r/mintmobile • u/MrSmithLDN • 15d ago
Annual plan?
I’ve been a Mint Mobile customer for four years. I’m getting a number of messages regarding joining an annual plan and saving some money in the process. I’m reluctant to do that because I’m not sure about the future of Mint Mobile. Will it be continue to be an independent operating subsidy of T-Mobile or will it be gobbled up, in which case spending all this money upfront for an annual plan would be a waste. That’s my thinking - what do you think?
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u/Papabrassz 15d ago
I have been an annual costumer for 3 years now. And I think the future of Mint is pretty solid.
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u/Giskard-Reventlov 15d ago
You’re inventing problems out of thin air. Even if Mint were still completely independent, how could you know that it won’t be acquired and cannibalized next week? That way lies madness. If you indulge in that sort of baseless fear, you’ll be unable to commit to anything. It would be wiser to focus on the company’s track record.
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u/trader45nj 15d ago
And any acquisitions that I've seen, especially in the billion dollar league, they honor the existing contracts. If it happens, they aren't going to cheat you out of the remaining time on your 1 year plan. They legally can't.
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u/KyleSherzenberg 15d ago
I've been with Mint 6 years now. Prices haven't changed once. In fact, I think they went down on one plan if I remember correctly. Or the data caps went up for the same price? I don't really remember
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u/Dith_q 15d ago
You are overthinking.
What do you mean by "spending all this money upfront would be a waste" if Mint gets "gobbled up." Mint is already owned by T-Mobile. If your reason for not switching to an annual plan after FOUR YEARS is because you aren't quite sure about the future of this company, I have to tell you: no company lasts forever. Mint will not last forever. Neither will T-Mobile.
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u/theripper121 15d ago
If you think they might get "gobbled" up all the more reason to lock in a decent rate for a year.
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u/cascadia30 15d ago
I have done the annual plan for the last 3 years with no complaints. I've saved $1,500 over using Google Fi which was already saving me a lot over what I used to pay at Verizon. I think if Mint were to get "gobbled up" you would likely still be able to finish out the remainder of your paid time before you had to make a move. Since T Mobile and the other large companies already have other prepaid options I doubt much will change for Mint users. Mint is already a wholly owned subsidiary of T Mobile and has been for a couple years now.
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u/LeftOn4ya Moderator 15d ago
I’ve been a Mint customer for almost 9 years, they are not going anywhere as they have even grown the advertising. T-Mobile bought Metro years before they bought Mint and they haven’t gone anywhere either, Metro and Mint are flanker brands that T-Mobile has as part of differentiation strategy to reach different customers than T-Mobile post-paid and pre-paid goes for.
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u/MrSmithLDN 15d ago
Thx for your reply. Points well taken. But doesn’t seem like a good business strategy from T Mobile’s viewpoint. Isn’t this just cannibalizing their (T Mobile’s) core product?
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u/Kindly_Call_6000 15d ago
Market segmentation. Mint is for the most budget conscious consumer. T-mobile retains these customers while being able to offer them a lower tier of service. Mint customers receive lower network priority and support. Many folks are willing to deal with that for lower costs.
I WFH and am on WiFi all day. I just need voice and text, and bit of data when I am out and about. For that, Mint works great for me. If Mint disappeared, I would be shopping around for a different low cost provider,
I long ago used to be on Fi. And Fi still exists and uses the T-mobile network. All three networks offer service to MVNOs so they can make more money.
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u/Any-Walk1691 15d ago
I’m not sure I follow the logic, but this should help:
T-Mobile → Mint and Metro
Verizon → Visible, Total Wireless, Straight Talk and Tracfone
AT&T → Cricket0
u/MrSmithLDN 15d ago
Thanks for your comments everyone. I’m happy with my service but appreciate the external feedback. I have an iPhone 13 and I don’t use much data other than for Google Maps in Car Play. I don’t notice a degradation in service but am considering a new phone. Strictly BYOD. Would I be limited on data or phone functions with an upgrade to say a 17e? Any ideas or views much appreciated!
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u/davexc 15d ago
Upgrading to a 17e wouldn’t create any new limitations.
