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A regular Verizon plan with tethering that supports the "free" phones costs the same in three months for what I pay for a year of service on Mint. But sure, th

A regular Verizon plan with tethering that supports the "free" phones costs the same in three months for what I pay for a year of service on Mint. But sure, the phone was "free". $2,880 for a Verizon plan with a "free" phone (3 year commitment after all), $720 for three years of my current Mint plan. I could spend $2k on a phone over those three years and I'd still have spent less money.

garciasn 2y ago
Based on the Mint website, it appears to be $360 up-front + $360 or $720 for their 'unlimited' annual which I don't know if it includes tethering. I pay ~$684 for VZW for the year, for unlimited w/tethering and HBO Max + Netflix.
- vel0city 2y ago
  Mint's unlimited is $30/mo when purchasing a year up front. The only "plus" is taxes and fees. It includes tethering. So even with whatever deal you've got going on its still $324/yr cheaper, $972 cheaper after a three-year commitment (if applicable in your case). The "free" phone only applies to Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Ultimate. At a single line for Plus that's $80/mo. $960/yr. $2,880 over that three-year commitment. But either way, I don't bother with the "unlimited" plans. You're going to get de-rated after 30-40gigs anyways on Verizon. > Unlimited data is restricted to on-device smartphone usage. After exceeding 30 GB/mo of 5G Ultra Wideband, 5G, or 4G LTE mobile hotspot data, mobile hotspot data reduced to speeds up to 3 Mbps when on 5G Ultra Wideband and 600 Kbps when on 5G / 4G LTE for the rest of your monthly billing cycle. https://www.verizon.com/support/important-plan-information/ https://www.verizon.com/support/important-plan-information/ "Unlimited" plan you're paying $80/mo for that you're going to get 600Kbps if you really treat it as "unlimited". I personally don't even use all of my 15GB a month. I get lots of people live different lifestyles, but a lot of people don't need "unlimited". So really, I'm not even spending $360/yr, I'm spending $240/yr. $444/yr cheaper than your plan. $1,332 cheaper after three years.
  - Dylan16807 2y ago
    I think you misread, that throttle is for the hotspot data. And honestly that's a lot better than most throttles. Though it seems silly they even bother to throttle 5G Ultra Wideband. Are those antennas ever going to be heavily loaded with how short their range is?
- dangus 2y ago
  Max and Netflix with Ads That is an important distinction. Those plans together only represent a $17/month value. And that value is assuming you actually watch both of them regularly. You would almost certainly save money using an MVNO and a not-brand-new-super-pro phone.
  - vel0city 2y ago
    And I already get Max through my home ISP anyways, so really only $8/mo extra value. But I wouldn't watch Netflix With Ads anyways, so really $0 for me. But that $80/mo plan I quoted doesn't even include the streaming services. That's just the regular data plan rate for a single line. Adding Max + Netflix (With Ads) is another $10/mo, so $90/mo compared to the $20/mo I'm paying now. Note, when looking at Verizon's website, the big advertized rate numbers show the per-line rate with four lines.
paxys 2y ago
I pay $20/mo for Visible, and it works great. The average phone plan with a "free" iPhone from a major carrier is $100-120/mo with a minimum 3 year contract. So yeah, paying for your phone yourself is always significantly cheaper. You can even get a device payment plan if you want, and the payment plan + phone bill will still be cheaper than the bundle AT&T or Verizon offers you.
ewoodrich 2y ago
Historically I have never used carrier commitments and paid for phones outright but did it for the first time earlier this year with a targeted offer to get a iPhone 15 Pro from Verizon for basically a couple hundred bucks in taxes. Mostly because it felt like I was getting worst of both worlds paying for a single line Verizon post paid plan without taking advantage of any upgrade offers after my BYOD deal expired. But I'm now regretting it especially because I'm getting tired of constantly missing notifications on my iPhone being so used to persistent notification indicators on Android. Planning to use T-Mobile to buy me out of my device payment plan once I get around to 800 dollars owned on my 15 Pro because being I hate how I'm locked in to a premium plan I don't come close to making full use of. I still have an unlocked S23 Ultra I can switch back to as my main phone if I decide to.
jay_kyburz 2y ago
I pay $120 AUD a year at the supermarket for a prepaid sim.

