18 a year more than the 3GB plan we have (it's $15/mo. plus taxes). The 12GB plan on their site is $25/mo. +tax paid yearly, and that's the usual discounted price.

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

There was some sort of deal they kept flooding my email after I signed up for their trial, they were offering 8GB for about 11.25/mo and the 12 GB for just a little bit more so I signed up for the 12GB plan just to have plenty of room to spare data use wise.

 

[braumeister]

Does anyone use Google FI? I’m interested in that plan or learning about other providers that would allow my phone to work with minimum hassle while traveling all around the world.

We have T-Mobile and there is zero hassle using it all over the world. We've traveled to a dozen countries in the last five years and our phones have always worked the same as at home. When the plane touches down and you turn your phone back on, you immediately get a text from them saying "Welcome to _____".

Unlimited everything (calls, texts, data), and although it's slower than at home, it has been perfectly fine for us. Being over 55, we pay just $60/month for two lines. I think it has gone up to $70 for new accounts, but we're grandfathered into $60.

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

Another happy mintmobile customer. Watch their sales on slickdeals
https://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php?forumchoice%5B%5D=9&q=mint&showposts=0
I got a year with 8GB data for under $15/mo. If you want to test your coverage, they have a 7 day free trial.

 

[pb4uski]

For anyone who has Comcast / Xfinity for home internet and doesn't need unlimited Data, the xfinity mobile plan is one of the best there is.
No per device charge up to 5 devices. All data is shared, so you can put your spouse / kids / parents etc on this plan under your household account.
$12/GB pay as you go / roundup / no rollover
or
$30 for 3GB or $60 / 10GB + $12 per GB / roundup / no rollover

Unlimited data is more normal reseller industry pricing.

No charge for texts and calls

To get this pricing you have to use comcast / xfinity for home internet.

Attractive indeed... but not for us as at home all we get is ATT... no Verizon.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

For $5 a month I get 500MB of smartphone data (4G LTE). I think they have other plans too (ie 1 GB, 2GB etc. for maybe $5 or $10 more).

I think for an additional $1, I would get voice minutes too, but I already have a flip phone.

If I ever run out of data prematurely, I could pay my $5 early to start a new billing cycle. This is a great plan for me and my DW - so I guess Tello is actually getting $10/month from us (p.s. that is out the door pricing - no taxes/fees etc.)

You do need a Sprint compatible phone for tello.

-gauss

I love my Tello service as well. I also have the $5 plan that comes with unlimited free texting. I hardly ever make phone calls (Free Google Voice at home) so have a $20 pay as you go balance for any calls that I might make, at 1 cent a minute it will last me more than a year. You can use your phone as a hotspot and if you manually renew your service before auto renewal, you get to keep whats left of your data ( or minutes if you have them in your plan). I have a 500MB monthly data plan but I actually have close to 2GB available right now. OP could get a 1GB plan with unlimited calls and texts for $10 or 2GB plan for $14 monthly. Remember Sprint needs to be good in your area. Free $10 referral codes on EBAY or I can send you one if needed to get you started.

 

[gauss]

I love my Tello service as well. I also have the $5 plan that comes with unlimited free texting. I hardly ever make phone calls (Free Google Voice at home) so have a $20 pay as you go balance for any calls that I might make, at 1 cent a minute it will last me more than a year. You can use your phone as a hotspot and if you manually renew your service before auto renewal, you get to keep whats left of your data ( or minutes if you have them in your plan). I have a 500MB monthly data plan but I actually have close to 2GB available right now. OP could get a 1GB plan with unlimited calls and texts for $10 or 2GB plan for $14 monthly. Remember Sprint needs to be good in your area. Free $10 referral codes on EBAY or I can send you one if needed to get you started.

So your strategy is to manually pay during your last day of service or before and you can accumulate data that way (as opposed to resetting)? The old data doesn't expire? I will have to look into this if this is how you are working it. Thanks!


edit: Found this on the tello site confirming RetiredAndLovingIt's experience. Awesome.

Do my phone plan minutes/data roll over from one month to another?
Any unused minutes or data will be lost after 30 days, when your prepaid plan is automatically renewed. However, they roll over ONLY if you manually renew or change your plan before the end of your current billing cycle and ONLY if the new plan contains the services that you previously had.
For example, the minutes & data of your current plan will roll over if the new plan has minutes & data. However, if you decide to buy data only, the minutes will not roll over.

ref: https://tello.com/help_center


-gauss

 

[Done]

I have been using Red Pocket Mobile for three years. The annual plan for $210 = $17.50/mo includes 5GB data/mo LTE and unlimited talk and texts on your choice of AT&T, Verizon or Sprint network. Annual plans (with more or less data) are sold on eBay and include a SIM, but they also have monthly options and a family plan on their site.

The plans vary, so be sure to verify the network supported. In their terms GSMA = AT&T, GSMT = TMobile, CDMA = Verizon, CDMAS = Sprint.

 

[Sunset]

Just checked Mint Mobile Coverage map to see if signal has improved in the last year or so. Looks like outside coverage is pretty thorough but indoor coverage is still pretty spotty even for our neighborhood which is in a close suburb to Indianapolis.

They have a money back guarantee.
They have free calling to Canada, and Mexico from the USA.

I use Mint when we travel to Canada, for that I have to pay an additional amount (usually add $10) as the international calling, but from within Canada the rate off the $10 is around 7 cents/min voice, and 2 cents per text.
(Data still seemed not cheap in Canada so I don't use it).

Those rates even considering the $15/mo basic amount, are cheaper than anything I could find in Canada.

At home, I have grandfathered T-mobile, so on prepaid I'm paying about $20/yr. So not giving that up, even though it does not have data.

 

[folivier]

We're using Red Pocket going on 4 months now. Have a family plan with 4 phones for $90/month + $0.20 tax. We each have 5 Gb data + unlimited calls and texts.

 

[54andchange]

I have been using Red Pocket Mobile for three years. The annual plan for $210 = $17.50/mo includes 5GB data/mo LTE and unlimited talk and texts on your choice of AT&T, Verizon or Sprint network. Annual plans (with more or less data) are sold on eBay and include a SIM, but they also have monthly options on https://www.redpocket.com/

The plans vary, so be sure to verify the network supported. In their terms GSMA = AT&T, GSMT = TMobile, CDMA = Verizon, CDMAS = Sprint.

+1
Red Pocket via ebay all the way! We prepay annual at $5/month with 500mb data, 100 minutes, 100 text. If you run out, immediate top-ups start at one buck. When your annual prepay is nearing refill time, you are automatically offered the $5 rate again, no need for ebay after initial purchase. And yes, all three networks are offered, we are happy with ATT 4g LTE.