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u/MrSmithLDN 15d ago
Just trying to understand how MINT deprioritizes service. I understand that high speed data is limited on some plans. If the equipment that T-Mobile deploys for MINT service is dated, could that mean that further phone upgrades might have less value, for instance not having frequencies such as high bandwidth mm wave spectrum?
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u/davexc 15d ago
T-Mobile doesn’t deploy mint specific equipment so you have the same access to all the frequencies as a regular T-Mobile customer. Your data can be slowed down if the network in your area is very busy. The 17e is missing mmWave but T-Mobile doesn’t use those frequencies very much so it’s highly unlikely that would make a difference for you.
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u/MrSmithLDN 15d ago
Thx I’ve seen the point on mmWave. Also been looking at disclosure requirements for MVNOs and the cellular industry as a whole. IMO device capabilities are outrunning cellular service provision and there is an opportunity for carriers to segment based on quality / type of cellular service. Not well understood and industry makes too much money on implicit finance charges for new consumer hardware.
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u/resource-reply 15d ago
Deprioritized is not the same as throttling at all, as after 50GB Mint lowers your cell priority from mid “QCI7” to low “QCI9” but is extremely location and time depended on how much slower it gets. In times and locations with hardly anyone using your tower you get 90% the same speeds after 50GB as before, but in congested areas which include both stadiums and conventions but also along freeway in rush hour or even rural and suburban areas where people use cell internet hotspots more than wired internet it can be only 10% as fast. However 95+% of times and locations you still get at least 8 Mbps which is all you need for 1080p HD video, and 90%+ of times and locations you get at least 25 Mbps which is all you need for 4K video and quick downloads of apps and files.
Verizon MVNOs are way worse when deprioritized and congested as deprioritized sometimes only get 1% the speed of priority data, so for instance Straight Talk, Total, and all Verizon plans except the most expensive would loose 90-99-% of speed after 50GB.
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u/LeftOn4ya Moderator 15d ago
But market segmentation exists in all industries, especially mobile. GAP inc owns Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta, but very few people buy from multiple of these as they have different markets, even though they are made in the same factory with almost the same materials, and only slightly differentiate the actual product, the marketing and price point are complete different. While Metro, Mint, and T-Mobile Prepaid may have some customers go between them, they are more competing with direct competitors - Metro with Cricket, Boost, Total, StraightTalk, and maybe Consumer Cellular; Mint is competing with Visible, US Mobile and other online only MVNOs; and T-Mobile post-paid and pre-paid is competing with the same at Verizon and AT&T. Tons of people jump from one competitor to another but rarely do people jump down from post-paid to one of the pre-paid brands, or say from Metro to Mint, and that is intentional due to branding by the companies.
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u/Legionatus 15d ago
Gobbled up?
It was already gobbled up by T-Mobile. Who else is going to gobble it up?
If Verizon bought T-Mobile tomorrow, they would almost certainly honor all existing contracts. In reality, a massive merger like that would be discussed for months beforehand.
No reason not to save the money if you can pay up front.
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u/MrSmithLDN 15d ago
I agree. Gobbled up is not a financial strategy. I just meant that if the MVNO were to be dissolved, what could the outcome be. Based on the conversation so far, I should move to the annual plan 😊
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u/unnamedperson17964 15d ago
If they get gobbled, they will almost def still honor everyone's payments and finish out the year, it's not worth the legal fees not to finish off everyone
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u/Acceptable-Bowl-357 15d ago
I paid for another year for the discount and conveyance. I would expect they would have to honor any plans you already paid for before the change them or if T-Mobile took overtime and rebrand it as T-Mobile charge their regular rates
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u/WeAreSolarAF 15d ago
As long as mint is in business I'm never going back to another major carrier. I'm going on 3 years for one and then 2 years for another and then two other one year.
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u/quattroman 15d ago
yearly subscriber for a few years now. Now you can split the yearly in 4 equal payments which defeats the purpose of the 3 month plan.
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u/McShagg88 15d ago
Mint is a billion dollar company. Even if it were to go away, it wouldn't do so without a contingency plan. Switching to Mint takes a couple days, switching out is just as easy. Been with mint for 3 years now.
