It’s that time of year again when wireless carriers roll out their holiday-themed deals in hopes of filling their stockings with plenty of net adds.
This year, T-Mobile is bringing back four lines for $25 per line per month for unlimited talk, text and data, including access to 5G. It’s a price point for unlimited 5G data that hasn’t been available since 2020, according to the “un-carrier.” It claims customers can save 28.5% compared to AT&T and 16.6% compared to Verizon on similar plans with four lines.
Over at AT&T, they’re bragging about their “best deals for both new and existing customers” model, with special offers on the latest iPhone 14. Verizon is throwing in free gifts of smartwatches, tablets and earbuds on select plans.
But what’s underneath the shiny wrapping? According to Jeff Moore, principal at Wave7 Research, carriers for the most part are taking their existing deals and putting new signage in stores with a holiday theme and festive ads.
“In general, we’re not seeing a tremendous shift from some of the carriers,” he told Fierce last week.
There might be a few surprises, but “they’re just shining up old offers. It’s more of a matter of putting a holiday spin on existing offers, for the most part.”
BestPhonePlans, which regularly compares offers and rate plans, posted a new video on Tuesday comparing plans from the Big 3 in several categories: cheapest, entry, mid-level and premium.
Among premium plans, Stetson Doggett, one of the creators of the website, said he likes T-Mobile’s Magenta Max, which he named the best overall cell phone plan. AT&T’s Unlimited Starter was deemed the best value in the entry-level unlimited category.
Single-line, multi-line deals
According to Navi, which monitors the daily pricing and promotional activities of wireless carriers, there are plenty of deals to be had leading up to and around Black Friday.
Both switchers and upgraders at each of the major postpaid carriers are eligible for some of the best deals available all year, according to Navi co-founder Patricio Paucar.
Here’s Navi’s latest summary of the best deals available for both single-line postpaid wireless customers.
AT&T
- iPhone 14 series, Galaxy S22 series, Pixel 7 series: switchers and upgraders get up to $800 off with eligible trade-in and any unlimited plan (except Value Plus).
T-Mobile
- iPhone 14 series: switchers and upgraders can get up to $1,000 off with eligible trade-in and Magenta Max.
- Galaxy S22 series: switchers and upgraders get up to $800 off with eligible trade-in and Magenta Max.
Verizon
- iPhone 14 series, Galaxy S22 series, Z Flip4/Fold4: switchers get up to $1,000 off with eligible trade-in and any 5G unlimited plan.
- Upgraders get up to $800 off with eligible trade on premium 5G unlimited plans (Do More, Get More, Play More or One Unlimited for iPhone)
Multi-Line Accounts
Wireless accounts with multiple lines are eligible for all of the above deals as long as they have eligible trade-ins and are willing to subscribe to the specific deal’s plan requirement, he said.
For example, a two-line T-Mobile account could upgrade both lines to Magenta Max, with newly purchased iPhone 14 Pro Max, make two eligible trades, and get up to $1,000 off both lines.
He suggested that multi-line accounts might also consider the following buy one, get one (BOGO) deals currently in market:
T-Mobile
- iPhone 13 & 14 series: Buy one, get one up to $700 off
Verizon
- iPhone 14/14 Pro, S22 series, Pixel 7 series, Z Flip4/Fold4: Buy one, get one up to $800