US Military AD, Retiree or Veteran - Cell Phone Savings!!

[Minuteman3]

Hope y'all are aware of T-Mobile's new military plan. I have 4 lines on my family plan (mine, my wife's, our son, and a niece), and by switching from AT&T (8 years) to T-Mobile I'm saving a bit over $110 ... A MONTH!!

And, I'm getting a ton of features that mirror the unlimited plan we had on AT&T ... plus more!! Unlimited calls, roaming, text, and data in the US/Canada/Mexico plus unlimited text and data in all of the countries I might ever visit. Also no taxes or fees tacked on (included in the flat rates), and I get my Netflix subscription for free now!!

As far as service goes, T-Mobile uses the same system (GSM) as AT&T and we have yet to have an issue anywhere we've gone. According to the coverage maps, the two networks are on par with each other, although sometimes I know folks have specific issues with each carrier.

So switching was a no brainer for us and it was easy to do (basically get new SIMS with a generic phone number, then call T-Mo to port our old numbers from AT&T to the new ones, and done!!).

There's something else I also like ... T-Mo has really made a commitment to better customer service and so far I think they are hitting the mark. For example, most (if not all) of the military plan customers are serviced by dedicated call center in Bellingham, Washington. If I dial 611, they answer almost all the time on the first or second ring (no voice recognition machine ... a real live person) with a "Hi Ken, thank you for your service ... what can I do for you?". A couple of times, they have been busy so I've been asked for a convenient time for a call back ... and they called back, on time, in person. Texting them through the iPhone app gets a response almost instantly.

Besides, how can you beat a company whose big time CEO has a YouTube show on Sundays called "Slow Cooker Sunday" where he shares recipes!!

Cheers

Ken

 

[Pa]

Sounds like a deal if it fits your usage profile and if you're in the right area.

We were with T-Mobile for 10 years on a cheap pay-as-you-go plan but their coverage in our area is very poor.

I'm extremely happy with the XFinity Mobile deal I'm on now, which uses the Verizon network. Just $16/mo for both my wife and I. Of course we really don't use the phones very much.

 

[Minuteman3]

Sounds like a deal if it fits your usage profile and if you're in the right area.

We were with T-Mobile for 10 years on a cheap pay-as-you-go plan but their coverage in our area is very poor.

I'm extremely happy with the XFinity Mobile deal I'm on now, which uses the Verizon network. Just $16/mo for both my wife and I. Of course we really don't use the phones very much.

We looked at Xfinity's plans when we upgraded some of our Xfinity stuff, but at $45 a line for no limits (and we all use at least 15-20GB a month, so unlimited is the way to go), we'd be at $180 plus taxes and fees. My T-Mo bill is $100 a month, period. For us, another big issue was roaming in and out of Canada, which Xfinity does not support. We're about a 3 hour drive from the border and have friends in Vancouver BC that we visit quite often. Really nice to not have to scramble getting our phones into "Airplane Mode" when we cross the border!!

Just a FYI - if your main issue with T-Mo was in your house, they have a nifty little gizmo that plugs into your internet router and forms a mini "cell tower" around your home that's available for free.

Ken

 

[Butlerkid]

Thanks for the information, Ken!

 

[BillM]

Thanks Ken,

I am retired Navy and switched to the T-Mobile Military plan. Our savings are $70 Per month plus they include Netflix $10/month plan in the package.

They also have a very good plan for those 55 and older that is almost as good a deal.

To top it off, you will actually talk to a person when you call them. It was Verizon’s horrible robot tech support that started me looking in the first place!

 

[web52]

Ex-Navy here. I have T-Mob now and on a trip to Oregon (southern loop through NM and Utah) and back (northern loop through Yellowstone and Wyoming -> Nebraska), the lack of ANY service was very discouraging. Theoretically they "share" ATT towers, but not_in_Yellowstone! I'm looking for cheaper alternatives. Currently the 2 of us are supposed to get 2gb each, but we start getting frozen out at below 1gb.

 

[Pa]

Ex-Navy here. I have T-Mob now and on a trip to Oregon (southern loop through NM and Utah) and back (northern loop through Yellowstone and Wyoming -> Nebraska), the lack of ANY service was very discouraging. Theoretically they "share" ATT towers, but not_in_Yellowstone! I'm looking for cheaper alternatives. Currently the 2 of us are supposed to get 2gb each, but we start getting frozen out at below 1gb.

If you are a Comcast internet subscriber, check out XFinity Mobile.

 

[McQ]

Hope y'all are aware of T-Mobile's new military plan. I have 4 lines on my family plan (mine, my wife's, our son, and a niece), and by switching from AT&T (8 years) to T-Mobile I'm saving a bit over $110 ... A MONTH!!

And, I'm getting a ton of features that mirror the unlimited plan we had on AT&T ... plus more!! Unlimited calls, roaming, text, and data in the US/Canada/Mexico plus unlimited text and data in all of the countries I might ever visit. Also no taxes or fees tacked on (included in the flat rates), and I get my Netflix subscription for free now!!

As far as service goes, T-Mobile uses the same system (GSM) as AT&T and we have yet to have an issue anywhere we've gone. According to the coverage maps, the two networks are on par with each other, although sometimes I know folks have specific issues with each carrier.

So switching was a no brainer for us and it was easy to do (basically get new SIMS with a generic phone number, then call T-Mo to port our old numbers from AT&T to the new ones, and done!!).

There's something else I also like ... T-Mo has really made a commitment to better customer service and so far I think they are hitting the mark. For example, most (if not all) of the military plan customers are serviced by dedicated call center in Bellingham, Washington. If I dial 611, they answer almost all the time on the first or second ring (no voice recognition machine ... a real live person) with a "Hi Ken, thank you for your service ... what can I do for you?". A couple of times, they have been busy so I've been asked for a convenient time for a call back ... and they called back, on time, in person. Texting them through the iPhone app gets a response almost instantly.

Besides, how can you beat a company whose big time CEO has a YouTube show on Sundays called "Slow Cooker Sunday" where he shares recipes!!

Cheers

Ken

Ken, thanks for the heads up. I switched to T-Mobile about a year and a half ago, when they began to offer the 55 years and over plan. I pay $60/month for two lines. Unlimited everything, includes Canada and Mexico.

Wondering if this military plan would be any better?

And for anyone doubting T-Mobile's coverage or speed, don't worry. They blew away both Verizon and AT&T in our area and in a huge 400 mile radius around us. But like ANY cellular carrier, there will be places where it just isn't that good. I had way more dead spots with AT&T. And my wife had more dead spots with Verizon.