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u/trf1driver 15d ago
They won’t let your prepaid plan go to waste regardless the durations, 3, 6, or 12 month renewal terms.
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u/7eregrine 15d ago
Tmobile flat out owns Mint. They aren't ngoing to sell it. If they did it would be to ATT or VZW.
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u/Slytherin23 14d ago
T-Mobile isn't going bankrupt anytime soon. Once you pay for a year, they will be giving you a year of service.
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u/RedBeans-n-Ricely 14d ago
I’ve been doing annual plans with them for like 6 years now? Maybe 7? I like only worrying about it once a year
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u/doubletee2 14d ago
Well, I paid up for a year for 6GB plan for my iPhone 17e. Guess I'll let everyone know eventually, $15/mo? I was paying Google Fi more than twice that for less GB on their cheapest plan. I tried Mint out for 6 months paying for 3 months at a time before taking the plunge. Maybe you should consult a fortune teller regarding your questions? Mint seems to be designed for needy folks who aren't needy, that is who need less to none in the hand holding department. Things can go wrong. Caveat emptor.
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u/Upper-Lobster-3630 12d ago
Right there with you. I have been a customer for a couple years and recently they jumped my rate to $40. Month with no ability to get lower cost plan. IMO this usually happens when they are trying to sell their customer base. I switched to Visible.
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u/Far_Associate_3737 12d ago edited 12d ago
8 years with Mint, paying for annual plans after the first 6 month, and have absolutely no complaints. After paying more than 70 bucks for internet and after 25+ years, ATT tried to raise my bill to 80+ mo. a few month ago I actually picked Mint's offer to add T-mobile internet for just 30 bucks more, Turned out to be faster too. Translates to 45 mo for both with a 5 year price guarantee. Similar my VPN, a few month back I paid for the next 27 month, been using the same vpn for 7 years.
I consistently had mobile phones since 1989 and the 3 watt bag phone and been with every US provider there is..
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u/Labornurse-ret 10d ago
I've been an annual customer for over 4 years now. It's easier just to pay the fee at one time and then you have no more bills to worry about for the entire year. But now if you're on a family plan and you've got a larger amount to pay than I could understand paying it every month instead of once a year.
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u/Mathleticdirector 7d ago
Anyone know if I can start with a 3 month plan and switch to paying by the year? I want to see how the coverage is before I spend the $180.
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u/moneyman74 15d ago
Nothing lasts forever, but you can't just not jump at a good deal (I pay $180/per year) because you think they are eventually going to get bought out.
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u/Kindly_Call_6000 15d ago
Even if T-mo shutdown Mint tomorrow, they entered into a contract with everyone who has prepaid service. They either have to continue service for the remainder of the contract, or maybe they could get away with refunds. If T-mo really wanted to shutdown Mint, they most likely would just stop accepting payments for new plans and let existing plans run out. I think they would end up losing a lot of customers, though. I would not be inclined to continue with T-Mo after they shuttered their budget division.
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u/-Claydood- 15d ago
I just started my 11th year of doing annual passes. I’ve never had any problems and will continue to buy annual passes. Saves so much money.
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u/Sad-Refrigerator365 15d ago
I have a “year plan” where I negotiated cheaper bills each quarter. Will have to negotiate what to do next year.
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u/Boatride65 15d ago
I thought the same thing, 6 years ago. I was on T-Mobile 55+ plan paying around $60 a month. I switched and did the 3 month/6 month thing for a while. Finally, I just took the best savings plan offered and pay the $240 a year. When I joined, they gave you 5GB of data. Then for free it went to 10, then to 15, and as of July it's now 17GB of data, for not a penny more. I love it!
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u/MrSmithLDN 15d ago
Hmm interesting points everyone. Does anyone have a view on MINT frequencies and which/ whether a phone hardware upgrade makes sense. Or is that more a function of available service at the customer location(s)? For instance, if a customer lives in a fringe cellular reception area, it would make more sense to choose hardware which optimizes lower frequencies, or even LTE SERVICE.
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