Carrier Carriers first responder/teachers/military discounts

[Apleeseed84]

I’ve been with AT&T for the longest time as a customer but their recent changes in reduction of first responders/teachers/military discounts have finally made me start looking elsewhere. Their notion is for them to stay competitive but have other networks done the same? I used to work in mobility a long time ago, but even though I had a grandfathered plan, I know eventually they will force a change in plan when ‘upgrading’ lines, from previous experience.

Every other year is a change from the worst, and now their new plans offer less than my current plans, hence my question about experiences with the other carriers. Thanks

My understanding is that Verizon was 25%, T-Mobile 50% and AT&T is now 20%

 

[bapegg]

AT&T has always been 20% for the military discount. It's 25% if you bundled wireless, internet and Direct TV.

 

[eyoungren]

I can't answer a lot of questions concerning T-Mobile's plan for this, but I can say (based on activity in the T-Mobile subreddit) that the military plan does not allow free lines and has restrictions and reduced values on promotions.

 

[2024]

I was looking at plans for four phones earlier this year. From my notes for teacher discounts I have:

AT&T: Teacher discount: 25% off wireless service. Plans available in select locations only. Requires AT&T Unlimited Starter® SL, AT&T Unlimited Extra® EL, or AT&T Unlimited Premium® PL. Discount applied after any available AutoPay and paperless bill discounts.


T-Mobile: -15% of 4-line cost ($25.50) if the account owner qualifies as a teacher; debit card & direct withdrawal req’d.


Verizon: Must be on (but doesn't need to be the owner of) an Unlimited Plan. Eligible educators include actively employed, certified or licensed K-12 and post-secondary teachers at a public or private school, college or university in all states. Verification required.
For 1 line, $10/mo account discount applied
For 2-3 lines, $25/mo account discount applied
For 4+ lines, $20/mo account discount applied


I didn't take notes on any other discounts. IIRC they're all $10/mo more per line if you don't want autopay.

 

[Apleeseed84]

I was looking at plans for four phones earlier this year. From my notes for teacher discounts I have:

AT&T: Teacher discount: 25% off wireless service. Plans available in select locations only. Requires AT&T Unlimited Starter® SL, AT&T Unlimited Extra® EL, or AT&T Unlimited Premium® PL. Discount applied after any available AutoPay and paperless bill discounts.


T-Mobile: -15% of 4-line cost ($25.50) if the account owner qualifies as a teacher; debit card & direct withdrawal req’d.


Verizon: Must be on (but doesn't need to be the owner of) an Unlimited Plan. Eligible educators include actively employed, certified or licensed K-12 and post-secondary teachers at a public or private school, college or university in all states. Verification required.
For 1 line, $10/mo account discount applied
For 2-3 lines, $25/mo account discount applied
For 4+ lines, $20/mo account discount applied


I didn't take notes on any other discounts. IIRC they're all $10/mo more per line if you don't want autopay.

Thank you, It feels like I’m still stuck with AT&T then, Usually teacher discounts go hand in hand with military, but I have to keep comparing and playing around with phone plans to see what’s best suited for me. Thanks

 

[bzgnyc2]

Thank you, It feels like I’m still stuck with AT&T then, Usually teacher discounts go hand in hand with military, but I have to keep comparing and playing around with phone plans to see what’s best suited for me. Thanks

Two things to consider:

1) if you are a first responder or similar you might be getting prioritized service. On light-to-medium loaded towers and/or normal times, this may not matter much but it might at other times. I used to be on an enterprise plan that also get some (but not as much) priority as the first responders and I did notice -- after I gave it up -- a difference in crowded areas (trains, planes, stadiums, etc)

2) One of AT&T's prepaid plans may be the best deal if you don't need priority nor multiple lines. Mostly the same network though a notch less priority than postpaid. Then if your data usage is <16GB/month, etc, the base plan is a pretty good deal.

 

[JWGold]

If you qualify as a First Responder, Firstnet (AT&T) is great. It beats any discount plan.