~Plan Help/Direction Needed!~

[circuitjock]

Ok...let me first start off by saying that this is my first post in this forum or any forum for that matter so I apologize in advance if there are any rules/guidelines I don't adhere to...

I have been with Sprint between 3 different accounts (two were personal:my SSN~the other/current one is business:TIN) for a total of about 8 years...there was appx a 1-2 year gap between the 2 personal accounts and the first was closed for personal reasons on my end not an issue like nonpayment from Sprint's end...I have never used another carrier except for the old AT&T and that was wayyyyyyyyy before the cell boom of the late 90's and early 2000's...

I have no def plans to even consider or pursue using another carrier...I like no love sprint and its service, cellular or customer or otherwise...my mom had cin*ular and I had to assist her with her stuff often TOO often and the customer service was beyond dissatisfactory and the service was pretty bad too...

Currently I am 16 months into my sprint account for my business (self employed)...and I have had some issues as of late with my Samsung A900...I love the phone, it has been almost the best one I have ever had (I say almost because I long for the days when I had my Toshiba vm4050~such the perfect phone for me lol well maybe it was perfect at the time)...

Basically I started researching getting a new phone and stumbled upon the sprintusers.com website...and I couldn't be more pleased with the breadth of knowledge and the sense of community (sprint users UNITE!) it provides...during my research on what phone I want I have come across several threads discussing plans such as the SERO, etc. and after reading them I took another look at what all mine has and how much it COSTS and I began to feel almost pathetic for what I pay because there appears to be options for me out there that I either don't know about or I don't even begin to know where to begin on obtaining a good plan that fits my needs and relaxes my budget a bit ;)...

So here goes~I am going to post my plan and I would luv it if anyone or everyone could provide me with suggestions on what/where I might do/go with it...

(1) I have decided that I want to get a new phone, and I'm almost 100% certain that the Q is going to be the best fit for me...I use the internet/email on the a900 ALOT but it leaves me feeling like a PDA/Blackberry would fit my usage better...
(2) My business account has the option of having up to 5 lines...I currently have 2 lines (plan details to follow) and each line I add requires me to make a $100 deposit for each line...I am totally open to adding another line so that I can get at least a "new line/user" discount on the phone (the Q) and I don't have a problem with paying the deposit either, I have horrible credit personally and since I was unemployed part of last year, my business account has been late on more than one occasion and I have had credits applied/utilized several times as well...however if I have to sacrifice a discount on the phone for a good plan that saves me money in the long run (again I'm not leaving sprint...they have my loyalty) then I would gladly pay full price for the new phone (tha is what ebay is or anyway right)

Ok here are the plan details:

~Line 1:Samsung A900~
Sprint PCS Fair & Flex AMER for FAMILIES

* Adjustable Anytime Minutes
* Minutes Are Shared On This Plan
* $59.99 Minimum Monthly Charge
* Nationwide Long Distance Included
* Unlimited Night & Weekend Mins. Included
* Nights: M-Th 9PM-7AM Wknd: F 9PM-M 7AM
* Unlimited Mobile to Mobile (pcs to Pcs)
* Caller ID, Call Waiting
* Three-way Calling
* Voicemail

Sprint Power VisionSM Ultimate Pack $25.00
Total Equipment Protection $ 7.00
NIGHTS STARTING AT 6PM $10.00
Roadside Rescue $ 4.00
Unlimited SMS Text Messaging $15.00
Nation Wide Long Distance
Unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes

~Line 2:Samsung mmA880~

* PCS Add-a-phone
* $0.00 Monthly Service Charge
* Caller ID, Call Waiting
* Three-way Calling
* Voicemail

Total Equipment Protection $7.00
SPRINT VISION PACK FOR SHARED LINE $7.50
UNLIMITED SMS MESSAGES $7.50

Over the past 6 months, I have averaged appx 4200 minutes per month...so I need minutes obviously lol...last month alone I used appx 4500 text messages between the 2 lines...so limits/charges on too many text msgs is prob not a good idea...

and for the my final astonishing sprint account fact ~ my bill averages appx $225 per month for these 2 lines...
um yeah ya think it needs a tune up...

Good luck guys...and thanks sooooo much in advance for your opinions, suggestions, comments, constructive criticism, etc...

[JeffDTD]

You say 4200 minutes.. are you talking daytime minutes?

[circuitjock]

You say 4200 minutes.. are you talking daytime minutes?
I guess I should have been more specific with that...just didn't dawn on me for some reason...here is a breakdown of minutes from my last bill...
Anytime Mins - 131.0
Anytime Mins Above Top Tier - 861.0
Night&Weekend Mins - 2015.0
Sprint Mobile to Mobile - 1205.0
Total - 4212.0

[dimm0k]

What exactly is "Anytime Mins Above Top Tier" and how many AT mins do you have in your plan?

It's possible for you to get some discounts on the add-ons you currently pay for, such as the $10 Vision credit and 6pm nights. People have been able to get unlimited text messaging for free as well or $8... if not you can go with the $20 unlimited family text messaging plan to knock off a couple of bucks too from what you pay for unlimited messaging on two lines.

[circuitjock]

What exactly is "Anytime Mins Above Top Tier" and how many AT mins do you have in your plan?

It's possible for you to get some discounts on the add-ons you currently pay for, such as the $10 Vision credit and 6pm nights. People have been able to get unlimited text messaging for free as well or $8... if not you can go with the $20 unlimited family text messaging plan to knock off a couple of bucks too from what you pay for unlimited messaging on two lines.
I looked at my most recent bill (the one with the 4200 mins) and here is what I found:
(1)the anytime mins above top tier is referring to the anytime mins used by my 2nd line...and for each of these mins (861.0) I have been charged $.05/min which equals $43.05...
(2)on the 1st line it just gives me the breakdown of 0-400 ATmins being included then 401-450 $5.00, 451-500 $10.00, so on and so forth adding $5 each 50 min "tier"...

now that I look at this a bit more...y does my plan say "shared anytime mins" when there doesn't seem to be any sharing going on...hmmm...c I do need some help...lol

[Wayne 1]

You might try to get what you can now WITHOUT extending your contract (be careful with this, Sprint is sneaky and will try to extend your contract for chump change!).

Then when you get closer to contract renewal time call retentions armed with the best deals from other carriers........and bargain with them. Think big and maybe they'll make a nice counter offer to you. You spend alot of money with Sprint, they should be willing to make a nice deal to keep you. :)

[dimm0k]

... now that I look at this a bit more...y does my plan say "shared anytime mins" when there doesn't seem to be any sharing going on...hmmm...c I do need some help...lol

I had this happen with my account last year when I switched to my current family plan and had to call in to have them fix it. Apparently the primary account was set up for a shared plan, but one line wasn't using it.

[RaysDarts]

I had this happen with my account last year when I switched to my current family plan and had to call in to have them fix it. Apparently the primary account was set up for a shared plan, but one line wasn't using it.

No, no, you did have a Shared plan. And I was mad when you changed it, you knocked out my free phone, and I actually had to get my own plan!! :clap:

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