Anyone use Consumer Cellular?

Do you like them?

Thinking of switching from xfinity.


I have been using Mint mobile for over a year and I,m pretty satisfied.  A couple of years ago major mag did an article in which they described various pans by price.  My bottom of the ine plan is unlimited talk and text plus 4 gb data for $15 per month.  Other plans also seem quite low priced.  Both wife and I have had no problems with them.  

[They operate as prepaid with volume discounts.  So my plan costs $180, prepaid, for a full year.  At the end of my first year I shopped around a bit, but couldn’t anything as attractive- let alone more attractive.  Mint has a special triial offer, which is what attracted me.  It’s a 3 month trial at $15/mo.  That should give you plenty of time to try the system out.  

I’m a very low volume userI don’t recall ever using 1gb in any month so my needs/demands ar quite minimal.  I’ve hunted around, but haven’’t found anything this low priced.

https://www.mintmobile.com/plans/

BTW still haven’t found anything better.  We’ll probably keep using Mint for the foreseeable future.


Apollo_T said:

I have been using Mint mobile for over a year and I,m pretty satisfied.  A couple of years ago major mag did an article in which they described various pans by price.  My bottom of the ine plan is unlimited talk and text plus 4 gb data for $15 per month.  Other plans also seem quite low priced.  Both wife and I have had no problems with them.  

[They operate as prepaid with volume discounts.  So my plan costs $180, prepaid, for a full year.  At the end of my first year I shopped around a bit, but couldn’t anything as attractive- let alone more attractive.  Mint has a special triial offer, which is what attracted me.  It’s a 3 month trial at $15/mo.  That should give you plenty of time to try the system out.  

I’m a very low volume userI don’t recall ever using 1gb in any month so my needs/demands ar quite minimal.  I’ve hunted around, but haven’’t found anything this low priced.

https://www.mintmobile.com/plans/

BTW still haven’t found anything better.  We’ll probably keep using Mint for the foreseeable future.

hadn't considered mint before. I'll check them out. I'm not a big data user either and 4gb would be plenty.

I'll check them out.


Yes, for several years. No complaints.

Very patient phone staff helping 70+y/o set up two phones!


I'm using them.

Four phones, three family and one as a home phone. The home phone uses their home phone base which has the standard phone ports that you can connect to your house wiring or to a desktop phone base station. With us its connected to a Panasonic base station with numerous  extensions for all or rooms.

I believe they still allow a 30 day risk free trial.

https://www.consumercellular.com/shopping/details/cc_home_phone_base/details

ps - Mint seems pretty good. But I see its a New Customer Offer. Is that offer for the trial and the price? Will the price go up after a year when you're no longer a "new" customer? In the details of the 3 month new customer plan they state the regular price is $75.

pps - Consumer Cellular is a reseller. They use AT&T and T-Mobile. When you get their SIM card it will point to one of them. If you have AT&T and find their service spotty or vice versa with T-Mobile you can call them and have your phone switched to the other service.


The thing about mint, from what I've seen, is that pricing seems to get complicated, though overall still pretty cheap. consumer is a lot more straightforward.

and who knew how many budget vendors there were? Went down a rabbit hole last night looking at low-cost provider comparisons and there must have been ten providers I've never heard of.

think I'll just go with consumer.


I've been using Consumer for a couple of years and very happy.


@RTrent. @drummerboy

I was afraid that I wasn’t clear.  Let’s see if can do better/

Mint is a reseller, uses T-Mobil system.  They offer prepaid plans at different price points- according to size AND period you purchase.  Those periods are 3 mos, 6 mos, or 12 mos.  You would select the plan that works best for you and sign up for that plan.  They then bill you- now- for the whole time.  

By way of example— I’m a very light user so I need the smallest plan(4 gb).  Since I don’t anticipate needing to change my usage I signed up for the 1 yr. plan.  This costs $15/mo; for 12 mos  which equals $180.  This was billed and paid in Dec. stays in place until this coming Dec.  I have no further considerations until it’s time to extend or cancel my plan.  If you’re a heavier user you’d purchase the size plan that works for you.

Their special offer:  most carriers have trial offers.  When I was shopping most offers were something like 1 week free then you have to decide stay or go.  Mint’s offer is very different in that they offer a 3 month prepaid period at their lowest annual rate.  This meant that I wasn’t pressured into a hurried decision.  During this time I didn’t find any reason to change company.

At the end of the 3 mo. trial you will need to decided move on or stay- for how long.  You will be signing up at the applicable rate for the plan you choose.  In my case I chose to sty for a full year and got that rate which is the smallest size at the greatest discount.  There are telephone and chat help lines which are pretty good.

Hope this has helped.  Let me know.

