I’m not gonna say I live on my phone, but I’d be lost without it. I use it to stay in touch with my family of course, but it’s also an essential tool for my blog. When we travel in our trailer there’s seldom good wifi so I have to use my cell phone as a hotspot for my computer. When we were in Canada last June, I got billed over $300 for roaming charges! The shock when I got home nearly gave me a heart attack. I’ve been with ATT for over 12 years, and I would’ve thought they could do better for me than that. But they can’t.
My husband got frustrated at his bill and left them for Sprint several years ago but I stayed because I seemed to have better coverage. Well, no more. I’m moving over to T-Mobile and I’m taking my husband with me because we will be saving over 62% off our current cellular bills.
I was surprised when T-Mobile asked me to write a post for them. It’s not a subject I’ve ever covered but I agreed to find out more. When I learned what this was about I got really stoked.
Their new plan announced last week is called T-Mobile ONE™ Unlimited 55+ and it’s just for… you guessed it…people over 55! There are all kinds accolades about the company having the most advanced 4G LTE network available and being Neilson rated #1 in customer service, but that’s only part of its charm.
This new plan offers:
Simple Global which means unlimited text, data roaming and low flat rate calling in 140+ countries.
Mobile without Borders means you can use your device in Mexico and Canada, just like at home with no international fees!
Gogo Inflight gives you unlimited texting all flight long and 1 free hour of smartphone Wi-Fi on all domestic flights.
DIGITS means your T-Mobile phone number works on any compatible internet connected tablet, or computer.
Mobile Hotspot will connect all your devices to the internet with included tethering data.
Un-Contract means only you can change the price you pay. No rate hikes!
Carrier Freedom means T-Mobile helps cover the cost to switch over from your current carrier.
T-Mobile Tuesdays mean free stuff sent every week just to thank you for being a customer.
This new plan is only $50 per month, taxes and fees included. A second line is only an additional $10 when you sign up for autopay, which is a no brainer for us. Paying more than you have to for mobile services is insane, especially when you’re retired. It was simple to switch over and we were able to keep our old phone numbers.
Our family has a running group text that’s been active for years. We share photo’s and life events, jokes and just generally keep up to date with daily life. I’m constantly getting pictures of my grandson on my phone and it just makes my day.
Do you use your phone a lot? Have a peek and see if it will save you money too.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by T-Mobile.
Thanks for sharing this Jennifer! This is definitely worth looking into. I’ve been an AT&T Customer since forever myself and I think I might be due for a change!
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I don’t know why I dragged my feet about leaving ATT, Suzy. They’ve done nothing but over charge and under serve me for the last decade! Check T-Mobile out. You could save a lot!
Please keep us posted on your satisfaction. I am still with ATT 🙁
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So far I’m thrilled. No interruption in service, great speed and easy switching.
Very informative given I am in the market, currently with sprint and like you, my phone is essential for both my family, my business, & blog!! Given my husband travels internationally for his business & kids are 15 & 17, I am interested in their family plans /international.
Again, will look into T -Mobile based on this blog☕️
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Just a heads up, Sprint made it very difficult to switch my husband over. They’d locked his phone, for no reason, and it took over an hour with customer service to get it unlocked so we could move him over. I had no problem with ATT. Just popped the new SIM card in and I was off!
We joined TMobile a couple years ago when Verizon couldn’t help with any plan to avoid overcharges, and it’s been fine in terms of coverage and service, We’ll have to check out some of those features you mention to see if we have them or can get them. Thanks for this post!
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This is a brand new plan, so it might save you even more Deanne. Why it took me so long to leave ATT, I’ll never know!
Another AT&T customer here! My husband switched to Cricket last year and he is satisfied but I will have him read your blog! His cost is less than $50 but no perks. Than you, Jennifer!
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These perks are huge! I’ve paid $15 just to have internet during one 5 hour air flight! Good luck.
I’ve been looking for an affordable cell phone plan in B.C. that will allow me to travel in U.S. and Mexico without roaming charges. In Mexico, Telcel’s Amigo plan worked but we seem to pay a lot in Canada. I am retired and travel regularly by myself. I hope you enjoy your new plan.
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I was just wondering about that for my brother who lives in BC. He spends half the year in Mexico so needs a similar plan to what you’re looking for.
Glad to see this post. We, too, had been with A T & T for a decade or more, and kept hearing about included international text and data from TMobile. We switched about a year ago and have been THRILLED with the service. Invaluable for frequent international travelers – even if you’re only talking Mexico and Canada. How I love landing in any of the European countries we go to nearly monthly, turning on my phone, and being immediately connected, able to catch up on emails I’ve missed during the 8 hour flight, etc. And how great it is to not have to have a pocket full of SIM cards for all the different countries, changing even if just on a layover in one country before going on to the next. We love T-Mobile!
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This will make my life so much easier, Anne! I’m thrilled to not have to organize my phone coverage every time we want to leave the country!! This is treating the customer right, which is what ATT promises but T-Movile delivers.
