Sprint offers to cut AT&T and Verizon customers' bills in half

[diesteldorf]

I know someone who is looking at switching to Sprint from Verizon for this reason. They have one phone and one tablet with two gigabytes of data on each and the bill is around $100. Are you saying that with this plan though it would go down to $50. She is looking at switching but is not sure if to switch to T Mobile or Sprint as of yet. She lives out in the country so signal is important. I am thinking T Mobile might have slightly better signal but I am Not sure. Any ideas or suggestions. Also with Sprint and tmobile how is the service inside a building? We are very interested in this cut your bill in half promo sounds very sweet.

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If she lives in the country, I would definitely find a way to test the network via prepaid (Virgin Mobile, Boost, Sprint) or postpaid before she does this deal with Sprint---trades in old phones and finances new phones--Otherwise, it would be harder to undo this if she needs to. Also, have her check with friends in her area that may have Sprint to see what they think.

If her signal and service is good during the test period, she may want to go through with the switch, Sprint will cut the data fees and the line access fees by 50%, so if her bill with Verizon was $40 phone + $10 tablet + $50 2 GB data, it would be $20 + $5 + $25 with Sprint=$50 for the plan.

However, keep in mind that the Verizon prices include the ability to get discounted phones in two years. Sprint's price means she will need to finance the full cost of her devices over 24 months.

Let's say her new Sprint phone is $500 full retail and her tablet is $250. She would pay Sprint 500/24=$20.83 per month for the phone and 250/24=$10.42 for the tablet. Her total Sprint bill would be $50 for the plan and $20.83 +10.42=$31.25 for the equipment=$81.25 vs. $100 with Verizon before taxes.

She'll also have to give Sprint her current Verizon phone and tablet to get this deal. However, she has the opportunity to give them whatever tablet or smartphone she wants, as long as it is in good condition and active on her Verizon plan before she makes the switch. I had a $600+ phone activated on my Verizon account that I switched with a $10 Blackberry. The Blackberry is what I gave Sprint.

In my opinion, this deal is OK on the surface, but paying $100 with Verizon vs. $81.25 with Sprint won't matter if gets poorer service with Sprint. She may want to just call Verizon and ask them if they have any offers or promotions that will lower her bill. If she incurs any ETF fees for leaving Verizon, Sprint will pay those too, but it is a separate promotion and takes 2-3 months to process.

https://promo.sprint.com/Registration/BuyoutOffersLanding?ECID=vanity:join2015

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

[mdk32014]

Great I appreciate the help. Good information even though most of it I figured she would have to do anyway. The phone is a good idea as far as using a cheaper one instead of the one you have currently. She currently has a droid Motorola Max from Verizon and does not particularly want to keep it. I think trying out a prepaid service is probably the best way to go. I believe boost mobile even has pay by the day plans. That would be good for one or two days. That should be all that it takes.


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[mdk32014]

By the way she has now switched to t-mobile and seems to be satisfied.

 

[diesteldorf]

By the way she has now switched to t-mobile and seems to be satisfied.

Thanks for the update. If she incurred any ETF fees from Verizon, make sure she goes through the reimbursement process with Tmobile. I was with TMO before Sprint and got my $350 TMO Visa card after about 8 weeks.

 

[diesteldorf]

Re: Sprint offers to cut AT&T and Verizon customers' bills in half

Just wanted to provide another update:

I applied for the $350 ETF Reimbursement on February 8 and ddin't expect to see an update for awhile. However, after checking my submission status, I saw this:

"Your Visa ® Prepaid Card request has been approved. You should receive the Visa ® Prepaid Card at your shipping address within 12 weeks of your date of registration. For cards that were lost, stolen, or never received, you may call 877-855-7201. Once you receive your card, visit www.prepaid.citi.com/sprint to activate, check your balance and view your transaction history."

Granted, I don't have the card in hand yet, but this looks promising. My entire bill is around $60 per month for unlimited talk/text, 2 GB data, taxes, and my device monthly payment.

Sprint is top notch in my book.

Just wanted to finish the narrative and do some math for those that care.

