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Carrier Time to finally get off AT&T unlimited grandfather plan?

M

mdwsta4

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 23, 2007
1,301
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I've been with at&t for the last 15+ years and have been on the unlimited plan since the first iPhone was launched. l have a single phone and no family to share any plans with.

The current unlimited plans seem to be $80 for unlimited premium (up to 22GB) data, 1080p video streaming, 35+ channels (which I doubt I'll watch), a free premium channel (could probably use HBO), and now free spotify? Am I understanding the plan correctly? Or is the choice free HBO OR free Spotify, but not both?

The grandfather'd unlimited plan costs me just shy of $95 per month. I average about 10gb of data consumption a month. The new unlimited plan would be about $5-8 cheaper, but adding free HBO or Spotify (neither of which I currently pay for) would be giving me about $20 in services a month. If I opted for 480p streaming and the non-premium unlimited plan, I'd save an additional $10 since that plan is $70 a month.

Unlimited breakdown:
$40 - 450 talk
$20 - unlimited messaging
$45 - unlimited data
$19 - corp discount
$10 - taxes/fees
$93 total


Is it time to finally give up the grandfather plan? Haven't really bothered to look at plans in quite some time so I'm looking for feedback from current unlimited users and those that may still be hanging onto the grandfather plan
 
I would jump off the unlimited plan but my corporate employee discount (FAN account) gets me 22% off the data and voice services ($19 in savings). The new unlimited plans offer no FAN discounts (make sure your company is qualified for the new unlimited plans). My monthly bill is $91 ($40 450 voice, $45 unlimited data, $10 unlimited text, taxes + discount).

Edit - Just noticed you pay $20 for unlimited text. You could probably bring this down to $10 if you call the loyalty dept since I also used to pay $20 for text.
 
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I kept my grandfathered plan because it is still cheaper for me than new unlimited plans. Plus I definitely need unlimited as I use over 22Gb per month.
 
If you don't mind watching video at 480p (which looks fine enough on an iPhone) AT&T has a pay as you go "unlimited" plan for $55/month. I used 45GB one month downloading all my movies off my server and they didn't cut me off. If you watch videos through YouTube, YouTube will automatically stream you the 480p video so no problem. It's when you run into embedded videos on websIts that are higher resolution, you'll get buffering and stalls as AT&T throttles the download speed - which sucks
 
mdwsta4 said:
Unlimited breakdown:
$40 - 450 talk
$20 - unlimited messaging
$45 - unlimited data
$19 - corp discount
$10 - taxes/fees
$93 total
Click to expand...
Do you really need the unlimited messages? iMessages is done through data. If you get most of your messages via iMessages, FB Messenger, and/or Whatsapp, then maybe you can get a cheaper text plan. What's $5/mo get you in the way of text messages?
 
Sounds like we have the same plan from back in the day. I'll have to call and ask about messaging, thanks!

Kendo said:
I would jump off the unlimited plan but my corporate employee discount (FAN account) gets me 22% off the data and voice services ($19 in savings). The new unlimited plans offer no FAN discounts (make sure your company is qualified for the new unlimited plans). My monthly bill is $91 ($40 450 voice, $45 unlimited data, $10 unlimited text, taxes + discount).

Edit - Just noticed you pay $20 for unlimited text. You could probably bring this down to $10 if you call the loyalty dept since I also used to pay $20 for text.
Click to expand...

Back in the day you used to pay for text messages (100, 1,000, etc). Just like with the 450 nights/weekends, these were built into the grandfather plan. While probably 80% of my messaging today is through iMessage and other free services, I don't think at&t allows you to change any part of your plan without giving up the unlimited bit. But it's something I'll need to look into.

ftaok said:
Do you really need the unlimited messages? iMessages is done through data. If you get most of your messages via iMessages, FB Messenger, and/or Whatsapp, then maybe you can get a cheaper text plan. What's $5/mo get you in the way of text messages?
Click to expand...
 
mdwsta4 said:
Sounds like we have the same plan from back in the day. I'll have to call and ask about messaging, thanks!



Back in the day you used to pay for text messages (100, 1,000, etc). Just like with the 450 nights/weekends, these were built into the grandfather plan. While probably 80% of my messaging today is through iMessage and other free services, I don't think at&t allows you to change any part of your plan without giving up the unlimited bit. But it's something I'll need to look into.
Click to expand...

Totally untrue. You can drop messaging and pay-per-use if you like or change to $5 for 200 or $10 for unlimited.
 
mdwsta4 said:
Sounds like we have the same plan from back in the day. I'll have to call and ask about messaging, thanks!



