Budget cell carriers like Mint and Cricket -- worth it compared to AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile? (1 Viewer)

[Doug B]

Anyone ever switch from major carriers like AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile to budget carriers like Mint or Cricket?

I understand that sometimes the budget carrier is affiliated with the big-name carrier -- for instance, Cricket is affiliated with AT&T and runs in AT&T's network. I think Mint has a similar deal set up with another carrier (T-Mobile?).

Anyway, the main question is: Is the general service of the budget carriers a good deal at the lower prices they offer? What do you compromise going with a budget carrier over a major carrier?

From the research I've done so far ... it looks like budget carriers throttle their data speed at lower limits than the big carriers, even with otherwise comparable "unlimited data" plans. Otherwise, plan between the budget carriers and the major carriers seem comparable -- especially on the no-frills basic stuff like calling and texting (where "unlimited" is the standard and has been for a while).

Our household is going from 3 to 4 phones as my son is getting a phone for Christmas. The three of us that have phones now ... none of use up a ton of data, but my son might. My wife and daughter typically use the home WiFi when surfing on their phones at home -- my son might, but he might not if I'm not checking on his use often. None of us view streaming movies or TV on our phones, though will be a lot of YouTube viewing, Instagram, and other sources of video.

Trying to figure out if we can switch to a budget carrier and not notice a difference in phone usage and quality of experience. Thanks for any info or advice.

 

[Ron Swanson]

Take a look at Google Fi. They're an MVNO like the others you've mentioned but they run on multiple networks and pricing is very simple and fair. 

https://fi.google.com/about/

 

[Willie Neslon]

I did AT&T prepaid. $25 a month when you pay for the whole year in advance. I use wifi when home and have never come near my data limit. Works with any unlocked phone I think. Don't notice any speed issues.

 

[John123]

I've had Ting for years.  Don't notice any difference other than saving $60/month since switching.

 

[Doug B]

I did AT&T prepaid

We've already got AT&T PrePaid ... wouldn't be able to pay for all four lines a year ahead like that. Leaning towards sticking with AT&T PrePaid even for the fourth line. I don't know ... really risk averse with stuff like this.

 

[culdeus]

Mint is what I use for my wife and kids.  It is flawless.  It's just Tmobile.  

I put them on an annual plan.  If Tmobile works well in your area Mint will, same for all the resellers I imagine.

Only use the major carriers if you hate money.

 

[NutterButter]

Damn.   Here i was thinking I was getting a good deal from Verizon for my $60/month 5 gig plan for just myself.   I need to look into these alternatives.   

 

[Dez89]

I did AT&T prepaid. $25 a month when you pay for the whole year in advance. I use wifi when home and have never come near my data limit. Works with any unlocked phone I think. Don't notice any speed issues.

This.  Switched two years ago and couldn't be happier.  All the benefits of the big guys and the cost of the little guys (with none of their budget hassles).

 

[WDIK2]

Damn.   Here i was thinking I was getting a good deal from Verizon for my $60/month 5 gig plan for just myself.   I need to look into these alternatives.   

I pay ~$28 a month for [Edited: 5 GB] on Verizon prepaid.  Starts off at like $40 a month, but then it goes down $5 each month you have the service.  I think $28 is the lowest it will go.  May have to sign up for auto pay which I always do anyway.

I used Straight Talk (on Verizon towers) for quite a while without an issue.  Then I started getting texts from people at work saying they tried calling me, but my phone never rang.  Tech support had no answers.  Got a different phone and had the same issue.  Did some searching online and I guess the tower service providers (Verizon in my case) can prioritize service for their customers.  My nearest tower is very busy, so I guess my Straight Talk calls were lower priority.   

Haven't had an issue since switching to Verizon prepaid, and it's cheaper.

 

[Harry Frogfish]

Mint is what I use for my wife and kids.  It is flawless.  It's just Tmobile.  

I put them on an annual plan.  If Tmobile works well in your area Mint will, same for all the resellers I imagine.

Only use the major carriers if you hate money.

