Changes to Sprint Premier Program

[thegov]

Just got off phone with sprint customer service. I will be with Sprint for 10 years in may. as of my june billing cycle i will automatically be upgraded to gold status. won't have to wait a year...

 

[Mikey47]

So does that mean you can bump your plan 3 months before a possible year upgrade with a phone to go gold?

I do believe so yes.
But you have to maintain that average for 3 months and they get your upgrade in the 4th month. So effectively you will be paying 4 months at the additional rate to get your $150. In my case, I have the $129 family plan, I would end up paying an extra $160 to get the $150 upgrade. Worth it? definitely not...

 

[westeman]

Looking to upgrade my launch day Pre, I found that Best Buy had the Shift on sale for $99 with new contract (got it on the last day of special price, shwoo). While purchasing, they told me about their buy back program which is also on promo for free. With this plan, who cares about Sprints upgrade. In 12 months when I am looking for a new phone, BB will credit me $275 for my Shift (even though I only paid $99) towards the purchase of my new phone. No new contract required either.

Just so you are aware: You can receive up to 50% of the retail price within the first 6 months. Within the 6-12month range you can receive up to 40%. 12-18 months up to 30% and 18-24 months up to 20%

So depending on the condition of the phone at 12 months you could receive up to $220.

*edit* whenever you buy a phone at full retail from best buy, please have them price match sprint. because for example the Evo Shift @ bb is $549.99, while at Sprint it is $399.99

 

[b3nthebull]

In regards to the ETF waiving, I just got mine waived, had to spend 2-3 hours on the phone and call in twice, but make sure to talk to a supervisor and threaten to go to arbitration and they should waive it, it is cheaper for them to lose a $100-200 ETF than to go to arbitration, which they stand a chance of losing.

(It is not a breach of contract, but it could be considered false advertising, the premier benefits were heavily pushed on me when I bought the phone, don't know if that was the case for anyone else).

Now to wait for the HTC pyramid to come out, T-mobile's coverage blows Sprint out of the water here, would have switched already if they had a phone I liked.

 

[MTKnife]

I'm curious about why the Android Central blog hasn't mentioned the Sprint Premier change at all. Does that strike anyone else as odd?

 

[Fubie]

What's really fun is listening to everyone who says "Whew, I'm over 10 sucks to be you guys". That's really helpful.

I have been with Sprint around 5 years now and have the Everything Data Family 1500 and barely touch the minutes. My bill is already $220 / mo with 5 lines. In order to qualify I would have to spend at a minimum another $40 a month for 1500 more minutes I won't use. To bad for Sprint I was very happy with the customer service and can do attitude. But that appears to be gone. I was more than willing to keep upgrading yearly to the hot new phone, but I'm pretty certain I am going to let all of my lines go and search else where.

What else can we "suckers" do?

 

[anthonylokrn]

What's really fun is listening to everyone who says "Whew, I'm over 10 sucks to be you guys". That's really helpful.

I have been with Sprint around 5 years now and have the Everything Data Family 1500 and barely touch the minutes. My bill is already $220 / mo with 5 lines. In order to qualify I would have to spend at a minimum another $40 a month for 1500 more minutes I won't use. To bad for Sprint I was very happy with the customer service and can do attitude. But that appears to be gone. I was more than willing to keep upgrading yearly to the hot new phone, but I'm pretty certain I am going to let all of my lines go and search else where.

What else can we "suckers" do?

+1.

I'm switching to Verizon once I get to test out the Motorola Bionic. Sprint only had two things going that made me switch to them for the Evo--price and early upgrade. Well WiMax turned out to be a major bust for me since I can never lock onto a strong signal and the constant scanning chugs my battery.

Spring lost themselves a future family plan account.

