Verizon Loyalty Program vs. Switching Providers

[SingleMomDebt]

I am such a nerd. I have been meaning to find out how much it would costs me to either keep Verizon or how much I could save by dropping it.

Spreadsheet!

Scenerio: 2 iPhone 4s w/family plan @ 2G shared; ETF costs to drop both phones approx $500 ($350 + $150); my contract won't expire for a while, hence its still about $350. Contract is up in a year, I think, so it may only be about a $100 ETF (the ETF decreases as it nears your contract).
Verizon Loyalty program: Same price I pay now, but I will get 2G per each phone.

So hmmmm.....

I think I would like to keep the smartphone, because where I live basic phones do not get good service. Trust me, I know from experience. I had it out with Verizon when my contract ended and got a basic phone. Whole drama with them. yada yada. And was so mad at them. But that is another story for another day. ;)

Thinking RW would be best, only con is its not an iphone. i have all my apple products synced. Hmmm.....

BTW, Verizon wireless CDMA phones do not unlock. I heard you can transfer to Page Plus, but have yet to verify. Found another thread that said Page Plus is not very customer service friendly. Hmmmm.....

Okay, spreadsheet happy and I still can't make a decision. Might be best until contract ends on my phone? *tap* *tap* *tap*


(click pic to make larger)

[neo von retorch]

Face punch!! :-)

Your spreadsheet is nice... for the short term picture.

But think about long term. 5 years. Republic Wireless saves you $6000.

Annual expense of $1200 less means $30,000 less needed to reach FIRE.

What data do you sync with Apple products that you might not be able to access on your phone that is worth $30,000?

[Daley]

Have an ETF Calculator:
http://www.myrateplan.com/contract_termination_fees

And an ROI Calculator:
http://www.techmeshugana.com/tools/wirelessroi.html

I look at your spreadsheet and wonder where you're getting a lot of your numbers. Lots of WTF numbers, like the $1000 handset cost with Ting. Have a few pointers to chew on.

Refurbished Sprint iPhone 5's through Ting's Glyde storefront only run $250 a pop. Equivalent Sprint 4S units to what you have are $160.

Page Plus activates iPhone 4/4s units now, though you're dealing with Carlos Slim. Selectel is starting to look like it might go the distance, but I'm not sure if they can activate iPhones... and there's been an internal Verizon memo that might take the wind out of Selectel's sails regarding ESN activations and flashed phones. Your cheapest path without generating more electronic waste and keeping the investments you have already would be Page Plus. Setup through Kitty Wireless is recommended. Break-even with PP's $30 plan using your existing phones would be under six months, it would be way less if you could actually get away with The 12, which I'm assuming is a possibility if you're seriously entertaining Airvoice's $10/month plans, though I question that wisdom if you think Ting is going to cost you $65/month.

T-Mobile's "ETF payoff" gimmick is just that. It's a sucker's game to get you roped into a two year contract buying new phones.

The Republic math falls apart long term when you actually only use what you need in services, especially when you have to buy new equipment that you may not even like given your iPhone affinity.

Why do you think you can't take a smartphone to Airvoice? They're a GSM provider, any phone that activates will work. iPhones are a PITA due to Apple, AT&T, and iOS7, but that doesn't eliminate other smartphones that you're willing to consider. Even the new $130 carrier unlocked US GSM based Moto E should work with any AT&T or T-Mobile based MVNO.

Finally, nobody needs that much data.

(edited after response)

[SingleMomDebt]

Face punch!! :-)

Your spreadsheet is nice... for the short term picture.

But think about long term. 5 years. Republic Wireless saves you $6000.

Annual expense of $1200 less means $30,000 less needed to reach FIRE.

What data do you sync with Apple products that you might not be able to access on your phone that is worth $30,000?

Haha! Thank you. When you say it like that... it shines a whole new light on the matter. That's a lotta savings in the matter.

I sync my mac, the 2 iphones, and the ipad to each other for updates, imessaging, etc...

[SingleMomDebt]

Have an ETF Calculator:
http://www.myrateplan.com/contract_termination_fees

And an ROI Calculator:
http://www.techmeshugana.com/tools/wirelessroi.html

I look at your spreadsheet and wonder where you're getting a lot of your numbers. Lots of WTF numbers, like the $1000 handset cost with Ting. Have a few pointers to chew on.

