Cell Phone Deal of the Century
I recently signed up for the cell phone deal of the century. It’s the Sprint Employee Referral Offer. For $30 a month, you get 500 minutes and an unlimited data plan. For comparison, my old Cingular phone cost me $40 per month for 450 minutes and NO data plan. Cingular’s data plan is another $20/month. Also, through the end of June, Sprint is throwing in unlimited text messaging package for free. Cingular charges another $20 for unlimited texting. Furthermore, the Sprint plan comes with unlimited nights and weekend minutes that start at 7pm, where Cingular’s plan only had 5000 N&M that started at 9pm. You can get the early nights and weekend on Cingular for another $9/month.
So, let’s add it all up:
Old Cingular Plan - $39/month
450 minutes, NO data, NO texting, N&W @ 9pm
Cingular Plan Similiar to Sprint SERO - $89/month
450 minutes + unlimited data + unlimited text + Nights & Weekends @ 7pm
Sprint SERO Plan - $30/month
500 minutes + unlimited data + unlimited text + Nights & Weekends @ 7pm
That’s a savings of 66%!! Also, there are rumors on the message boards (see below) that you can get a corporate discount if you work for certain companies. If I get the job I’m applying for, I’d be eligible for another 20% discount. That would bring my monthly bill down to $24!
I also got a pretty cool phone, the Motorola Q. It’s a smartphone, so I can surf the internets, check my email, and sync up my calendar. For a techie guy like myself, it’s fantastic. The phone cost $100 when I signed up, but there’s a $100 mail in rebate. Also, there’s a referral bonus if you tell them another Sprint customer referred you. After you get your phone, you can call #REF and type in the Sprint Customer’s phone number, and you’ll both get a $25 Visa Check Card!
This deal was so hot, I immediately canceled my Cingular contract AND paid the early termination fee (I still had 8 months on my contract). It’ll take about a year to recover the loss of the $150 fee (saving $15/month), but my cellular life will be much more enjoyable in the mean time.
If you’re shopping around for a new cell phone or if you’re just sick of you’re old plan, and you’re interested in signing up for this deal, check out the forums over at Slick Deals. Thanks to Jonathan at My Money Blog and the Consumerist for pointing this deal out.
By the way, if anybody does sign up and needs a referral for the $25, please drop me an email. 
Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 @ 11:31 am by BudgetFreak
Filed Under: Tips , Saving Money
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on 23 May 2007 at 12:21 pm 1.Melissa said …
So THAT’S how you got that sparkly new phone. I was wondering how that fit into the budget.
There’s also a great site too that compiles all the phone companies and accessories at great deals. I can’t remember what it’s called though. But they usually have the banner for it on the Yahoo! homepage.
on 24 May 2007 at 6:14 am 2.Michael said …
Doesn’t this require an actual referral from a Sprint employee? Or can you just leave blank or enter in BS in the area where it asks for a Sprint e-mail address? A bit more info on this would be appreciated. Thanks.
on 24 May 2007 at 6:34 am 3.BudgetFreak said …
Hi Michael-
You do need a valid email address of a Sprint employee. When I signed up, I used savings@sprint.com. I’ve heard openaccess10@sprint.com also works. The forums at Slick Deals have the all the information you’ll ever need to know (Link) Read that first couple FAQ posts, and you’ll be up to speed.