What do you mean "for your wife and kids"?  Do you not use it?

I just started with T-Mobile but I can switch I guess, with no contract.  Haven't had any problems so I guess Mint would be the same is what you're saying? 

Bought my phone from Apple so no strings attached.

Thanks.

 

[Doug B]

I used Straight Talk (on Verizon towers) for quite a while without an issue.  Then I started getting texts from people at work saying they tried calling me, but my phone never rang.  Tech support had no answers.  Got a different phone and had the same issue.  Did some searching online and I guess the tower service providers (Verizon in my case) can prioritize service for their customers.  My nearest tower is very busy, so I guess my Straight Talk calls were lower priority.

The bolded -- both with voice calls and with data -- are the kind of thing I'm worried about.

This.  Switched two years ago and couldn't be happier.  All the benefits of the big guys and the cost of the little guys (with none of their budget hassles).

Can't get those low prices without paying 12 months in advance, correct?

 

[culdeus]

What do you mean "for your wife and kids"?  Do you not use it?

I just started with T-Mobile but I can switch I guess, with no contract.  Haven't had any problems so I guess Mint would be the same is what you're saying? 

Bought my phone from Apple so no strings attached.

Thanks.

My work pays for my phone with att.  I don't have an option to diy

 

[Dez89]

Can't get those low prices without paying 12 months in advance, correct?

Yes, that's true.  Comes out to about $320 with taxes/fees.

 

[NutterButter]

I pay ~$28 a month for "unlimited" on Verizon prepaid.  Starts off at like $45 a month, but then it goes down $5 each month you have the service.  I think $28 is the lowest it will go.  May have to sign up for auto pay which I always do anyway.

I used Straight Talk (on Verizon towers) for quite a while without an issue.  Then I started getting texts from people at work saying they tried calling me, but my phone never rang.  Tech support had no answers.  Got a different phone and had the same issue.  Did some searching online and I guess the tower service providers (Verizon in my case) can prioritize service for their customers.  My nearest tower is very busy, so I guess my Straight Talk calls were lower priority.   

Haven't had an issue since switching to Verizon prepaid, and it's cheaper.

Not seeing those prices.   I see unlimited starting at 65, going down to 60 after 2 months with the autopay ,down to 55 at month 4 then finally down to 50 at month 10.   Regardless,the price for the 5 gig plan is way cheaper than what I pay now.   Whats the catch?

 

[WDIK2]

Not seeing those prices.   I see unlimited starting at 65, going down to 60 after 2 months with the autopay ,down to 55 at month 4 then finally down to 50 at month 10.   Regardless,the price for the 5 gig plan is way cheaper than what I pay now.   Whats the catch?

I was incorrect and will edit my previous reply.  Logged into my account and I'm on a $25 (Originally $40) 5 GB plan.  I guess the "unlimited" part I was remembering was calling and texting which everyone has.

Back in June I was sitting on a job site for 2 weeks in rural New Mexico.  Pretty much streaming data 8 hours a day.  My data got throttled, but I was able to change the data limit on my phone from 5 GB to 25 GB and kept streaming at regular speed.   

The catch is that maybe you pay more for a decent phone?

 

[GroveDiesel]

The bolded -- both with voice calls and with data -- are the kind of thing I'm worried about.

I use Xfinity wireless. It’s $45 a month for unlimited everything on the Verizon network. But I definitely experience some of these issues. I drop calls at times in areas where I really shouldn’t be dropping calls and have trouble getting a good data signal at times as well. I’m sitting in downtown Philly right now and I have 2 bars of reception.

Overall, it still works fine for me though. My biggest concern is that if there is some sort of local emergency, I won’t be able to make calls or receive info because I’ll be deprioritized.

 

[NutterButter]

I was incorrect and will edit my previous reply.  Logged into my account and I'm on a $25 (Originally $40) 5 GB plan.  I guess the "unlimited" part I was remembering was calling and texting which everyone has.

Back in June I was sitting on a job site for 2 weeks in rural New Mexico.  Pretty much streaming data 8 hours a day.  My data got throttled, but I was able to change the data limit on my phone from 5 GB to 25 GB and kept streaming at regular speed.   

