Cell Phone Service
 

I'm in the market for new cell phone service. Any ideas on the best offers out there where you can also earn points?

Thanks!

Cell service choice is very much an individual preference. If you are an infrequent user, you are really better off with prepaid service such as page plus cellular. Otherwise your choice should probably be driven by the coverage and services where you will use the most minutes and the availability of employer/other discounts. For contract service, I have had good luck getting miles and cheap phones twice through worldperkswireless (former nwa cellular store), operated by inphonic and later simplexity. Others have reported issues, especially with returns and more complex orders/number ports. Currently skymileswireless.com offers 4K with a contract.

Depending on where you live, you may also want to check carriers to see how their service is. My buddy switched from VZW to ATT in the San Diego area and he hates it.

you can earn miles with united if you're signing up for a new plan.

http://www.mileagepluswireless.com/

I suspect that differences among carriers, in terms of the kinds of phones they offer, the quality of their coverage in your area, the cost of the best plan for you, and everything else, would totally swamp the value of any miles/points you might get from one or another.

Nothing wrong with going for miles after you've picked the carrier, but even though this is FT and I'm as much a mileage whore as anyone, in this case the priority should be the other way round.

Here's another consideration. Simplexity operates Wirefly as well as the miles-earning portals.

A new Motorola Droid for Verizon at MileagePlusWireless.com is $150 and gets you 5000 United miles. At Wirefly.com, it's $100 and no miles. In other words, you're paying a penny a mile.

Wirefly and the other 3rd party dealers are usually cheaper, but impose additional terms (like a $200 penalty for changing anything on the account in the first 6 month).

Very often you don't get as good of a deal when you sign up through an airline to get miles. I have found that activation fee doesn't get waved etc...

(Hopefully) all miles offers for cell phone service are listed on my website below, in the Telephone section.

I did the same thing in San Diego and love AT&T. It depends on if you have Edge Network phone or 3G network phone. My iPhone is fantasitc in AT&T.

I would beware of wirefly. Although it may work for some, they are really bad when things go wrong. I tried to purchase a phone with plan from them a few years ago, and they never sent it. They wouldn't refund or even send me a phone for four months. Calling their customer service in India (who all were apparently born with common American names like John or Gary) was very frustrating to say the least. In the end, I got my refund, but it did take four months and lots and lots of calling (they would lie and say things would be refunded, but not really).

pgary, is the 14,000 American Airlines mile offer still available for purchasing TMobile? I cannot get the link to work. Thanks!