8 Tricks Every Student Should Know for Wireless Discounts
With fierce competition between the major carriers, wireless bills are getting smaller. Even so, as struggling college students, we are always looking for more ways to save. Here are some tricks to take advantage of all the wireless discounts available to you as students, and save even more on your wireless bills.
1. Use a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO).
Hear me out before you say WTF is MVNO??? MVNOs are operators that lease wireless telephone and data service from major carriers such as AT&T Mobility, Sprint Corporation, T-Mobile US, and Verizon Wireless for resale. In doing so they are able to give access to major wireless carriers’ networks at very reasonable rates. Some (Republic Wireless, Google) have come up with creative ways of routing all calls via Wi-Fi and use the cell network as a fallback option.
Some of the MVNOs, like GivMobile, give back to the community by donating a percentage of your wireless bill to a charity, while others, like Credo Mobile, support liberal causes. Needless to say they are worth looking into if you want to save on your wireless bill.
2. Get the smallest data plan available.
Most carriers have standard and similar rates for the voice component of your plan, but the charges will add up on the data side of the bill. Get the smallest data plan available and use Wi-Fi whenever you can. It’s almost always possible to connect to a public network on campus or off campus. But be careful with overage charges. Your smartphone (iPhone or Android) do have a data meter that you should check from time to time and make sure you are not going over your data limit.
3. Take advantage of the discounts available via your school.
In all likelihood, your edu email address will get you a discount on your monthly bill. GivMobile offers 10% off of your service each month after enrolling your email address. T-Mobile offers a $48.00 discount on most smartphones with a valid student email address, while AT&T and Verizon offer a discount on your monthly recurring charges.
4. Apply your student discount to your parents’ plan.
You don’t need to be the primary account holder in order to apply the wireless discounts that the carriers offer students. You can apply the student discount you are entitled to from your school to your parents’ wireless plan.
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5. Take advantage of the deals and discounts available for college students.
There are plenty of deals available to you as a college student when you sign up for a wireless plan. Whether it’s cash back or a percentage off on the phone purchase, use StudentRate to find tons of secret wireless discounts!
6. Use Viber & Whatsapp.
Especially if you have friends or family overseas, you must download and use Viber or Whatsapp. These two apps allow you to make voice calls and send text messages to anyone else that uses these apps, free of charge. Just be sure to use the apps when you are on Wi-Fi so it has no effect on your data plan.
7. Disable Wifi assist in iPhone.
With the latest version of the ios and iPhone, Apple introduced a feature called Wi-Fi assist. It basically diverts your data usage to your wireless carrier when your Wi-Fi internet connection is weak. Disable this feature if you want to have full control over your data usage.
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8. Stay on your parents plan as long as you can.
Most students are on their parents’ wireless plans. If you are one of those students, here’s the best advice I can give you: don’t get off that plan anytime soon!
*This is a sponsored post, all opinions are my own.
Feature image source: everycollegegirl.com and journalismtech.com