The catch is that maybe you pay more for a decent phone?

Why b/c you don't get the provider discount?   Like my cars, I'm a used guy anyway.     Seems like a no brainer unless there's something I'm missing.  If you already have a phone, why wouldn't you want to save ~50% for the same exact service.   

 

[Doug B]

Like my cars, I'm a used guy anyway.     Seems like a no brainer unless there's something I'm missing.

Same here. I bought my son a good condition -- but used -- iPhone 8 (glass is flawless). I'm still rocking a 6, though have recently run into the issue that some apps can't work on my phone anymore.

So ... so whatever plan we go with, we won't be financing any new phones or anything like that.

 

[bro1ncos]

Consumer Cellular

$32/month for unlimited talk and text, 3GB of data. 

I can usually stay below the 3gig but nice feature is plan just jumps to next step (5gb) then 7 then 15 and then unlimited. Next month I can change it back to 3.

 

[Doug B]

Consumer Cellular

$32/month for unlimited talk and text, 3GB of data. 

I can usually stay below the 3gig but nice feature is plan just jumps to next step (5gb) then 7 then 15 and then unlimited. Next month I can change it back to 3.

If it were just a single phone for me, I could make that work. But ...

More of a pain than it needed to be … but I figured out how to get reasonably accurate reads of our three phones’ cellular data usage via AT&T PrePaid’s customer website. Over the past 90 days:

My phone: 17.1 GB
Wife’s phone: 61.4 GB  
Daughter’s phone: 22.4 GB

Welp. I could trim down below 5 GB/month if I were conscious of staying below that limit – I was at 4.6 GB for all of November without trying. It would be tough for my daughter, but seemingly impossible for my wife to get by with 5 GB/month.

The weird thing is … my wife and daughter supposedly phone-surf on our WiFi when at home. I only infrequently use the home WiFi on my phone (long story short: phone won’t stay on WiFi more than a few minutes). Because of that … I assumed MY phone would be the one that blew the data budget.

Then again, I do relatively little on my phone that’s graphics-intensive. My wife and daughter use Instagram and view lots of videos. Additionally, my wife frequently uses Facebook Messenger and a Kindle app (the latter for hours at a stretch).

 

[NCCommish]

Had Cricket for years. Long before they were AT&T. Never had any real problems. I get 2 lines unlimited for 88.00 a month. Includes 5G.

 

[ChiefD]

If it were just a single phone for me, I could make that work. But ...

More of a pain than it needed to be … but I figured out how to get reasonably accurate reads of our three phones’ cellular data usage via AT&T PrePaid’s customer website. Over the past 90 days:

My phone: 17.1 GB
Wife’s phone: 61.4 GB  
Daughter’s phone: 22.4 GB

Welp. I could trim down below 5 GB/month if I were conscious of staying below that limit – I was at 4.6 GB for all of November without trying. It would be tough for my daughter, but seemingly impossible for my wife to get by with 5 GB/month.

The weird thing is … my wife and daughter supposedly phone-surf on our WiFi when at home. I only infrequently use the home WiFi on my phone (long story short: phone won’t stay on WiFi more than a few minutes). Because of that … I assumed MY phone would be the one that blew the data budget.

Then again, I do relatively little on my phone that’s graphics-intensive. My wife and daughter use Instagram and view lots of videos. Additionally, my wife frequently uses Facebook Messenger and a Kindle app (the latter for hours at a stretch).

Looks like when I pulled up all my family's data usage.  I about #### a brick. We have AT&T regular and just went with unlimited for everyone. I have a 16 year old driving now, a 14 year old who rides the bus and has a ton of activities, and a wife who doesn't know how to get anywhere in KC even though she's lived here her whole life. My daughter will be getting a phone next year when she turns 13. 

At this point I'd rather pay the high speed unlimited plan with a national carrier for the peace of mind. I don't have to worry about their data going slow in case they need mapping or whatever else they need. I kind of figure cell phone costs is just a cost I'm going to have to swallow from now until the end of time.