I just got my $350 Visa card, after little more than 5 weeks from submitting by Final Verizon bill.

Activated the card and checked the balance to confirm it was real.

I activated a new line of service with Verizon, since I didn't want to give up my Unlimited Data.
Bought a Droid Turbo on 2 Year Contract for $138 after tax. It was during a holiday promo, so Verizon waived their normal activation fee.

I sold the Droid Turbo for around $420 profit.

Activated a $10 Blackberry Curve on the Verizon line. It was mint and in working order. The terms of Sprint's "Cut Your Bill In Half" specify that they need your current phone and will not give any trade in credit.

I walked into a Sprint dealer, Wireless Lifestyle on January 6 with my Verizon bill. They agreed to cut my $60 2 GB Verizon plan in half. I had to put down $75 toward the Nexus 6 plus tax=around $111.00

After talking the remaining $573 and dividing it by 24, my monthly device payment was just under $24.
With taxes, my bill comes to just under $60 per month and I've paid for 3 monthly bills so far.

I made $417 after selling the Droid Turbo and paid Verizon around $395, which included the $350 ETF, taxes, and a couple days of wireless service.

+$22 (Credit)

$111 Down Payment on Nexus 6
$60 per month x 3 months=$180. Total paid to Sprint so far=approximately $291 (Debit)

$350 Visa Gift Card (Credit)

350 + 22 -291=around $81 "profit"

Now, granted, I still owe around $500 on the Nexus 6, but I was planning to buy one anyway and chose Sprint instead of Google or Motorola.

Sprint isn't perfect, but it's pretty good where I live for around $35 per month after tax for Unlimited Talk/Text and 2 GB data.

When I travel outside of my home area or need more data, it's very easy to reconnect my suspended Verizon service.

My Sprint plan costs a little more than $1 a day and they've done everything they've advertised. After adding the the $350 Visa Card into the mixI got really close to actually saving the full 50% as advertised by the 'Cut Your Bill in Half Plan'

Sprint does charge an extra $7.99 per month, unless you agree to autopay and paperless billing. I felt a little forced, but ultimately signed up to avoid the fee. I'll probably keep this line for the full 2 years, since it's cheaper than my Verizon plan and works well when I don't need Unlimited Data.

A couple months ago, I wanted to try Tmobile, since they offered the 64 GB Nexus 6 and shipped the day after it was released. I got the $350 Gift Card from them and really had no need to give Sprint a try, but with their monthly service charge, it's a really good deal, even cheaper than TMO, with better service in my city. I'm not going to say they are better than TMO overall, but in my specific area they are better and cheaper.

My only real problem is that I have 2 Nexus 6s A 64 GB from TMO and a 32 GB from Sprint. I was only planning to order1 from Moto or Google directly, but the $700 from TMO and Sprint basically paid for one, so I can't complain.

If Sprint has any type of remotely decent service in your area, I would give them a try, though I still can't believe all the money they are paying out. Obviously, the Nexus 6 is a perfect phone for these promos, since you can use it with any North American carrier down the road.

I am wondering about their new promo that they will pay any fee and any amount to get people to switch. If you are asking them to pay off an equipment balance, the name of the device may be listed on your previous carrier's bill and Sprint may be expecting that specific device when you activate new Sprint service.

However, if the ETF Buyout still requires you give them your "current phone" at the time of Sprint activation, I'm surprised they haven't changed it.

When I handed over my mint Blackberry curve, the sales associate chuckled, looked at my old blackberry and the size of the new Nexus 6.

"This will be a Big Upgrade for you."

"Yes it will. Please give my Blackberry a good home."

"Of course, man. Thank you for being a new Sprint customer."

 

[ttwiitch]

Re: Sprint offers to cut AT&T and Verizon customers' bills in half

Just wanted to finish the narrative and do some math for those that care.

I just got my $350 Visa card, after little more than 5 weeks from submitting by Final Verizon bill.

Activated the card and checked the balance to confirm it was real.