Back in the day you used to pay for text messages (100, 1,000, etc). Just like with the 450 nights/weekends, these were built into the grandfather plan. While probably 80% of my messaging today is through iMessage and other free services, I don't think at&t allows you to change any part of your plan without giving up the unlimited bit. But it's something I'll need to look into.
Click to expand...

Totally call the loyalty dept. Or switch to T-Mobile like I did nearly 5 years ago.

All the changes to the "grandfathered" plan left a sour taste in my mouth. Plus you'll get Netflix, which arguably has more value than Spotify or HBO.

$70 + corporate discount on the Magenta plans. But it is at 480p unless you get Magenta +.

Might be all moot, if you can get the $20 waived. Best wishes!!!
 
Well, if you really want Spotify (I think that would be $9.99/mo) and HBO is a $17.99/month discount, you also get a Mobile Hotspot (which I never had with my old grandfathered plan), Unlimited everything in Canada and Mexico too. Good if you travel. I lost my Corp discount when I went on the very 1st or 2nd Unlimited Plan AT&T offered. I do still get a discount on *some* accessories. I also got a Loyalty credit due to having AT&T wireless and DirecTV.
One thing that helped my decision was that AT&T was raising the Grandfathered Plan $5.00 every year. I knew they wanted me off and finally offered something good. It's too bad you don't have Family or Friends to share the plan. I have 4 people on the plan and we share the "access" fee. My "access fee" is $105.00/month but each phone is only $20.00/month.
For my part of the bill, I pay $142.00/month (inc. taxes & fees). That's for 2 phones, 1 mobile hotspot and 1 smart watch.
They either get you in the tomatoes or in the ketchup! LOL!
 
I spoke with at&t yesterday; specifically the loyalty department. They were unaware of *any* messaging plans other than what I have now. They asked me for a soft code of anyone that is paying less than $20

synonys said:
Totally untrue. You can drop messaging and pay-per-use if you like or change to $5 for 200 or $10 for unlimited.
Click to expand...
 
mdwsta4 said:
I spoke with at&t yesterday; specifically the loyalty department. They were unaware of *any* messaging plans other than what I have now. They asked me for a soft code of anyone that is paying less than $20
Click to expand...

I did this back in 2013 based on this thread with Slickdeals. Most people got $20 unlimited texting on family plan while others got $10 for their individual plan. The thread started as $30 a month credit for 6 months but morphed into the lifetime discounts of $20 and $10.

https://slickdeals.net/e/4743090-at...aging-credit-for-6-months-retention-offer?v=1
 
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Wide opeN said:
Totally call the loyalty dept. Or switch to T-Mobile like I did nearly 5 years ago.

All the changes to the "grandfathered" plan left a sour taste in my mouth. Plus you'll get Netflix, which arguably has more value than Spotify or HBO.

$70 + corporate discount on the Magenta plans. But it is at 480p unless you get Magenta +.

Might be all moot, if you can get the $20 waived. Best wishes!!!
Click to expand...
We just switched from AT&T to T-Mobile. Love that Netflix is included. We have two lines - flat $120/month on Magenta plan. Also, international is included. Even if we want to bump up international data speeds, it’s much cheaper.
 
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Bswartz95 said:
We just switched from AT&T to T-Mobile. Love that Netflix is included. We have two lines - flat $120/month on Magenta plan. Also, international is included. Even if we want to bump up international data speeds, it’s much cheaper.
Click to expand...
It is true T-Mobile so much cheaper and good with Netflix and other perks. However, be cautioned, all this lower price and good perks come with sacrifices/inconveniences, such as inconsistent signal coverage area and weak or no signals inside buildings. You may regret switching from AT&T. No free lunches. Good luck!
 
myapple2019 said:
It is true T-Mobile so much cheaper and good with Netflix and other perks. However, be cautioned, all this lower price and good perks come with sacrifices/inconveniences, such as inconsistent signal coverage area and weak or no signals inside buildings. You may regret switching from AT&T. No free lunches. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Like all carriers... this sort of anecdote is market/phone/network specific.
 
if you could shave down data usage under 9GB and don't care about the Watch TV with the unlimited, you could go to 9GB Mobile Share Plus for $60. Otherwise, it would just depend which video streaming quality you want and if you want the Premium Entertainment option. You can only get one video or one music, not one video and one music.
 
FAN discount applies to the 9GB plan. Plus you carry over unused data from the prior month.

We have 3 people on our plan and barely use 2GB of data. Wifi all the time. YYMV. ATKOT. IMO.
 
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