Cell Phone Plans That Buy Out Contracts
Only T-Mobile provides you with the lowest upfront cost on the latest devices with no annual service contract and no overages on an award-winning nationwide 4G LTE network. With our Magenta plans, we separate the cost of the device from the cost of your service. Bring your own eligible device and your monthly bill is even less! Now that's what we call better wireless. Learn more about the perks of joining T-Mobile.
cell phone plans that buy out contracts
You can trade in your old, working phone or device for credit towards a new purchase with T-Mobile's Device Trade-in Program. It is not required that your trade-in device was purchased from T-Mobile. When you activate your T-Mobile account, you can apply that trade-in credit to your bill. To get started, go to Device Trade-In and follow the on-screen instructions.
Please note that third-party financing plans are not covered, nor are most accessory payment plans. One offer per line, up to 5 lines. All lines must be activated in the same T-Mobile market with the same billing address.
Once you have received your final bill containing the ETF charge and/or device payment plan balance from your old carrier, go to switch2tmobile.com within 30 days of activating your T-Mobile plan and upload a copy or image of your final bill to request reimbursement. We only need the page(s) of your bill that reflect your name, address, phone number(s) and Early Termination Fees (ETFs) and/or device payment plan amounts. You can either upload a PDF copy of your e-bill from your previous carrier, or you can scan or take a picture(s) of the page(s) with this information and upload the images online.
It is a card that can be used at any MasterCard merchant that accepts online or telephone payments. It allows you to make immediate, real-time payments and easily view fund balance information. The Card is issued by Sunrise Banks N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. Use of this card constitutes acceptance of the terms and conditions stated in the Cardholder Agreement.
Receive up to $504 promo credit ($180 w/Welcome Unlimited, $360 w/ 5G Start, or $504 w/5G Do More, 5G Play More, 5G Get More or One Unlimited for iPhone plan (Welcome Unlimited and One Unlimited for iPhone plans can't be mixed w/other Unlimited plans; all lines on the account req'd on respective plans)) when you add a new smartphone line with your own 4G/5G smartphone on an eligible postpaid plan between 2/10/23 and 4/5/23. Promo credit applied over 36 months; promo credits end if eligibility requirements are no longer met.
Carriers occasionally offer special promotions. Each month, for example, Verizon offers a range of switch deals for folks switching from other carriers like AT&T or T-Moble to Verizon. Other popular offers include cell phone discounts or extra money for a trade-in when you switch.
Also, look out for deals that could save you money on third party streaming and subscription services with cell phone plans. For example, Verizon offers plans that include services such as Hulu, Disney +, ESPN+, Apple Music, and Apple Arcade.
What's the best phone in 2023? It may seem like a simple question, but it's anything but. Smartphones are so good these days, and while it's great having so many excellent options to choose from, it also means that finding the perfect one for you can be a challenge.
That's why we're here to help. Below, you'll find our picks for the best phones you can buy right now. Whether you're a longtime iPhone fan, are a diehard Android user, or you're open to any smartphone, we think you'll find something on this list that'll suit you perfectly.
Now, consider the Cricket Wireless option. You pay $649 for the phone, and then $45/month after that. If you stick with the plan for two years, that comes out to $1,729 total, $430 cheaper than the AT&T contract.*
Our rating of the Best Cheap Cell Phone Plans of 2023 consists of prepaid and postpaid plans that cost less than $40 per month per line. Including autopay and other discounted pricing, the average cost of plans in our Best Cell Phone Plans of 2023 rating is about $47 per month, whereas plans that make our Best Cheap Cell Phone Plans rating start around $20 per month. Depending on the plan you choose, this can add up to significant savings.
Most families want a cell phone plan that covers the basics like talking and texting and includes flexibility for members who may use more or less data. Unlimited and shared plans do a good job at this because many offer unlimited data or data that rolls over and can be split between family members without causing extra fees from overages. Plans that made our Best Family Cell Phone Plans of 2023 rating have free calls between family members on the plan, offer a minimum of two lines, have a single bill, provide shared data or a specific allotment of data per line.