 

[grape8pe2]

I personally came from AT&T and now I'm thinking about going back. The reason? 3 actually:

1. Change in Premier. AT&T still rewards loyalty: AT&T Upgrade Advantage

2. Changes in how they handle customers who are under manufacturer's warranty that need service or repair but do not have TEP. It's a nightmare to get anything fixed now.

3. Price, when I upgrade my line, my price will go up ($10 data) and I'm getting less per dollar than when I signed up. AT&T now has include any mobile on any network as part of the family texting plan. This makes AT&T basically the same price as Sprint.

Conclusion, I came to Sprint because of price and customer support. Now at those are being taken from customers like me, I am losing my incentive to stay.

 

[Phljjs]

In regards to the ETF waiving, I just got mine waived, had to spend 2-3 hours on the phone and call in twice, but make sure to talk to a supervisor and threaten to go to arbitration and they should waive it, it is cheaper for them to lose a $100-200 ETF than to go to arbitration, which they stand a chance of losing.

(It is not a breach of contract, but it could be considered false advertising, the premier benefits were heavily pushed on me when I bought the phone, don't know if that was the case for anyone else).

This interests me greatly. I was with Verizon for about 7 years before I switched to Sprint. I researched for a few months before the move because I had friends that had bad coverage with Sprint in the past.
The Premier benefits were pushed on me and that I'd get them immediately because of my employer discount and not have to wait a few months for them to take effect.
Ultimately, I ended up adding a second line later because I was so happy with my coverage, pricing and Premier program. Now, the "Premium data fees," and the "de-value-ing" of the Premier benefits have me a little unhappy with Sprint. If they had grandfathered existing customers/ contracts and only made the changes effective for new customers and renewals, that would be fine. But to just make a change effective on a certain date, unilaterally,is not cool. One of the reasons I switched was because I like to have " the next big thing" and the upgrade discounts/ Premier let me have that. Wait 22 months for a new phone? No thanks.

 

[simon.ponder]

What's really fun is listening to everyone who says "Whew, I'm over 10 sucks to be you guys". That's really helpful.

I have been with Sprint around 5 years now and have the Everything Data Family 1500 and barely touch the minutes. My bill is already $220 / mo with 5 lines. In order to qualify I would have to spend at a minimum another $40 a month for 1500 more minutes I won't use. To bad for Sprint I was very happy with the customer service and can do attitude. But that appears to be gone. I was more than willing to keep upgrading yearly to the hot new phone, but I'm pretty certain I am going to let all of my lines go and search else where.

What else can we "suckers" do?

I am in the exact same boat as you, except I have been with sprint for over 7 years, but I have the same plan. This is basic #*&%ing with sand in the Vaseline to loyal paying customers.

Sent from my Gingerbreaded NookColor using Tapatalk...

 

[MissJennell#IM]

This interests me greatly. I was with Verizon for about 7 years before I switched to Sprint. I researched for a few months before the move because I had friends that had bad coverage with Sprint in the past.
The Premier benefits were pushed on me and that I'd get them immediately because of my employer discount and not have to wait a few months for them to take effect.
Ultimately, I ended up adding a second line later because I was so happy with my coverage, pricing and Premier program. Now, the "Premium data fees," and the "de-value-ing" of the Premier benefits have me a little unhappy with Sprint. If they had grandfathered existing customers/ contracts and only made the changes effective for new customers and renewals, that would be fine. But to just make a change effective on a certain date, unilaterally,is not cool. One of the reasons I switched was because I like to have " the next big thing" and the upgrade discounts/ Premier let me have that. Wait 22 months for a new phone? No thanks.

HAHAHAHAHAHAH! So you can go back to verizon, spend more and get less and STILL wait 22 months for a new phone! Sounds like a winning plan.

 

[skafri#WN]

HAHAHAHAHAHAH! So you can go back to verizon, spend more and get less and STILL wait 22 months for a new phone! Sounds like a winning plan.

Verizon has 1 year contracts that you can upgrade at 10 months. One year contracts don't even exist on Sprint. Oh, I save about $10 a month over Sprint as well, because my whole family doesn't need data.


Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[MissJennell#IM]

Verizon has 1 year contracts that you can upgrade at 10 months. One year contracts don't even exist on Sprint. Oh, I save about $10 a month over Sprint as well, because my whole family doesn't need data.


Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

So not having as much as what you have with sprint. I am all for people using what works best for them. But some of the 'exuses' they use to switch is ridiculous. For me personally I save over $100 a month (A MONTH!!!) having Sprint. With that savings I can pay for a new phone out right every 3-4 months!! Which I actually do. Haha. But in all seriousness, people are blowing all of this WAY out of proportion. To the point it is actually funny.

 

[Verdes8891]

So not having as much as what you have with sprint. I am all for people using what works best for them. But some of the 'exuses' they use to switch is ridiculous. For me personally I save over $100 a month (A MONTH!!!) having Sprint. With that savings I can pay for a new phone out right every 3-4 months!! Which I actually do. Haha. But in all seriousness, people are blowing all of this WAY out of proportion. To the point it is actually funny.

I will agree with you on this all the way. I have 3 phones on my plan right now. Between the 3 of us it is about 180 a month with a EVO, Epic and EVO Shift. If i was going to be on a Verizon or AT&T plan, that would easily be well over 250 or even higher. Plus Sprint is getting better coverage in my areas then those 2 anyways. Ill deal with the upgrade issues over having better coverage and a cheaper bill.

 

[PSYCHOTRON_CB]

I am pretty sure sprint gives the option for a 1 year contract even with a high end phone. They adjust the price of the phone is all.

 

[gvndeb60]

Dropping the Premier wasn't a deal breaker, but it is taking away a huge a bonus.

 

[WatermelonSlim]

Dropping the Premier wasn't a deal breaker, but it is taking away a huge a bonus.

Forcing everyone to get an everything plan wasn't a deal breaker, adding the $10 fee wasn't a deal breaker, dropping the premier wasn't a deal breaker...

Sprint better be careful, because at some point all the little things will add up to be a big fat deal breaker.

 

[Robbzilla]

One year contracts don't even exist on Sprint.

They absolutely have 1 year contracts. Please do your research beforeposting.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

 

[Fubie]

I'm not quite sure about everyone's numbers being thrown around but here is what I and a co-worker have for comparison:

I have the Sprint Everything Data Family 1500 with 5 lines. I currently only have one line with the "premium" data $10 charge. My bill with discounts and taxes is $221 / mo.

My Co-worker has Verizon Family Share Talk and Text 1400 with 5 lines. He has 5 smart phones and pays the additional data fee's. His bill is $250 / mo with discounts and taxes.

Yes this is still more, but not the "I'd be paying hundreds more on Verizon/AT&T..." I keep hearing. In fact if I stay with Sprint, I'm looking at my bill going up another $40 / mo minimum, guaranteed by Sprint, for the additional data charge. Now our bills aren't looking so different.

 

[Verdes8891]

I'm not quite sure about everyone's numbers being thrown around but here is what I and a co-worker have for comparison:

I have the Sprint Everything Data Family 1500 with 5 lines. I currently only have one line with the "premium" data $10 charge. My bill with discounts and taxes is $221 / mo.

My Co-worker has Verizon Family Share Talk and Text 1400 with 5 lines. He has 5 smart phones and pays the additional data fee's. His bill is $250 / mo with discounts and taxes.

Yes this is still more, but not the "I'd be paying hundreds more on Verizon/AT&T..." I keep hearing. In fact if I stay with Sprint, I'm looking at my bill going up another $40 / mo minimum, guaranteed by Sprint, for the additional data charge. Now our bills aren't looking so different.

Yea but now realize this, discounts can make the whole difference. And how much is your family talking compared to your coworkers? Sprint lets you talk to any cell phone for free on that plan and Verizons does not.

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