And I hate it. I used mine for texting and phone calls from time to time. I'd love to throw them all into an ocean and go back to sticks and stone tablets.

 

[Doug B]

We have AT&T regular and just went with unlimited for everyone. I have a 16 year old driving now, a 14 year old who rides the bus and has a ton of activities, and a wife who doesn't know how to get anywhere in KC even though she's lived here her whole life. My daughter will be getting a phone next year when she turns 13. 

At this point I'd rather pay the high speed unlimited plan with a national carrier for the peace of mind. I don't have to worry about their data going slow in case they need mapping or whatever else they need. I kind of figure cell phone costs is just a cost I'm going to have to swallow from now until the end of time.

And I hate it.

Looking like the bolded for me, too.

I appreciate everyone's input ... been really helpful in making sure I'm considering the right factors.

 

[eoMMan]

.

 

[Doug B]

Hmmm ... posting with a former T-Mobile tech on another board. Looks like they are pricing their plans to undercut AT&T and Verizon. About 15-20% cheaper on four lines with more than enough data for our needs (unless my son goes buck-wild with his new phone).

EDIT: I wonder if cell carriers price-match. Like if I went into our AT&T store and told them "T-Mobile's 20% cheaper -- whatcha got?" Would they offer "The Manager's Special" or would they just tell me "Lotsa luck"?

 

[ChiefD]

Hmmm ... posting with a former T-Mobile tech on another board. Looks like they are pricing their plans to undercut AT&T and Verizon. About 15-20% cheaper on four lines with more than enough data for our needs (unless my son goes buck-wild with his new phone).

EDIT: I wonder if cell carriers price-match. Like if I went into our AT&T store and told them "T-Mobile's 20% cheaper -- whatcha got?" Would they offer "The Manager's Special" or would they just tell me "Lotsa luck"?

I just went through this. Shopped our plan with T-Mobile. Found a price I liked and got on the chat with AT&T and basically said: "can you come close to this?"  And they did. We basically pay about $200 a month for 4 lines and that includes one cell phone no interest payment right now.

I will tell you that this whole process is a massive pain in the ###. The price you get on AT&T's chat can be different than if you call their customer service line or go into a store. None of them talk to each other, so once you start a process of communication stick with it.  And if you go into a store, go into an AT&T company store if you have one available - NOT an AT&T Factory Authorized Reseller. Even some of those stores that have AT&T plastered all over them are not all AT&T company stores. 

I would rather buy a house than buy cell phone plans. It's the worst. 

 

[Doug B]

And if you go into a store, go into an AT&T company store if you have one available - NOT an AT&T Factory Authorized Reseller. Even some of those stores that have AT&T plastered all over them are not all AT&T company stores.

I believe we have real AT&T stores here. There's one we've bought from before, and we also go to it to get problems fixed occasionally. How can you tell which ones are company stores and which are not?

 

[Sand]

Cricket here - $110/month for four lines.  I think they slow me down at 10GB data per month.  Only the 16 year old hits that and i appreciate the parental help there.  No issues.  All good from my end.

We buy $200 Moto phones - I see no reason to fold a phone into a plan when cheap phones are quite good these days.

 

[Doug B]

Found a price I liked and got on the chat with AT&T and basically said: "can you come close to this?" 

Trying to do this now with AT&T ... they don't seem to have regular text chat anymore. Just video chat, which isn't working for some reason.

Wanted to give them a chance to keep our business, but "oh well"

 

[Doug B]

We buy $200 Moto phones - I see no reason to fold a phone into a plan when cheap phones are quite good these days.

I'll probably stay a few generations behind on iPhones forever. I'm still on a 6, and the only thing I don't like is that it's operating system has aged out and can't be updated anymore.

 

[ChiefD]

I believe we have real AT&T stores here. There's one we've bought from before, and we also go to it to get problems fixed occasionally. How can you tell which ones are company stores and which are not?

You have to ask them. We have a store right up the street that is all AT&T. All the branding - you would swear it was an AT&T store. It's not. They are a Factory Authorized Reseller.