I activated a new line of service with Verizon, since I didn't want to give up my Unlimited Data.
Bought a Droid Turbo on 2 Year Contract for $138 after tax. It was during a holiday promo, so Verizon waived their normal activation fee.

I sold the Droid Turbo for around $420 profit.

Activated a $10 Blackberry Curve on the Verizon line. It was mint and in working order. The terms of Sprint's "Cut Your Bill In Half" specify that they need your current phone and will not give any trade in credit.

I walked into a Sprint dealer, Wireless Lifestyle on January 6 with my Verizon bill. They agreed to cut my $60 2 GB Verizon plan in half. I had to put down $75 toward the Nexus 6 plus tax=around $111.00

After talking the remaining $573 and dividing it by 24, my monthly device payment was just under $24.
With taxes, my bill comes to just under $60 per month and I've paid for 3 monthly bills so far.

I made $417 after selling the Droid Turbo and paid Verizon around $395, which included the $350 ETF, taxes, and a couple days of wireless service.

+$22 (Credit)

$111 Down Payment on Nexus 6
$60 per month x 3 months=$180. Total paid to Sprint so far=approximately $291 (Debit)

$350 Visa Gift Card (Credit)

350 + 22 -291=around $81 "profit"

Now, granted, I still owe around $500 on the Nexus 6, but I was planning to buy one anyway and chose Sprint instead of Google or Motorola.

Sprint isn't perfect, but it's pretty good where I live for around $35 per month after tax for Unlimited Talk/Text and 2 GB data.

When I travel outside of my home area or need more data, it's very easy to reconnect my suspended Verizon service.

My Sprint plan costs a little more than $1 a day and they've done everything they've advertised. After adding the the $350 Visa Card into the mixI got really close to actually saving the full 50% as advertised by the 'Cut Your Bill in Half Plan'

Sprint does charge an extra $7.99 per month, unless you agree to autopay and paperless billing. I felt a little forced, but ultimately signed up to avoid the fee. I'll probably keep this line for the full 2 years, since it's cheaper than my Verizon plan and works well when I don't need Unlimited Data.

A couple months ago, I wanted to try Tmobile, since they offered the 64 GB Nexus 6 and shipped the day after it was released. I got the $350 Gift Card from them and really had no need to give Sprint a try, but with their monthly service charge, it's a really good deal, even cheaper than TMO, with better service in my city. I'm not going to say they are better than TMO overall, but in my specific area they are better and cheaper.

My only real problem is that I have 2 Nexus 6s A 64 GB from TMO and a 32 GB from Sprint. I was only planning to order1 from Moto or Google directly, but the $700 from TMO and Sprint basically paid for one, so I can't complain.

If Sprint has any type of remotely decent service in your area, I would give them a try, though I still can't believe all the money they are paying out. Obviously, the Nexus 6 is a perfect phone for these promos, since you can use it with any North American carrier down the road.

I am wondering about their new promo that they will pay any fee and any amount to get people to switch. If you are asking them to pay off an equipment balance, the name of the device may be listed on your previous carrier's bill and Sprint may be expecting that specific device when you activate new Sprint service.

However, if the ETF Buyout still requires you give them your "current phone" at the time of Sprint activation, I'm surprised they haven't changed it.

When I handed over my mint Blackberry curve, the sales associate chuckled, looked at my old blackberry and the size of the new Nexus 6.

"This will be a Big Upgrade for you."

"Yes it will. Please give my Blackberry a good home."

"Of course, man. Thank you for being a new Sprint customer."

Good read...lol

 

[jmsnyc]

I have a couple of questions, right now I have been on the Verizon Loyalty plan for about two years with the note 4 and have about a year left in contract. So my etf is about half of full I am guessing.

Though my Note 4 is not in great condition I think I can get around $350-$400 for it easily. Can I trade in an old Verizon phone, do they check? I have an LG enV VX9900, wondering if I need to activate it on my plan before trying to trade in that ancient piece of hardware.....

Also, how does Sprint handle overages? I have the $60, 2gb loyalty with $10 per gb overage, will Sprint do the same, charge me $10/gb overage,?

