MaydayMark

I thought there was a discussion about this recently but I'm not having much luck finding it. Once again I feel like I'm not getting my money's worth from Verizon. So ... to you FDX folks out there, what's the best value in cell plans?

Most of my flying takes me to major U.S. metropolitan areas, only occasional International flying (I don't think I'd use my cell much Internationally, it might be nice to have roaming data).

I don't use very many minutes a month (I almost never hit my 450 limit on my current plan), I don't use very much data (less than 2GB/month, although I can imagine using more data in the future), I almost NEVER text.

With our corporate discount (Verizon tells me that FedEx actually pays the discounted amount) what's the best deal out there for a cheap airline pilot? It seems to me like someone must have unlimited talk/text and data for a reasonable price?

Suggestions

Jetjok

Mark,

First off, you need to join AARP. I hear they have a good deal with some carrier and if you mention that you're an AARP member, you get a whole one or two percent discount above and beyond what they'd give you anyway. As well, with the new rules, I'd bet that Verizon would be willing to unlock your flip phone so that you can use it with the new service. Another option is to stop by Walmart and talk to their "experts", as they always seem to be at the forefront of technology and pricing. Well, pricing anyway.

Just kidding you. Hope all's well and that you're either back earning my retirement pay for me, or at least, getting ready to return to the line.

USMCFDX

T-Mobile, I just switched. Go to the website and look at the family plans and build what you need.

Me: 1 line unlimited data, one line 2.5G data, 2 lines 500mb data (kids are still young), all unlimited talk and text, $130 before discount.

I brought over 2 4s iPhones and 2 3G iPhones. I know I'm a bad dad for not getting my kids the latest and greatest.

Free international data roaming at a slow rate. Worked great in Japan, Korea and Europe, but pretty slow in China.

dckozak

Kind of in the same boat as Mayday. I'm at the end of my Verizon obligation and while I have no issues with the (domestic) service, I think there are better deals to be had. I see ATT promoting a deal that (seems) to lower costs for a 4 line plan to around $160, without discount. Is anyone talked to or gotten a discount over and above from this ATT plan? Verizon is a 22% discount (sort of as it has exceptions that I think make the real discount more like single digits), The T mobile deal is great, on paper, but their service is spotty away from any major town. I'd like to see what ATT is doing with this new promotion and if we (Fedex) get any "love" beyond its advertised rates.

Adlerdriver

Mark,
Check out Ting. https://ting.com/

No FedEx discount but it's cheaper than any discounted phone plan I've used up to now. Coverage/service is good, even in ANC.

They have a tiered usage plan for each of: talk minutes, texts and data. You pay for what you use plus a $6/month line fee just to have the phone. If you don't text, you pay nothing for texts. 500 minutes, no texts and minimal data would cost you under $30 per month total. We use no data, under 500 talk minutes and very few texts- 3 phones is costing me about $35/month including tax/fees.

olly

sprint gives fedex pilots 23% discount. I have unlimited talk, text and unlimited data- 4 lines =2 Galaxy S4's + 2 iphones. my bill is ~ $210/month.

International plan is $5/month but then you must pay about $1.25-$2.00 per minute talk, and data is expensive.

Skype is the answer for international talk/text, and hotel/café/restaurant wifi for international data. The latest galaxy S4 & S5 have slots for sim cards- haven't explored all the details to exploit this capability, but I can usually wait til I get to the hotel for getting online.

Overnitefr8

I've always had Sprint. My biggest gripe with them is that their 4G network is not large. I pay $10 a month (required for smart phones) for each phone for the 4G network but am rarely in a 4G zone. I don't fly int'l so I haven't looked into an int'l plan

Jetjok

Ting looked very interesting indeed, until I tried to see if their network would accept the iPhone 5 (or later.) Seems that the iPhone 4 series is the only iPhone that will work on the Ting network. However, that said, if I could live with a older technology, I'd save roughly 3/4 of what I'm paying now. Hopefully they'll upgrade their network by the time I'm up for renewal with Verizon. Thanks Adlerdriver for bringing that company to light. By the way, how is their domestic coverage?

CargoCan

I switched to the new ATT family share plan. You still get the FedEx discount, and it takes a bigger chunk out of the bill than before due to how the price structure works. Beware of this plan - if you like to have the latest and greatest phone it is actually more expensive than their old plans. If you don't mind holding onto your old phone for a few years (i.e. more than 2) you can save some money. My old plan with att: 3 lines, share 700 minutes, each line has 3g data, and unlimited texting = $192/mo with discount. New plan: 3 lines, unlimited talk and text, share 10g data = about $130/mo with discount (don't have exact number yet-estimated tax and fees)

Here is the catch. New iphone on their next plan costs anywhere from 21 to 30ish/mo. At $21 x 3 = $63/mo, $130 + $63 =$193. Same price as before (and that is for the low end phone paid over 26 months not 24)

As you can see ATT isn't giving anything away.

As for Mark, check out pageplus. Its a verizon mvno. You can get 250 minutes, 250 texts and 10 MB data for $12 per month. No tax, no fees, just $12. You will get the same verizon service you had before. They have other plans too if you need more.

MaydayMark

Interesting ... I'll look in to that. It looks perfect for a cheap pilot

Thanks