New AARP Unlimited Plan at Consumer Cellular

[jymbee]

I haven't seen that myself. The various AARP insurance plans I've encountered typically are more comprehensive plans that include extra features without extra cost. So they give more value for your money rather than reduce the price.

Extra features for Internet access beyond just a reliable connection?

I have the regular Consumer Cellular two-line Senior Plan and get a $2,76/month discount for being an AARP member. Mine is $55/mo got unlimited talk/text and 15 GB of data, which matches our usage nicely.

That's the key of course-- a plan that suits your personal needs.

 

[_Rusty_]

This may not be of interest to anyone in this thread but ..
I use "US Mobile" for my work plan. It is $8/month (yes, eight) and gives you unlimited calls and text. The data is 2 gig/ month, and if I run over on data it is $5/month more per gig. The plan uses your choice of verizon, at&t, or T-Mobile. You can change carriers on the fly if needed, the first 3 changes are no-charge. After that it is $3/change. You do have to provide your own equipment for this price, and you pay "by the year" or $96/yr.

If you are interested, I get a $25/ credit for referrals. Use the q-code below.

 

[Seilerbird]

You could not pay me to use AARP. They flood you with spam on a daily basis.

 

[UTTransplant]

You could not pay me to use AARP. They flood you with spam on a daily basis.

They will if you don’t tell them not to. Check your privacy settings and turn off all communication that isn’t membership renewal-related. That’s what we did, and we get zero communication via text, email, or snail mail.

 

[RayIN]

I just checked on the Consumer Cellular web page, and their new plan for seniors (50+) with AARP is unlimited talk, unlimited text and unlimited data for $57/month, with data after 50 GB subject to reduced date rate. So I just switched. We've been with them for at least 15 years (perhaps a little longer), and it's worked very well for us.

Our old plan at the same price only allowed 10GB of data, though the other two were unlimited. The 10GB wasn't a problem for us, since we've NEVER used even half that much data via phone. I only switched because it was the same price.

BTW, it's the same price as when we started with them having a very limited talk and very limited text and 400MB of data.

I quit CC when they changed carrier towers and my cell phone no longer worked. I called customer service and was told I had to buy a new phone that worked on the AT&T towers. I terminated our association with CC and never looked back.

 

[Lou Schneider]

I quit CC when they changed carrier towers and my cell phone no longer worked. I called customer service and was told I had to buy a new phone that worked on the AT&T towers. I terminated our association with CC and never looked back.

With any third party reseller (also called a MVNO - Mobile Virtual Network Operator) you're at the mercy of their master contract with one of the Big 3 providers who own the actual infrastructure. I found this out before I retired when Pacific Bell cancelled the landlines we used to control broadcast transmitters on half a dozen mountaintops and I switched them over to cellular data plans using what I thought was a reliable reseller. Then Verizon cancelled the reseller's master contract and I had to scramble to set up new service.

That's why today I stick to companies like Visible that are directly owned by one of the major carriers.

 

[Larry N.]

You could not pay me to use AARP. They flood you with spam on a daily basis.

We're not "using AARP," we're using Consumer Cellular AND we're not seeing them "flood you with spam on a daily basis.." In point of fact, I've seen no ads on CC, though accessing the web gets you the same ads you'd get from your Chromebook or PC, Mac or Linux browser, on a per website basis -- in other words, it's the website, not the phone, that's giving you ads.

ALL that AARP has to do with it is the discount because we happen to be members of AARP, NOTHING else, Tom.

 

[Big_John]

Consumer Cellular has been solid and perfect for us the past two years.... no change and still cheap... happy with it.//

 

[RayIN]

With any third party reseller (also called a MVNO - Mobile Virtual Network Operator) you're at the mercy of their master contract with one of the Big 3 providers who own the actual infrastructure. I found this out before I retired when Pacific Bell cancelled the landlines we used to control broadcast transmitters on half a dozen mountaintops and I switched them over to cellular data plans using what I thought was a reliable reseller. Then Verizon cancelled the reseller's master contract and I had to scramble to set up new service.

That's why today I stick to companies like Visible that are directly owned by one of the major carriers.

Yep, we're with Verizon. It too me many phone calls to CC to finally reach a person who knew and explained the truth about why they said I must buy a new phone.

 

[rjshiflet]

One thing about CC is it's a monthly plan. You're not locked into a long contract.

T-Mobile is also month-to-month with a price-lock guarantee. We moved to T-Mobile about four years ago and with our 5G Home Internet there is 100% unlimited data (with no slowdown), each of our phones has 50 Gb of tethered hotspot, plus truly unlimited streaming/data on the phones themselves. We stream 100% of our TV, run a desktop and laptop, use our phones continually and all included with no taxes or fees.

As previously stated - understandable why T-Mobile is the #1 carrier these days.

 

[TheBar]

T-Mobile is also month-to-month with a price-lock guarantee. We moved to T-Mobile about four years ago and with our 5G Home Internet there is 100% unlimited data (with no slowdown), each of our phones has 50 Gb of tethered hotspot, plus truly unlimited streaming/data on the phones themselves. We stream 100% of our TV, run a desktop and laptop, use our phones continually and all included with no taxes or fees.

As previously stated - understandable why T-Mobile is the #1 carrier these days.

Maybe we should quit suggesting T-Mobile. If people actually listened and checked them out everyone would switch. They are already the biggest carrier for a reason.

Then when T-Mobile gets the vast majority of customers they'll start adding taxes, surcharges, and jacking up their prices. I've had a cell phone for 25 years. I went through that with AT&T, Verizon, Sprint (which T-Mobile bought and fixed), and several bargain cell service resellers.

Another point is I haven't had a dropped call or dead spot in the 5 years I've been with them. Which I had frequently with all the other services.

 

[jymbee]

Maybe we should quit suggesting T-Mobile. If people actually listened and checked them out everyone would switch. They are already the biggest carrier for a reason.

As usual there's more to "biggest" beyond the numbers. Not a huge difference but Verizon is still a better option for many in the Northeast when it comes to coverage.

But in general it doesn't seem to be a that much of a difference between the major carriers with user preference coming down to, understandably, coverage and PRICE.

 

[Big_John]

You could not pay me to use AARP. They flood you with spam on a daily basis.

Yeah... I departed AARP, but I was already signed up for Consumer Cellular, so I keep my price and my unlimited plan. Not a fan of AARP either.

 

[Derby6]

Maybe we should quit suggesting T-Mobile. If people actually listened and checked them out everyone would switch. They are already the biggest carrier for a reason.

Nope -- T-Mobile works in Alaska primarily through roaming partnerships (GCI being primary) so the coverage map shows it sucks.

This thread caught my eye but I don't 'think' the juice is worth the squeeze for me.
AT&T. I am paying $57 per line for 2 phones on my plan. So the $55 a line a month ain't that great of a deal. Of course my bill is much higher because I am paying all the taxes and for a phone; all of which would still be on the Consumer Cellular plan