Thank you for all the information! I am happy with the iPhone4. so really no need to upgrade past that. The WTF phone prices are total for 2 smartphones total. All the prices on there are for 2 phones/phone lines total.

Okay, will take in this info and let it stew.... I really appreciate it.

[Mrs. PoP]

You're neglecting the fact that with Ting you can do a device swap through Glyde and incur no net expenses switching to a Sprint iPhone of the same model as your Verizon one. 
https://ting.com/swap
So subtract $1000 from your Ting startup costs. 

And you should probably give yourself credit for selling the Verizon phones no matter which brand you switch to...  Say $150 or so per each iPhone 4S?  Maybe more/less depending on condition/amount of memory.   

We are on Ting (two iPhone 4S) and our bill is reliably even less than we thought it would be going in ($47/mo or less).  Methinks Verizon was seriously rounding up how much data we were actually using each month. 

[SingleMomDebt]

You're neglecting the fact that with Ting you can do a device swap through Glyde and incur no net expenses switching to a Sprint iPhone of the same model as your Verizon one. 
https://ting.com/swap
So subtract $1000 from your Ting startup costs. 

And you should probably give yourself credit for selling the Verizon phones no matter which brand you switch to...  Say $150 or so per each iPhone 4S?  Maybe more/less depending on condition/amount of memory.   

We are on Ting (two iPhone 4S) and our bill is reliably even less than we thought it would be going in ($47/mo or less).  Methinks Verizon was seriously rounding up how much data we were actually using each month.

Oooh! I didn't know about the Swap. Sweet! But what is a "Ting equivelant"? I am curious about such phrases. I can continue living w/my iPhone4...

credit on the iPhone4... Best buy will give me $60, Glyde $39, Tmobile same as Glyde... as for my daughter's iPhone4 its gotta big hunkin' cracked case.

As for data, I was a data junkie until I  learned how to use wireless. I was spoiled with the unlimited data plan in the past... but you are probably right, they prob would do such a thing ;)

[Daley]

Thank you for all the information! I am happy with the iPhone4. so really no need to upgrade past that. The WTF phone prices are total for 2 smartphones total. All the prices on there are for 2 phones/phone lines total.

Okay, will take in this info and let it stew.... I really appreciate it.

I edited my original post, you might want to check the changes... like the fact that you can get used Sprint iPhones for Ting for a fraction of that $1000 you think you have to spend.

In case you haven't seen it yet, here's a link to the unabridged Guide, you should take the time to read it.

Remember, the cheapest route will always be to only pay for what you need.

[Mrs. PoP]

You're neglecting the fact that with Ting you can do a device swap through Glyde and incur no net expenses switching to a Sprint iPhone of the same model as your Verizon one. 
https://ting.com/swap
So subtract $1000 from your Ting startup costs. 

And you should probably give yourself credit for selling the Verizon phones no matter which brand you switch to...  Say $150 or so per each iPhone 4S?  Maybe more/less depending on condition/amount of memory.   

We are on Ting (two iPhone 4S) and our bill is reliably even less than we thought it would be going in ($47/mo or less).  Methinks Verizon was seriously rounding up how much data we were actually using each month.

Oooh! I didn't know about the Swap. Sweet! But what is a "Ting equivelant"? I am curious about such phrases. I can continue living w/my iPhone4...

credit on the iPhone4... Best buy will give me $60, Glyde $39, Tmobile same as Glyde... as for my daughter's iPhone4 its gotta big hunkin' cracked case.

As for data, I was a data junkie until I  learned how to use wireless. I was spoiled with the unlimited data plan in the past... but you are probably right, they prob would do such a thing ;)

"Ting equivalent" just means a phone that is on Ting's list of supported devices (a huge list - https://ting.com/byod) and works on the Sprint network.  Right now iPhone 4S is on that list.  For the swap, we bought 2 Sprint iPhone 4S from Glyde, then after we activated on Ting, we sold the Verizon iPhone 4S phones on Glyde.  We purchased and sold the same size/condition for each phone and Ting gave us the swap credit for the $ we lost in the transaction... kindly even though we had done our swap MONTHS before they started the swap promo.  Seriously, their customer service is awesome and if you're not sure you can always ask their online chat helpers or email them.  I've always had amazingly quick and helpful responses.