Verizon to overhaul its phone and data pricing plans

[soulpatch]

He is probably on an old plan that they tacked data on for him. Though he should look into his data as that should be 29.99......

 

[funken]

He is probably on an old plan that they tacked data on for him. Though he should look into his data as that should be 29.99......

This is what it says when I go on their website to try to change my plan:

Data PDA/SmartPhone

Unlimited Data Usage $44.99/month Keep Remove
Email and Web for Smartphone $29.99/month

 

[Martin030908]

Reading all of that confuses me. How much should it cost for the minimum minutes possible (450?), 250 texts, and unlimited data?

Right now, I am paying $39.99 + $5.00 + $44.99 = $89.98

Should I be paying $29.99 for data?

New Plan for minimum minutes(450), unl. texts is 59.99.
$44.99 for data? Do you have VZ navigator too? They snuck that in there on me when I signed up again.

Nope, when I signed up 2 weeks ago, it had 2 data options - the one that was unlimited was $44.99.

So I should be able to get 450 minutes, unlimited texts, and unlimited data (for Droid) for $59.99 + $29.99 ?

Yes. I don't see why not.

 

[Martin030908]

He is probably on an old plan that they tacked data on for him. Though he should look into his data as that should be 29.99......

This is what it says when I go on their website to try to change my plan:

Data PDA/SmartPhone

Unlimited Data Usage $44.99/month Keep Remove
Email and Web for Smartphone $29.99/month

Were you able to use the links I provided a few posts back? Do you have a VZW account set up to manage online? (I know dumb question but I gotta ask)

 

[funken]

He is probably on an old plan that they tacked data on for him. Though he should look into his data as that should be 29.99......

This is what it says when I go on their website to try to change my plan:

Data PDA/SmartPhone

Unlimited Data Usage $44.99/month Keep Remove
Email and Web for Smartphone $29.99/month

Were you able to use the links I provided a few posts back? Do you have a VZW account set up to manage online? (I know dumb question but I gotta ask)

Yea, I do have an account. I have been on that page you linked to, but I get something slightly different when I try to repurchase a Droid, or change my plan while logged in.

 

[soulpatch]

Dude you need to get into a store I think. Sounds like your online stuff is screwed up....

 

[akj27]

This is what I have and what I'm currently paying:


Nationwide Talk 450 01/17 - 02/16

39.99

Email & Web for SMARTPHONE 01/17 - 02/16

29.99

500 MSG Allowance + UNL IN MSG 01/17 - 02/16

10.00



Is there anything cheaper?

 

[Big Cam]

SO regardless of the phone unless it's the biggest pile of crap phone, you have to waste $9.99 on a data package that you aren't goig to use.

My wife wants the envy 3 and they are requiring a $9.99 data plan, she doesn't want it and never will use it, this is ****ed up by Verizon, especially if you opt to turn off any access for the phone.

 

[soulpatch]

Yeah I am still not sure why my wife's LG Dare did not have to get the $10 data plan added on. I am happy it did not need it though...

 

[Thoraldus]

Bottom line for me ... I have 3 phones - 2 smart - 1 semi-smart with friends & family. Went from 700 shared minutes to 1400 shared minutes for an extra $2 with the new pricing.

 

[tylonal]

But let me guess. Those of us who just bought a Droid and signed a new contract, those of us who have been Verizon customers for years, will be left out in the cold until our current contracts run out. Is that correct?

No, you can always change your rate plan, it just renews your contract from the date of change, but if I remember correctly, your phone upgrade date will not change.

****NO! you can change your price plan at any time, without affecting your contract end date. the ONLY THING that will affect your contract end date is if you upgrade your phone USING YOUR DISCOUNT (example, using your new every 2 for your primary, or your annual upgrade). you can change your pplan, data packages, and features on your acct at any time, without reprecussions (proration may occurr, depending how you change tho)
**exception..if you suspend a line for any ammount of time WITHOUT billing, that line's contract will extend for the ammount of time it was suspended. (example. 2yr contract, supposed to end jan 1st, was suspended for 5 days without being billed, will now end on jan 6th.)
*also, if your upgrade date did change when you did a feature change, or did a manufactures warranty, the rep who processed the change did it wrong. have them correct it, and dont take "no" for an answer.

But let me guess. Those of us who just bought a Droid and signed a new contract, those of us who have been Verizon customers for years, will be left out in the cold until our current contracts run out. Is that correct?

Don't be so sure about that. I've had many instances when a Verizon rep has noticed ways to save me money and advised me to switch from one plan to another. It's usually available for you to change on the web as well.

**this is correct, (see above answer) you can change anything at any time. BUT if you want to KEEP the plan and features u have, even if verizon no longer offers them, you are "grandfathered". but if at any time you want to change, for example if you are on the "americas choice" plan, (grandfathered) and you switch to a nationwide plan, thats fine, but once you switch, there is no going back.....