We’ve been with T-Mobile for some time now mostly for travel overseas and it has been great. However this new plan for 55+
Will save us 25 percent. Great. Thanks!
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The service and savings are amazing!! I’m thrilled.
Thank you for such an informative post. I’ve been a Verizon customer for years but this makes me want to look into T-mobile. So glad you now have a service with greater benefits and savings.
Leigh
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My husband used to have Verizon and it was more expensive than this! Check it out!
This sounds really good. My biggest hesitation is the coverage in my area. The problem there is you don’t know until you have switched and had it a while.
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You can check coverage for your area online before you switch by just putting in your zip code. Go to their website and see. Let me know how it goes Sandra.
You mention ‘international calling’ is easy to Mexico and to Canada with T-Mobile, but for the vastly untutored (me!), how easy is International calling ‘across the pond’, i.e. travel in the UK or Western Europe? Just wondering if this can be accomplished easily with T-Mobile….Not crazy about my AT&T, but they make European telephone use pretty easy…Thank you for any info, and for sharing the great 55+ rates!
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Check the comments above and below, Suzanne. My readers say you simply walk off the plane and your phone automatically connects to a local carrier!! AT&T charges $10 per day additional for international service and you have to arrange it in advance!
Although the greatest value to us is the included international data and text, for which there is no additional charge, we’ve also made phone calls while in Europe to local numbers. The connection is immediate, – it’s like calling a local number, not complicated at all, and the charges are minimal.
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That’s awesome to know!! It just gets better and better.
Keep us updated on how the switch goes. I am wondering about coverage throughout the service area. I read about their new pricing a couple weeks ago. Like to hear an updated review in a couple months. Thanks
Lis
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I’ll keep you posted. You can check coverage for your area on their website, Lis.
Something to consider as we are with ATT, at present. Thank you for the info.
I LOVE your blouse????Would you be willing to share where your got it??
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I’m never going to miss the overcharging or undersevice from ATT 🙂 The blouse is several years old from Chicos, Deborah. I love its sleeves and print.
Thanks! Yes, I do, too. ????
Any information from you & your commenters, Jennifer, on how to detach from ATT beyond cell phones?! I am furious about the rate increases that continue to come with my bundled services(phone, Internet & TV). I want OFF, but once bundled, it isn’t easy. As a senior I need/want my services, but the cost (presently $242) is way too much..!
Any ideas for me?
In the South except for larger cities T-Mobile has lots of dead spots. I hear that is improving. We are Verizon customers. We certainly not happy with our price, but our coverage has been great even traveling all over the US and Canada.
One reason we have stayed with Verizon is that until this year we had not wifi availability so our phones were our hotspots. We also add data now with Verizon as we tether when we travel and drop it when we are home.My son has AT&T and uses their unlimited data in his apartment in Nashville for internet and streaming.
I think you have to think through your options and needs. We have found rv parks to have very inadequate internet and with people streaming movies etc. therefore on and off availability of wifi making tethering essential.
How much data do you get for that price ?
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You get 4GB for that price. ATT unlimited data cellular plan does not allow your phone to be used as a hotspot. Unless they’ve changed it quite recently. Coverage is critical so checking for your specific area is a smart idea.
I have been all over the world and yet to find a dead spot with T-Mobile. I am not advertising, just saying. And we switched for the international benefits. Works in Italy, France,Germany, Austria…. It has been great. Now this new plan will save us more. We were paying 80 a month for two phones. 50..60 much appreciated. And the hotspot.
This plan is way better.
This is so interesting Jennifer. I too have just gone through this very same process, but in the other direction. I’m in Florida and had cell, wifi, satellite, phone all through different carriers. Had to take what was available in the neighborhood when moving in seven years ago. AT&T recently install new fiber optic lines with high speed wifi. Our wifi became so overloaded through cable that the devices would make the switch from wifi to cellular inside the house when signal dropped. A nightmare! Because I was traveling a lot it took, Two of those huge bills before realizing what was happening. Long story end, ATT bundle, unlimited cellular, wifi and direct TV fir 2 years and a savings of over $100.00, month. That’s $2,500. Real money. My lesson is, I can’t ever go on auto pilot with what I consider utility bills again. Thanks for reminder we all need to asset our needs and what is available for usin our areas. Great post!
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That is real serious money. ATAt doesn’t offer the high speed to our area at home so I’m stuck with Comcast which is a disaster. I find my cell switching off of wifi all the time!! Being vigilant is critical these days. Thanks for sharing a very real concern.
Thanks for the post. I, too, have been with ATT for forever and last couple of years have been extremely dissatisfied. Cost just seemed to go up like every month. As far as I am concerned, we should all walk away from ATT
Just got back from Anniversary weekend in Toronto from NY only to realize Verizon charged me $500 for going over my data !!!!! On my iPad. Signed up for travel pass on phone when I crossed border but didn’t understand it didn’t cover my iPad!!!!! Furious!!!!! Like I don’t pay enough monthly as it is!!!!!’ After several phone calls they did reduce it by $200!!! Still outrageous. Shopping for new carrier now. I’ll check it out!