Apollo T


Apollo_T said:

@RTrent. @drummerboy

I was afraid that I wasn’t clear.  Let’s see if can do better/

Mint is a reseller, uses T-Mobil system.  They offer prepaid plans at different price points- according to size AND period you purchase.  Those periods are 3 mos, 6 mos, or 12 mos.  You would select the plan that works best for you and sign up for that plan.  They then bill you- now- for the whole time.  

By way of example— I’m a very light user so I need the smallest plan(4 gb).  Since I don’t anticipate needing to change my usage I signed up for the 1 yr. plan.  This costs $15/mo; for 12 mos  which equals $180.  This was billed and paid in Dec. stays in place until this coming Dec.  I have no further considerations until it’s time to extend or cancel my plan.  If you’re a heavier user you’d purchase the size plan that works for you.

Their special offer:  most carriers have trial offers.  When I was shopping most offers were something like 1 week free then you have to decide stay or go.  Mint’s offer is very different in that they offer a 3 month prepaid period at their lowest annual rate.  This meant that I wasn’t pressured into a hurried decision.  During this time I didn’t find any reason to change company.

At the end of the 3 mo. trial you will need to decided move on or stay- for how long.  You will be signing up at the applicable rate for the plan you choose.  In my case I chose to sty for a full year and got that rate which is the smallest size at the greatest discount.  There are telephone and chat help lines which are pretty good.

Hope this has helped.  Let me know.

Apollo T

oh, you were clear the first time, and I know that these low cost providers are resellers. I went on mint's site to look at their various plans and how they charge for them.

I guess my point was just that it took you a long post to explain mint's plans, where as consumer is pretty simple.

otoh, I guess once I choose a plan on mint and pay it yearly, it becomes just as simple.

oddly enough, one of the places mint's coverage map is a little weak is on the eastern shore of northern Michigan, where I go to vacation annually. It's not "no coverage" though. Not a deal breaker.


I stream a lot of music when driving, but I also work from home. So I got the Mint Mobile 10GB/month plan which was $240 a year. My wife got the same, and we're still saving nearly $1,000 a year versus the AT&T plan we had before. I can send you a referral code if you're interested in Mint which saves you a whopping $15, and while I am happy with the service in the US, I did have to buy a local SIM card while I was in the UK, which sucks. Mint claims to have an international roaming service, so I bought a $10 plan to cover me, activated my phone when we landed and it was all burned up before I left the plane. So yeah, that's not a plus, but otherwise I recommend it.


so 10gb is only $20 bucks/month? that's pretty good

I'll let you know about the referral code.


can someone figure this out for me?

https://www.mintmobile.com/product/samsung-a13-5g-bundle/

What do I pay after the 6 months?


@drummerboy,

There’s a chat logo in the lower right corner of that page.  Looks like that’s a new phone bundle.   Do you need a new phone?

@ridski- interesting that you have a referral code.  Some months ago I checked when I referred someone here to Mint.  I was told that they’re not doing that.  I wonder why you’re more equal than I am.


Apollo_T said:

@drummerboy,

There’s a chat logo in the lower right corner of that page.  Looks like that’s a new phone bundle.   Do you need a new phone?

@ridski- interesting that you have a referral code.  Some months ago I checked when I referred someone here to Mint.  I was told that they’re not doing that.  I wonder why you’re more equal than I am.

Yeah, I'm thinking of upgrading my phone.


the chat explained it. looks like a pretty good deal. $340 up front for the phone and 1 year of 4gb service. Then the price reverts to $15/month for the service.


Just asked about the referral program. Seems they haven’t stopped it, I was just told the wrong thing.  So I have a code number if you still need one.

Also, have you checked to see if your current phone is compatible with Mint’s system?  They use T-Mobil so most current phones should be usable without the need for a new one.


I did check and it is compatible but I like to upgrade at least twice a decade.  Don't want to fall too far behind.


You get a SIM card. If your current phone is attached to a carrier, you’ll need to unlock that, and then you switch out the SIM card to the mint mobile one and now you have mint mobile. So the phone is unimportant.


ridski said:

You get a SIM card. If your current phone is attached to a carrier, you’ll need to unlock that, and then you switch out the SIM card to the mint mobile one and now you have mint mobile. So the phone is unimportant.

Forgot, obviously, that you need to cancel your old service. Get on the phone with mint or whoever you’re going with, then let them contact your old provider, they’ll negotiate the transfer of number. You may be out of a cell number for a few hours, but usually not.


Is the cost of the Mint plan inclusive  of fees and taxes? That is, if its a $15 a month plan, is it $15 or more?


RTrent said:

Is the cost of the Mint plan inclusive  of fees and taxes? That is, if its a $15 a month plan, is it $15 or more?

Taxes and fees are extra.



In order to add a comment – you must Join this community – Click here to do so.