Thanks.

 

[diesteldorf]

I have a couple of questions, right now I have been on the Verizon Loyalty plan for about two years with the note 4 and have about a year left in contract. So my etf is about half of full I am guessing.

Though my Note 4 is not in great condition I think I can get around $350-$400 for it easily. Can I trade in an old Verizon phone, do they check? I have an LG enV VX9900, wondering if I need to activate it on my plan before trying to trade in that ancient piece of hardware.....

Also, how does Sprint handle overages? I have the $60, 2gb loyalty with $10 per gb overage, will Sprint do the same, charge me $10/gb overage,?

Thanks.

When I took advantage of the promotion, I did it at a Sprint authorized retailer. They had me login to my Verizon account a couple times to verify what plan I was on and the current device on my account.

It was back in January, at the beginning of the promotion, and the representative was not 100% sure how to proceed. However, they got the job done.

If you are planning to go into a Sprint store, I would definitely make sure the device you are giving them is the one that is currently active on your Verizon account, just in case.

If you are doing it online and mailing the phone to Sprint, you may not need to worry so much. However, I would be a little concerned if you gave them a basic non-smartphone. You may be OK, but you are taking a chance, since the $60 Verizon plan is for smartphones only.

In my case, I purchased a cheap Blackberry, mint condition, on Ebay and activated it on my Verizon account, prior to setting up my Sprint service. I also had the store print documentation and notate my new account that I had surrendered my phone and it was in good working order.

It's unclear how much checking and verification Sprint does with regard to your old Verizon account, but I would be cautious if you decide to give them a basic phone. If, however, you go through with it, please provide an update.

With regards to the overage policies, Sprint sets their own and you are also limited to 100 MBs of off-network roaming per month.

Sprint charges so many cents per kilobyte. When I did the math, I believe it worked out to around $15 per Gigabyte of overage.

I never went over and was happy to pay $30 for 2 GB of data, unlimited talk and text. However, if you are going over by 1-2 GB per month, you would also want to consider paying $60 (or $50 for Iphones) for Unlimited Everything. Good Luck.

 

[jmsnyc]

Thanks for your reply. One more question, Sprint's unlimited plan is $85 if you do 2 year contract with subsidized phone. That is a $25 surcharge for getting the phone at cheaper price. If you do half rate plan, I wonder if they let you do 2 yr contract price for same amount?

 

[diesteldorf]

Thanks for your reply. One more question, Sprint's unlimited plan is $85 if you do 2 year contract with subsidized phone. That is a $25 surcharge for getting the phone at cheaper price. If you do half rate plan, I wonder if they let you do 2 yr contract price for same amount?

It would be nice if they did, but I really wouldn't count on it, since all of their "current" plans charge an extra fee, as you mentioned, if you are on a 2 Year contract.

This plan, while wacky and atypical, is still a current plan and doesn't have any subsidy built in, just like the $60 unlimited everything plan.

Of course, I could be wrong, but I just don't see why Sprint would require a customer to finance a phone to qualify for this plan and then allow them to get a subsidized phone on 2 year contract, after they pay off their initial device.

Also, Sprint isn't completely clear, but they make it sound as if you could lose this plan completely if you upgrade to another device:

FAQs about the Cut Your Rate Plan in Half offer

One thing I don't like about Sprint is they will waive the initial $36 activation fee to sign up for this plan, BUT if you ever buy a device at FULL RETAIL or through EASY PAY in the future, they will charge you a $36 upgrade fee.

I can confirm this when I was trying to see if the system would allow me to buy a device before my Easy Pay plan was paid off. It allowed me to buy at full retail, but added the $36 upgrade fee.

Obviously, not everyone can shell out hundreds of dollars at one time for a phone, but, in the future, if you are going to finance a phone, I would try hard to avoid using Sprint.

On a $500 phone, $36 is just over 7%---still not huge, but why should I give Sprint $36 when I am paying full retail?

Aside from that little rant, if Sprint has decent coverage where you are, go for it, but be careful, since that $60 Verizon plan is grandfathered and no longer available.