As much as I dislike the fact that VZW is going to stick it to we loyal customers, the comparison of what I have now to what it would be really isn't that bad. Right now, I have a basic phone and a smart phone on a 700 minute plan. The total for the plan ($80), access charges ($9.99/each), and unlimited data ($29.99) is $129.97 (before taxes and excessive fees). If my wife wanted data, it would be $159.96. On the new shared plan, I would pay $30 for my basic phone, $40 for the smart phone, and $60 for 2GB of "shared" data. That total is $130, or a measley $0.03 more than what I'm paying now. And, if my wife wanted a smart phone, it would be $150 for both of us to have smart phones and share 4GB of data. Quite frankly, I stream music, upload tons of pics, message lots of friends and family, and use GPS quite a bit. I rarely bust the 2GB mark and, if I'm close, it's because I have had to uninstall and reinstall or install apps.
I just did a comparison for the "Let's Jump Ship to Sprint!" party, and I'm not impressed. Sure, I get unlimited data, voice, and text for the same cost, $129.99, but then get an extra $10/phone tacked on for "premium" data. So, instead of the same price, now we're looking at $20/month more for essentially the same plan. I'm not even looking at minutes, because my wife and I rarely use half of the 700 we get. With the new shared plans on VZW, I can get 4GB (essentially unlimited data) for my wife and I and pay the same as Sprint.
My experience with VZW customer service has been excellent. The service, in my opinion, is second to none. I was with Sprint for 5 years and AT&T for 2 years before moving to VZW. Unless a lot of things have drastically changed since then, the grass isn't greener (in my opinion). Is it worth the headache to pay for new devices and switch carriers to save what may be less than $5/month with Sprint? I don't think so. I would compare AT&T plans, but let's face it: I'll never go back to AT&T.
"Thanks for the info! I'm still not sure what I'm going to do. I can upgrade now and be grandfathered in, but in 2 years I will have to choose a different plan anyway. At least I have some time to figure it out"
Not if you are willing to pay full price for the phone. You can continue to get unlimited data if you don't get a subsidized phone and sign a new contract. This is what I will be doing. I don't abuse my data plan but just watching one or two movies from Netflix on your phone will blow right through your cap for the month very quickly.
If I do decide to stick with Verizon to take advantage of my unlimited plan (which I got suckered into buying the charge for in the first place), I'll probably just pick up a used 4G device around that time. I have another year left on my contract so a decent 4G phone around now should be going on craigslist or something like that for a reasonable price. anyone know if you can get any form of warranty for used phones like that, either from square trade or verizon's insurance thingy?
boobdole wrote:
If I do decide to stick with Verizon to take advantage of my unlimited plan (which I got suckered into buying the charge for in the first place), I'll probably just pick up a used 4G device around that time. I have another year left on my contract so a decent 4G phone around now should be going on craigslist or something like that for a reasonable price. anyone know if you can get any form of warranty for used phones like that, either from square trade or verizon's insurance thingy?
i'm fairly certain verizon won't cover it. you could look into square trade. i would have to believe there is SOME option out there. you can insure a used car, used jewelry, etc, etc....so i would think someone would insure (but maybe not warranty) it. i also believe some auto and homeowner policies allow you to add a phone to it so it may be worth calling your insurance company for your car or home.
The problem I foresee with that is that both home and car insurance have very high deductibles that likely wouldn't be worth it for a phone but it might be worth a call all the same. Thanks for the suggestion!
true. my homeowner policy wouldn't make any sense, but if your auto deductible is only $250 then it would be better than nothing (plus they would likely allow you to pick out something brand new vs a refurb, older model). it still seems like there should be more options than asurion and square trade, but i don't insure my phones so i really don't know much about any of it.
I talked to a verizon rep today and she said because I am eligible for my upgrade, if I do it by August 1, my unlimited plan will be grandfathered in for this last contract. After that I am most likely going to be leaving Verizon.
murph1108 wrote:
I talked to a verizon rep today and she said because I am eligible for my upgrade, if I do it by August 1, my unlimited plan will be grandfathered in for this last contract. After that I am most likely going to be leaving Verizon.
Considering the Share Everything plans go into effect on Jun 28th, I'm going to say that rep has no idea what she's talking about.
can you please recap for me? this is my first post to this site?
but this is what I understand this post to be saying,
we must upgrade before June 28th in order to get our discount AND keep our unlimited data?
or the alternative is after June 28th pay full retail for phones to keep the unlimited data?
??
I know I thought that was weird too. I have the transcript from the chat and it says that the information she was given I will be able to keep my unlimited data witht this coming upgrade if done before August. But I will lose it come the next upgrade. Before i do anything I am going to talk to someone else to see if they say the same thing.
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