I noticed it says 10 friends and family on the 900 and 2000 tier on one of the pictures near the bottom. Does that mean the family plan with 1400 will lose friends and family?

I'm glad they are at least reducing the amount of plans. We had been on AT&T for 5 years and it took me awhile to review all of the plans and what made them different. I was hoping there would be a reduction on the current price of my 1400 family with 4 lines but it looks like no dice.

**1400 and above family share plans are eligable for 10 friends and family. likewaise with 900 and above single line plans but with 5 friends and family.
***the only price changes for plans are the unlimited plans currently. the names of all the plans have changed, as verizon has also done away with the "connect" and "premium" plans, and now only offer the basic and select plans, altho, they have changed the names to "talk" and "talk and text" to simplify. you can still get the features of the "connect" and "premium" plans, although it is now done thru "feature" additions.

If you don't have any friends or family, do you still qualify for the friends and family plan?

***Friends and Family is not a feature you add to a plan, it is part of the price plan itself. to "qualify" for said plans, you simply haveto be on them. for example, if you are on a 450 single line plan, you dont "qualify" because F&F is not an available feature for that. if, however, you are on the 900 min single line plan, and you werent informed you qualify for F&F, you do. simply go to vzw.com, sign in, goto my services, on left hand side in black colum is "my friends and family". go in there, add desired numbers, and click "add". voila!
****EXCAPTION***if you are on an older plan, like the "americas choice", even if you are on a "qualifying plan", you do not get F&F. only the newer "nationwide" plans qualify. there is NO drawback for switching from amchoice to ntnwide, no cost difference, and (as stated above) no change made to your contract date.

Hey... am i reading their pricing right...

Did verizon finally get smart and realize that people hate paying 29.99 per line on family share plans or do we still have to play 29 per line for unlim data?

I mean that is if you have ...for example 2 droids on ur family plan...

***nope, ur not reading it right. it is still $29.99 per phone that is on a smartphone plan.

on the 39.99 plan so i think it doesnt affect me.

i can keep my 10 dollar text plan right? i dont see that listed

**as stated above, features are not affected. and since the $10 text package is a feature, no changes will be made unless you request them.

So for a customer like me, will anything change?

I pay for 450 minutes, and unlimited text & data.

Also, does unlimited data include messaging, or do you have to pay for them separately? I have both unlimited, but I'm not sure on this.

Lastly, on a shared plan, do you have to buy the unlimited data for each line, or do they share one data package?

** simply? no. nothing will change for you at the current time.
no, unlimited data, and unlimited texting are differend, and you do need to pay for both services if you want both.

haha, I don't know, I'm already in love with it and know so much about it, shoot, i've been here for 2 months now with no droid.

If your current phone is with Verizon, just give them a call and ask them to move your renewal date up. They'll do it if you ask nicely. My former contract didn't expire until the end of February and they moved my renewal date up to Dec 21. Got my Droid for Christmas dontcha know! :icon_ banana:

**ok, im not saying that that is incorrect, im just saying iv never seen an upgrade approved that much in advance. THAT BEING SAID, if you want your upgrade, just ask for it. lol. if you are eligable say, jan 1st, verizon will give you your upgrade upto one month in advance (that is the MOST i have EVER seen it set back.barring special circumstances)

From what I'm reading there won't be any change for me. I've got a family plan w/ two lins total. 700 min, 250 texts on each line, $30 data plan on my phone, and the full insurance on my phone. With my wifes current job we get a corporate discount so our bill comes out to $113.95.

Maybe my parents will have a better deal since they have 1400 minutes and unlimited texting on 4 lines.

**simply? no. you are on the right plan for you (from what i see)
and, as stated above, your parents' price wont change either.

Ok it doesnt look like this has been answered so i will ask again...

Are us Smartphone users still required to have a 29.99 data plan on each line or is it now shared on the family plan?

**yes. you are req. to have the data package.
*****BEWARE******there are "special" plans out there that you might be offered (example, verizon offers "blackberry plans" that include smartphone plan, txting if you want it, minuts, the works. but for that convenience...you pay $10 bucks more a month than if you just got a regular plan and added all of the same features.

Reading all of that confuses me. How much should it cost for the minimum minutes possible (450?), 250 texts, and unlimited data?

Right now, I am paying $39.99 + $5.00 + $44.99 = $89.98

Should I be paying $29.99 for data?

New Plan for minimum minutes(450), unl. texts is 59.99.
$44.99 for data? Do you have VZ navigator too? They snuck that in there on me when I signed up again.