Great information! My husband and I switched to T-Mobile (from Consumer Cellular – another good company) because we were going to be traveling to Mexico and Canada. Our phones worked well in both countries, although during our recent trip to the Pacific Northwest, service was a little spotty.
We are currently paying more for T-Mobile than we were with Consumer Cellular, but this new 55+ plan would change that. I’m assuming, since we don’t have a contract to lock us in, that T-Mobile will allow us to make the switch easy-peasy?
Thanks again for the tip!
We switched to T-Mobile some time ago for international travel It has been great. Yes we paid 80 a month for two phones but with this new plan…we just called and set up for two phones, already had auto pay.
25 % savings as existing customers.
They do offer a great deal but we find coverage in SF a little less reliable than AT & T. But like you, we also have family in Canada and travel frequently and it just made more sense to have a plan that doesn’t charge you for using your phone while you are there.
Excellent information. I’ll be changing to AT&T, I’ve been spending a base $185 for my two lines on Verizon.
My husband and I switched to T-Mobile in May. We love it! I was expecting to maybe not get good coverage but that has not been the case. We went to Montana on vacation and had no problem texting our kids from there and even sending photos. They are extremely affordable and I have no complaints at all. I can’t speak from lots of experience, because we have only had T-Mobile for three months, but so far I am a very satisfied customer!
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That’s great to know Debbie! We are off to Montana in 2 weeks and I’ll be needing my wifi!
Four or five years ago my husband and I switched to a Trac Phone. In the South, T Mobile has too many dead areas and Trac Phone uses any existing cell towers most of which are Verizon. We were with Verizon for years and also tired of the high cost. Now we have the coverage and pay only about 7 dollars per month pay as you go (we have it set up automatically). When we switched over we just bought our phones (100 @) kept our phone number and at the time we switched received triple the data, text, and phone minutes each time we buy. We both have Android phones with voice activation and all the bells and whistles. Not sure how Canada and Mexico roaming is handled. However my husband has traveled recently to the Midwest and upper East coast and had no overcharges/roaming fees. He traveled to China and we communicated via Skype video for NO cost! Skype can be used in Mexico and Canada.
I just read that T Mobile will have same coverage that Verizon and ATT has by the end of the year. They have expanded their coverage a lot over the years. Would like to hear from a T Mobile user regarding coverage in the South currently.
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I do know they have a feature on their website that allows you to check coverage for your area so you might check that too Lis!
They have a great map on their website that shows their coverage and comparisons maps to ATT and Verizon on their website. Looks like coverage is pretty close to the same among all 3. But that may not work for all. I actually called T Mobile to discuss details and they were very helpful. I am seriously considering changing from Verizon to T Mobile.
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That’s good to know. Thanks Lis! Let me know how it goes.
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I’ve not heard of a Trac phone! I’ll check it out, Cheryl. Roaming is very important to us because of how frequently we go to Canada.
What a timely post for me. Becoming semi retired soon AND getting all sorts of flack from family & friends for not texting. I not only have been with ATT for 25+ years I used to sell their plans when the phones were called “Bricks”. Service has always been good, but after reading your post I’m going to do some research and maybe jump ship too. Of course I’ll have to give up my compact flip phone that I really love. Learn New Technology? OH MY! Wish me luck
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The new phones are amazing!! Small learning curve but well worth it because of the new features. Good luck Lesley!
Thanks for this information. We just switched to T-Mobile because of you. They were impressed that we knew about the new plan, so I had to give you credit!
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Thank you Ellie! That’s why I agreed to do the post. I knew it would help us all.
I have not yet figured out how to use my cell phone as a hotspot, but I’m determined do so before another trip like the one we just returned from! Not being able to update my blog regularly nearly drove me crazy. I can’t believe how many campgrounds advertise wifi when the service they provide is almost non-existent!
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It is horrific service in the campgrounds. I don’t even attempt to use their service anymore!
Thanks, such a great post!! Useful and so timely for me since I’m recently retired and everything you said resonates with me. I’m just going to wait for new iPhone 8 to come out and then ill switch.
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We are very happy with this new plan, Victoria!
Jennifer, I am so happy I ran across your blog a while back. I just love it. This post about TMobile really caught my interest. We are retired and have been with Verizon for many years. We were living in the North West where coverage was limited with some cell phone providers, which is why we stayed with Verizon….excellent coverage. However, we have moved to southern CA and would love to reduce some of our monthly bills. This plan with TMobile sounds so promising. I’m definitely going to look into it and will check back here for any new updates. Thank you so much!
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We are very happy with T-Mobile so far! I’ll be checking out the hotspot usage very soon and will let everyone know! Thanks for being here.
Thank you, Jennifer!! I have been a T-Mobile user for several years, didn’t know about this plan until your review. Marched into the store two days go, changed plans, now I am getting the same benefits for half the amount of money.
Ha, now we’ll have lunch out at a nice restaurant in some exotic destination, thanks to you, and T-Mobile.
Thanks again,
Pat