I ran into an issue upgrading my phones so I walked in there and they told me:

Them: you need to go to a AT&T company store

Me: (looks around) am I not in one right now?

Them: no. We are just an authorized reseller store.

Me: are you ####### serious?

Them: yeah, sorry.

God I hate cell phones.     

 

[Doug B]

Had absolutely no idea how difficult it would be unlock our phones from AT&T. Now we're in serious jeopardy of not getting my son's phone activated before Christmas. So his present will be a phone with no service.

Can you go into an AT&T to get one of their phones unlocked? Nope. I was told "We stopped doing that a month ago." Really? REALLY?

Can you call AT&T customer service to get your phone unlocked? In theory, but their having to "investigate" one of our phones. Their response is supposed to come within 72 hours. We have no explanation whatsoever of the issue. The phone was bought 3 years ago, they acknowledged it over the phone ... and yet, there is some mystery issue preventing the phone from being unlocked. 

Can you go on AT&T's Device Unlock website to unlock your phone? In theory, but we can't get past the identification windows where we enter our name and email. Keeps saying that info is wrong, no matter who's info we enter (mine, my wife's, my daughter's). Can't get any help with the website whatsoever.

 

[Doug B]

These guys are ridiculous. I had to call three times to get to a supervisor, and someone finally explained that my daughter's phone was reported lost or stolen to AT&T in the past. Not to the cops ... to AT&T. And THAT'S why the phone can't be unlocked right away.

I have no remembrance of that, and my daughter swears she never did that. No idea how her phone would be in that status.

We bought the phone new and no one else but my daughter has ever used it. How the heck does it ever get reported lost or stolen?

Right now, I'm told it might be "maybe Thursday" when the phone is unlocked. No guarantee -- I asked for one, but they wouldn't. Unbelievable screw job.

 

[Zasada]

I realize that I'm more of an edge case, but I really need a full-service carrier.  I go through crazy amounts of data (tethering to my laptop).  Also with all the international travel I do, it's nice to just show up in a foreign country and use my phone like I do at home.  Sometimes speeds are slower (but not always), but I don't have to worry about getting a foreign sim or incurring heaps of roaming charges.

Not for everyone, but in the event you're like me, these are the things you lose by going with the discount options.

And TMobile customer service is awesome.  Another reason I've stuck with them for close to a decade now.

 

[UncleZen]

I've been with T-Mobile for over 10 years now and have zero interest in switching. Their customer service is 2nd to none. I pay around $100 for 4 lines, unlimited, with military discount. 

 

[Doug B]

And TMobile customer service is awesome.  Another reason I've stuck with them for close to a decade now.

Heh. Maybe it's better once the service starts ... but I'm trying to switch to T-Mobile and I've already found the customer service pretty dismal. After making a big deal on the phone to double-check how many SIM cards we needed ... they still sent us out one SIM card too few and are making it a hassle to get another one at a local T-Mobile store.

 

[Runkle]

I've used both Mint and USMobile in the past, both use T-Mobile's network and were priced at about $15 a month. Downside is they don't have priority on the network... they don't get all the towers all the time.

I ended up switching to a T-Mobile plan that was priced the same... $15 a month, so didn't see the need to be secondary for the same cost. 

 

[Harry Frogfish]

I've used both Mint and USMobile in the past, both use T-Mobile's network and were priced at about $15 a month. Downside is they don't have priority on the network... they don't get all the towers all the time.

I ended up switching to a T-Mobile plan that was priced the same... $15 a month, so didn't see the need to be secondary for the same cost. 

15 bucks a month at T-Mobile???  I just bought the new iPhone (from Apple) and switched to T-Mobile.  There's nobody else on my plan and I do not use it that frequently.  No gaming, social, etc.

I'm paying like 80 bucks a month!  Magenta plan.  How in the world did you get a $15 plan?   I saw nothing close to that when I signed up (in-store).

 

[Rich Conway]

This will definitely be region-specific, as service varies from town to town.  My town, for example, has atrocious AT&T service.  Next town over is much better for AT&T, worse for Verizon.