garciasn 2y ago

Based on the Mint website, it appears to be $360 up-front + $360 or $720 for their 'unlimited' annual which I don't know if it includes tethering. I pay ~$684 for VZW for the year, for unlimited w/tethering and HBO Max + Netflix.

vel0city 2y ago
Mint's unlimited is $30/mo when purchasing a year up front. The only "plus" is taxes and fees. It includes tethering. So even with whatever deal you've got going on its still $324/yr cheaper, $972 cheaper after a three-year commitment (if applicable in your case). The "free" phone only applies to Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Ultimate. At a single line for Plus that's $80/mo. $960/yr. $2,880 over that three-year commitment. But either way, I don't bother with the "unlimited" plans. You're going to get de-rated after 30-40gigs anyways on Verizon. > Unlimited data is restricted to on-device smartphone usage. After exceeding 30 GB/mo of 5G Ultra Wideband, 5G, or 4G LTE mobile hotspot data, mobile hotspot data reduced to speeds up to 3 Mbps when on 5G Ultra Wideband and 600 Kbps when on 5G / 4G LTE for the rest of your monthly billing cycle. https://www.verizon.com/support/important-plan-information/ https://www.verizon.com/support/important-plan-information/ "Unlimited" plan you're paying $80/mo for that you're going to get 600Kbps if you really treat it as "unlimited". I personally don't even use all of my 15GB a month. I get lots of people live different lifestyles, but a lot of people don't need "unlimited". So really, I'm not even spending $360/yr, I'm spending $240/yr. $444/yr cheaper than your plan. $1,332 cheaper after three years.
- Dylan16807 2y ago
  I think you misread, that throttle is for the hotspot data. And honestly that's a lot better than most throttles. Though it seems silly they even bother to throttle 5G Ultra Wideband. Are those antennas ever going to be heavily loaded with how short their range is?
dangus 2y ago
Max and Netflix with Ads That is an important distinction. Those plans together only represent a $17/month value. And that value is assuming you actually watch both of them regularly. You would almost certainly save money using an MVNO and a not-brand-new-super-pro phone.
- vel0city 2y ago
  And I already get Max through my home ISP anyways, so really only $8/mo extra value. But I wouldn't watch Netflix With Ads anyways, so really $0 for me. But that $80/mo plan I quoted doesn't even include the streaming services. That's just the regular data plan rate for a single line. Adding Max + Netflix (With Ads) is another $10/mo, so $90/mo compared to the $20/mo I'm paying now. Note, when looking at Verizon's website, the big advertized rate numbers show the per-line rate with four lines.

paxys 2y ago

I pay $20/mo for Visible, and it works great. The average phone plan with a "free" iPhone from a major carrier is $100-120/mo with a minimum 3 year contract. So yeah, paying for your phone yourself is always significantly cheaper. You can even get a device payment plan if you want, and the payment plan + phone bill will still be cheaper than the bundle AT&T or Verizon offers you.

ewoodrich 2y ago

Historically I have never used carrier commitments and paid for phones outright but did it for the first time earlier this year with a targeted offer to get a iPhone 15 Pro from Verizon for basically a couple hundred bucks in taxes. Mostly because it felt like I was getting worst of both worlds paying for a single line Verizon post paid plan without taking advantage of any upgrade offers after my BYOD deal expired. But I'm now regretting it especially because I'm getting tired of constantly missing notifications on my iPhone being so used to persistent notification indicators on Android. Planning to use T-Mobile to buy me out of my device payment plan once I get around to 800 dollars owned on my 15 Pro because being I hate how I'm locked in to a premium plan I don't come close to making full use of. I still have an unlocked S23 Ultra I can switch back to as my main phone if I decide to.

jay_kyburz 2y ago

I pay $120 AUD a year at the supermarket for a prepaid sim.