***AHHHHHHHH NONONONONO. DO NOT EVER. i repeat EVER pay for the $44.99 smartphone package. EVER. unless you recieve emails from your work that require a special server. THAT is the only difference.
**AND! FYI, when you add a smartphone to your plan, it AUTOMATICLY puts you on the $44.99 per month feature, unless you request the $30 per month feature. and i would venture to guess, that unless you folks have a vested intrest in looking at your bill each month, or had a rep who gave a darn when you set up service, that you are probably paying the more expensive one.
**to answer your question, 450 is lowest, $5 for text is good if, in a months time, you only send and recieve a total of 250 texts or less,
and you shuld PROBABLY be on the $30 data plan.

if you guys have ANY questions about ANY of this stuff, or any questions in general about your verizon wireless service, feel free to post here, or pm me. in case you have any hesitations about why you shuld listen to me....hek i really dont care if you do, im just offering my services to help you all save a bit of money. i do work for verizon wireless as a customer service rep, and have done so for about a year. so i do know what i am talking about. so please, if anybody has any questions, like i said, post here, or pm me. i check back daily.:heart::greendroid:

 

[Jer]

Tylenal: My wife and I have the $99 family plan for 700 minutes and each pay $30/mo for data for our Droids. Is there anything cheaper we can do other than going to the plan that had 450min? I don't think I saw any discounts to the family plans. My wife works for a company that uses Paychex for their payroll and we were sold the plans with the idea that we would qualify for the discount and we're only find out now that we don't. Needless to say we're beyond frustrated with this.

 

[tylonal]

Tylenal: My wife and I have the $99 family plan for 700 minutes and each pay $30/mo for data for our Droids. Is there anything cheaper we can do other than going to the plan that had 450min? I don't think I saw any discounts to the family plans. My wife works for a company that uses Paychex for their payroll and we were sold the plans with the idea that we would qualify for the discount and we're only find out now that we don't. Needless to say we're beyond frustrated with this.

***ok, just to clarify, the 700 is the LOWEST plan you can do for Family share plan. any lower and you would haveto split to single line plans. and since you said your paying a hundred dollars, i would assume your on the "select" plan getting unltd txts as well? i would check to see if you actually NEED the unlimited texts. because you can get 500 messages for each phone (to anybody outside verizon) and unlimited "in" verizon. now i would only suggest that you do this if the majority of your texts are to other vzw users, and if you DID do this, it would lower your monthly cost by $10.

now, partaining to the discount, it is only available if SHE is the account owner. also, if she puts in her info into vzw.com/discounts and everything goes thru correctly, it can take UPTO 3 months to be applied to your account.it is not a verizon fault here, what happens is that vzw sends the info you give us, to your employer to verify the info. NOW, however long it takes THEM to get back to US....thaaats where the waiting starts.

HANG in there man!!
(if this is too confusing, or didnt answer entirely, im srry, lol, go ahead and clarify or pm)

 

[Martin030908]

Good info Tylonal.

I knew the guy with the $44.99 data plan was getting hosed :icon_evil:

 

[funken]

Reading all of that confuses me. How much should it cost for the minimum minutes possible (450?), 250 texts, and unlimited data?

Right now, I am paying $39.99 + $5.00 + $44.99 = $89.98

Should I be paying $29.99 for data?

New Plan for minimum minutes(450), unl. texts is 59.99.
$44.99 for data? Do you have VZ navigator too? They snuck that in there on me when I signed up again.

***AHHHHHHHH NONONONONO. DO NOT EVER. i repeat EVER pay for the $44.99 smartphone package. EVER. unless you recieve emails from your work that require a special server. THAT is the only difference.
**AND! FYI, when you add a smartphone to your plan, it AUTOMATICLY puts you on the $44.99 per month feature, unless you request the $30 per month feature. and i would venture to guess, that unless you folks have a vested intrest in looking at your bill each month, or had a rep who gave a darn when you set up service, that you are probably paying the more expensive one.
**to answer your question, 450 is lowest, $5 for text is good if, in a months time, you only send and recieve a total of 250 texts or less,
and you shuld PROBABLY be on the $30 data plan.

if you guys have ANY questions about ANY of this stuff, or any questions in general about your verizon wireless service, feel free to post here, or pm me. in case you have any hesitations about why you shuld listen to me....hek i really dont care if you do, im just offering my services to help you all save a bit of money. i do work for verizon wireless as a customer service rep, and have done so for about a year. so i do know what i am talking about. so please, if anybody has any questions, like i said, post here, or pm me. i check back daily.:heart::greendroid:

Thanks a lot. I swear they don't even offer the $30 plan when you sign up on their website - great business practice. Not to mention they don't offer it when I go to change plans while signed into their website. I can imagine the majority of people who sign up online are paying $15 more a month than they should be. Maybe something the BBB should look into.