Personally, I like Google Fi, especially with 3+ lines.  $90 for 3 lines of unlimited talk/text/data.  Data throttling doesn't happen until 20 GB per line.  If you have a fully-compatible phone (i.e. one of the ones Google sells on their Fi store), it will use both T-Mobile and Sprint towers, flipping back and forth as needed.  This feature works really well.

 

[apalmer]

Big fan of xFinity mobile. Wife and I pay a total of $17/mo. for two lines. We share 1 Gig of data (since we're connected to wifi 90% of the time, we've never gone over that), but it's only $10/gig over that. Uses Verizon towers. Of course the catch is you need some other xFinity service to get it (either internet or tv).

 

[Runkle]

15 bucks a month at T-Mobile???  I just bought the new iPhone (from Apple) and switched to T-Mobile.  There's nobody else on my plan and I do not use it that frequently.  No gaming, social, etc.

I'm paying like 80 bucks a month!  Magenta plan.  How in the world did you get a $15 plan?   I saw nothing close to that when I signed up (in-store).

Unlimited talk & text, 2.5gb of data per month: https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/home

 

[Doug B]

Personally, I like Google Fi, especially with 3+ lines.  $90 for 3 lines of unlimited talk/text/data.  Data throttling doesn't happen until 20 GB per line.  If you have a fully-compatible phone (i.e. one of the ones Google sells on their Fi store), it will use both T-Mobile and Sprint towers, flipping back and forth as needed.  This feature works really well.

Month-to-month, or paid up for 12 months in advance?

If that's the month-to-month rate ... that the easy winner in the clubhouse for those not using iPhones.

 

[Doug B]

Unlimited talk & text, 2.5gb of data per month: https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/home

T-Mobile is great if you don't need a lot of cellular data.

 

[Rich Conway]

Month-to-month, or paid up for 12 months in advance?

If that's the month-to-month rate ... that the easy winner in the clubhouse for those not using iPhones.

Month to month on Google Fi.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

 

[culdeus]

15 bucks a month at T-Mobile???  I just bought the new iPhone (from Apple) and switched to T-Mobile.  There's nobody else on my plan and I do not use it that frequently.  No gaming, social, etc.

I'm paying like 80 bucks a month!  Magenta plan.  How in the world did you get a $15 plan?   I saw nothing close to that when I signed up (in-store).

A lot of people got grandfather in to some stupid low rates when Walmart fronted them.   My wife had a $30 unlimited everything.  We left that for Mint. If she used any data at all we would have stayed with it till the sun burned out. 

 

[Bogart]

Left my 10+ year relationship with AT&T today to try out Mint Mobile, $45 for three months. My brother and I shared an account that was "grandfathered unlimited data" that for a while was worth it's weight in gold, but now was just extremely overpriced at $105 per line.

Going to give Mint a couple of weeks (shouldn't be an issue living in the DFW area) and then move my daughter over to Family Plan, adding a second $15/month line, leaving her $60 prepaid per month plan.

Ironically, was trying to combine our two phones with my AT&T Internet, but after a month of calls, AT&T couldn't figure out how to do it and keep our current numbers.

 

[moleculo]

I've done Cricket for a few years.  $125/month for 5 lines.  Only complaint I've had is when I got cell phones for my two daughters, neither of the numbers they gave me are local - both of my kids have different area codes.

 

[[icon]]

I did AT&T prepaid. $25 a month when you pay for the whole year in advance. I use wifi when home and have never come near my data limit. Works with any unlocked phone I think. Don't notice any speed issues.

This is tempting. I love VZW but if they won't match this I may have to switch. 
 

is it just a flat $300/12mo? 
No "device fee" per phone or anything? 
 

Are there any downsides to prepaid vs Postpaid? Can you still add international service if you want? 

 

[identikit]

I've done Cricket for a few years.  $125/month for 5 lines.  Only complaint I've had is when I got cell phones for my two daughters, neither of the numbers they gave me are local - both of my kids have different area codes.

Sure sign...