I Just Switched Phone Carriers and I’m Excited About The Savings Potential
Cricket is one of the cheapest phone services and isn’t skimping on quality
Getting AT&T Service for Cricket Prices
Cricket is essentially the prepaid division of AT&T Wireless. They use the same towers and are capable of using the same bands. In 2014, AT&T bought them and it has been one of the more popular and profitable acquisitions for the company. I can basically use AT&T’s premium service without paying their premium prices.
Older Phone
My old phone was getting outdated anyway. It was a One Plus 6T on T-Mobile Prepaid. I had bought the device unlocked over a year ago for about $200. It is definitely going to last longer and I’m planning on selling it to someone who needs a cheap premium phone. It’s just that the phone will no longer get any more security updates and it certainly won’t get the latest Android update when it’s available.
New Phone with 5G
The new phone I purchased is the Samsung A32 5G phone. My old phone didn’t have the 5G band capabilities. My new phone does. That’s the difference. I took a hit with the storage capability. My old phone has 128 GB of storage vs 64 GB for my new phone but my new phone has an SD card slot capable of supporting up to 1 TB of additional storage. This is something I haven’t had in a phone in a while, since my LG G4, over 6 years ago.
Another great thing about my new phone is that it came with a discount. The retail price that the phone was $279.99. With my deal through switching to Cricket with my number from T-Mobile Prepaid, I only paid $59.99 with free shipping. The phone came the very next day after we ordered service. Mike and I got the same phone.
Low-Income Discount and Ad It Up
Because we are low-income, we also got the deal with the government plan. With Lifeline, you get an additional $30 off per month on any plan. The plan that Mike and I got was $90 a month for two phones with unlimited data, no slower speeds, and 15 GB of hotspot each. With the $30 discount, the price actually comes down to $60 a month with all taxes included.
On top of that, Cricket promotes an app called Ad It Up. Through Cricket’s App, you can earn additional savings on your bill every month, and depending on how much you do with it, you’ll get to stack additional savings on your future bills. You get points for everything you do through the app. You can do surveys, watch videos, ads, put ads on your lock screen, play mobile games, and much more, and all of that earns points towards paying your bill.
I’m Going to Overachieve My Way to the Lowest Bill Possible
I’m an overachiever. I’m going to attempt to earn enough points in our first month to pay off most of our bill, if not all of it. I’ve already earned 6,000 points on the first day. There is a promotion in the app right now to use 7,500 points towards a $5 credit to apply to the bill that can be used one time. I’m almost there on my first day.
To be fair, I did complete like 10 surveys and watched a few ads I didn’t really want to but the points will add up and save us so much more than we’ve ever saved on phone service before. If my partner and I literally earned enough points each to get to $30 in savings, we would cover our monthly bill every month. That doesn’t seem too daunting. I’m actually looking forward to the challenge.
The Trade-Off
I know I’m giving up some personal information to get there. These surveys and ads don’t come for free. I’m essentially allowing them to access my likes, dislikes, and personal preferences, but most companies are already doing that.
At least I’m getting paid to do it. I see it this way. I can’t work. I love to write. I have enough free time to do all of this. I might as well do something that’ll help me save money I desperately need. I’m no longer paying the $77.50 to T-Mobile Prepaid per month for their marginal service in my area for both of our phones.
AT&T is Simply the Best, So Cricket is a Great Value
T-Mobile tends to oversell its coverage and its value. They’re slipping a bit. AT&T is currently the number one when it comes to coverage nationwide. I used to work for Verizon and I know they claim they have the best coverage but it’s a marketing ploy. AT&T actually has the best coverage.
Parting from an Old Device is Such Bitter…Sweet Sorrow
I’m super excited to be getting more for my money now. I’m also happy to have an inexpensive, shiny new 5G phone. Mike and I got matching phones and we’re excited to learn them and navigate them. I’ll be making sure all of my data is transferred over and then I’ll be factory resetting my old phone and then listing on Swappa.com shortly. It’s an unlocked phone so it’ll work for any carrier. I just want to be able to recoup some of my money from my old phone and sell it to somebody who will appreciate it more than I will at this point.