Many seniors have set budgets and are in retirement or close to it. Wireless companies like T-Mobile, Mint Mobile, and Consumer Cellular, offer discounts, plans, or cell phones designed with seniors in mind. Other plans, like Tello Economy, are prepaid, simplistic, and low-cost.
Some companies even practice deprioritization between different plan tiers. In some cases, customers that pay for higher-cost plans may receive access to faster data transfer speeds than other customers, as well.
When it comes to cell phone plans, there are three types: prepaid, pay-as-you-go and postpaid. The most common type, which are postpaid plans, allow you to set up service with a provider and then pay a bill each month. Providers that offer these plans include Verizon and T-Mobile. Verizon places in our Best Unlimited Cell Phone Plans of 2023, and T-Mobile places in our Best Family Cell Phone Plans of 2023.
Prepaid plans allow you to buy service for a specific amount of time. Some providers that offer prepaid plans include Mint Mobile and Visible Unlimited, with both placing in our Best Prepaid Cell Phone Plans of 2023.
Determining the best cell phone plan for you can be difficult. There are several providers to choose from and one provider may have multiple plans. Here are some questions you should ask yourself before you purchase a plan:
There are companies like Mint Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile that function as mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) on other networks like T-Mobile or Verizon. These customers might experience slower data during high traffic times due to data prioritization. So, MVNOs might have cheaper plans, but it could result in slower data speeds from time-to-time.
The average cost of cell phone plans in the Best Cell Phone Plans of 2023 rating is $47 per month. The average cost of a prepaid plan making our list is $27 a month, and the average cost of the Best Cheap Cell Phone Plans is $20 per month. Prices for all plans we reviewed range from $10 per month to $80 per month for a single line.
Most plans in our rating have various options, including additional high-speed data, mobile hotspot data, and streaming services. Although unlimited data is included in all the plans, most cell phone service providers offer additional high-speed data, charging by the gigabyte. For example, Google Fi provides additional data for $10 per GB. This is a convenient way to pay only for the data you use; however, it can increase your bottom line each month.
Some extras can help you stay secure while online or using your cell phone. T-Mobile offers Scam Shield, which helps block scam calls, for example. Google Fi includes a virtual private network (VPN) for devices with an Android 8.1 or higher operating system. A VPN helps hide your personal information from prying eyes on the internet.
We compared the available cell phone plans provided by our top cell phone plan companies across several criteria, including monthly cost, data and hotspot limits, network types, and add-ons. Research shows that these are the most important criteria for people shopping for a cell phone plan. We then narrowed the list down to the 10 best cell phone plans using aggregate data points with a focus on professional and consumer reviews.
Cell phone family plans should have advantages for the whole family over other individual plans. For this subrating, we include plans that offer free in-family calling, share a single monthly bill, share data or per line allotment, and require a minimum of two lines.
Cell phone plans for seniors should be easy to sign up for and offer incentives or discounts. For this subrating, we looked for plans that did not require any contracts, offered discounts for people above the age of 55 or AARP members. If no discounts were available, we looked for plans with a price threshold of $40 or less.
T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint are now willing to pay an early termination fee or part of your remaining phone lease when you move to their networks (see below). With the end of two-year contract plans, the way you get a new phone installment plan is different. They generally now work like this:
The most important aspect of choosing a network is finding one that works in your area. This makes it hard for us to give a blanket recommendation of any one carrier. For example, T-Mobile's service in New York may be excellent, but if you're in rural Iowa, Verizon is more reliable.
Then, of course, there are the plans themselves. Below is a comparison of some of the latest plans from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. For this chart, we focused on each carrier's cheapest plan, as well as their respective "middle" options that we think could make sense for most people.
With these longer timelines you can get a flagship phone for significantly less, but you need to stay on that carrier (and potentially with a pricier unlimited plan) for two or three years. If you leave before that time has passed, you risk needing to pay out the balance owed on the phone, which some providers require before they "unlock" the device to be used on other networks. 041b061a72