Boost Mobile – grows your data plan for free
The other day I was talking to my brother about my ultra low cost Boost Mobile plan and he asked me “if it was so good, why doesn’t everybody use it?”. Well, I knew I liked it a lot and it was way cheaper than anything else I have found, but other than it being on the Sprint Network I really didn’t know why everybody didn’t jump on board.
Obviously the big boys offer plans that give you a “free” phone with every 2 year or whatever plan. If you are into that type of thing you are willing to pay big for your free phone and that is why you choose your carrier and plan. I like to know what I am paying for, so let me buy my phone and then I can see how much I am actually paying for it. Then, month after month I will cash in.
Choosing a phone is a lot more than just price. I was happy with that as well as my phone and limited network, but I know not everyone else has the same criteria as I do, so I thought I would look into what other phones and plans are out there and why they might be a better option than Boost.
Boost Mobile Customer Service
A potential hazard with any low-cost service, be it cell phone companies or anything else, is customer service. Comparing on price or data is fairly straigt-forward. Customer service is a little different. User experiences can vary quite a bit. I do quite a bit of research before taking a leap and based on the reviews I read, Boost Mobile was about middle of the road with customer support. They had their share of horror stories, just like everybody else. I have only used Boost phone support a couple of times, both went very well. I had feared the worst based on some reviews, typical of the industry I thought. That doesn’t mean there aren’t legitimate complaints about Boost Mobile.
My experience at the store was a little scary. I am not used to walking into a retail store and seeing such a relaxed atmosphere. I couldn’t tell the customers from the sales staff and my sales person had two friends of his behind the counter. I wasn’t too comfortable leaving my phone there to be programmed, but I did and walked out with a heck of a deal. Seems like not all Boost stores operate or offer the same prices/promotions. That also can lead one to think it is a bit shady, kind of like an experience with a New York electronics store.
I will add that when I was visiting a Boost Mobile store where my girlfriend lives, that experience was much more like one would expect from a real phone company, professional displays and sales people that looked like they weren’t hanging out, but more like you would expect from a Verizon or AT&T store.
4G Speed
As I previously mentioned Boost uses the Sprint network. Sprint is known to have inferior network speed than some of its competitors. If high speed data is important to you then maybe Boost isn’t for you. Both download and upload times are slower with Sprint towers than any of the other big three; Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Web pages load slower with Sprint too. I know I am not selling Boost right now, but these are the facts. I don’t need lightning fast download speeds with my smart phone, so this wasn’t a deal breaker with me. Besides, I was looking for a Sprint option as Sprint gives me more bars at my home and my drive to work.
Phone Selection
Boost offers over 40 phones on its site, as many as any no-contract service. Best Buy lists more models for Boost than any other no-contract service as well. Availability is not an issue here. Straight Talk phones can only be purchased through their site or at Walmart, but they also offer a lot of phones starting out at free on up. Compare that spectrum with T-Mobile or Sprint and the selection of phones will not be an issue when deciding your next carrier.
My Boost Mobile Purchase and Plan
My deal was awesome as it included $100 off of a Samsung Prevail LTE. Deals change all the time, but it also depends where you go. To find my deal I had to go to a “Featured Boost Store”, but was originally told that I needed to first sign up for the $55 plan and switch the next month. Apparently not everything is set in stone as one of my other two local options allowed this at sign-up.
Also, my store of choice did not charge the $20-$25 bogus processing fee that the other two local options were going to charge, so call around and ask about the extra charges as they vary quite a bit.
I started with the 2GB plan for $35, but I signed up for AutoPay so it was just $30. Well the other day I got a text from Boost and it seems they are upping their offer with a new promotion. For every three months you make on-time payments you get an extra 500MB for the same price up to an extra 3GB.
The Competition
Boost Mobile isn’t the only low-cost no-contract carrier out there. It is working great for me, but take a look around and compare for yourself to see how much, or little, you might pay for Boost vs. the completion.
