How to Get the Best Cell Phone Plan in All the Land
Wow. I’ve been much busier than I thought, so I haven’t been able to write any updates for a while. Luckily I have a huge layover next week in Phoenix, so I’ll have plenty of time to crank out some stories.
Anyway, some friends and I recently switched our cell phone plans to the best plan ever. Here’s the breakdown :
500 Anytime minutes
Unlimited PCS-PCS minutes (mobile to mobile on Sprint)
Unlimited Nights and Weekends starting at 6pm
500 Text messages / month
EVDO (fast internet) service
Roaming on Verizon’s network
All for only $30/mo
EDIT: Will asked if there are other SERO plans. YES. You can upgrade the minutes to 1250 for an additional $20/mo (for a total of $50/mo). For $99/mo you can have 2500 minutes OR all free incoming and 1000 outgoing.
Plus, with a few other tricks you can knock off up to an additional $10/mo and cut your taxes by at least 50%. If you’ve been a Sprint customer you can get an additional 5-20% off sometimes. Not too shabby, huh?
Technically you’re supposed to know an employee at Sprint to get this plan. Luckily, a friend at work is good friends with a Sprint, so he let me use his name. However, several people who have called in to get the plan didn’t even know an employee. Most weren’t asked for an employee’s name, and a couple just found an employee’s name and e-mail address online and used that.
If you DON’T have a sprint plan already, then just go to www.sprint.com/sero and sign up there. Then, skip to step 5 (there’s also a referral program where you can tell them I referred you and we both get $25. E-mail me if you want to do that)
- Call *2 and when prompted say “representative”
- When you get a Sprint rep on the phone, say “I’d like to switch my plan to a SERO plan (pronounced like zero with an s). Are you familiar with that?”
If they don’t know what you’re talking about HANG UP. Don’t give them your phone number. For some reason it is difficult for many reps to figure out how to get you on this plan. You are allowed to have it (my guy checked with his manager), so don’t get discouraged.
- If they do know about it, then give them whatever information they need. Hopefully they will be able to get you on the plan.
- If they try to transfer you or can’t help you, just hang up and start at 1 again.
- Now that you’ve gotten your new SERO plan, it’s time to get some improvements added to it. The two main you want are 6pm Nights and Weekends and 500 Text messages / month
Log in to your Sprint account online, click “contact us” and then the e-mail link.
- Now you want to compose an e-mail that accomplishes a few things. First, you want to praise their good service. They really do have great service, especially compared to other carriers. Next you want to say that you love your new plan, but that you’re disappointed it has such late nights and weekends (9pm) or no texting. Then ask NICELY if they can add the requested service for free to your account.
- It will probably take 2-5 requests for each addition you want, so just send them back to back
That’s all it takes! Now just wait for your next billing cycle to start, and enjoy your new cell phone plan.
Two more tricks you can do are :
- Change your billing to online billing and change your billing address to Nevada. They have lower taxes there, and you are billed taxes based on where your billing address is.
- Every time you have a dropped call, keep track of it. You can report up to 20 per billing cycle, and receive a 50 cent credit per call. To do this you just call *2 and say “dropped call”. It’s an automated process and can be done 4 times per call. I usually have 20 dropped calls per billing cycle, so that’s another $10 off my monthly bill.
So, doing these tricks you can have a great cell phone plan for about $23/mo including taxes (if you have a lot of dropped calls). If you’re a loyal sprint customer, you can also e-mail and ask for a percentage off your monthly bill. I got 10% for being with them for five years. Enjoy!
(3 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
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April 23rd, 2006 at 1:54 pm
Great find! If you go to the online billing, does it list any upgrades to your plan, such as adding unlimited incoming calling for a certain price per month? Or alternatively, do you know of any different “levels” of SERO plans with different amounts of anytime minutes for different prices? The reason I ask is that I only have a cell phone; AND I use it for my job (in which I telecommute) so I generally have a lot of minutes per month. Right now I’m on a 1000 minute plan. That plan sounds AWESOME otherwise but unfortunately wouldn’t work for me unless I could upgrade the minutes on it.
April 23rd, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Never mind I found it! If you log on to the website it lists 500, 1250, and 2500 minute versions.
April 23rd, 2006 at 2:20 pm
Guess you beat me to it.
April 23rd, 2006 at 3:15 pm
Call Sprint CS (after you get your plan activated) at 1-877-234-0091 and say you got this flyer saying you can get either 10% off or $5 off your account as a preferred customer:
Flyer (this is the 10% off example, but if you say you got a flyer for $5 off it also works).
April 23rd, 2006 at 3:16 pm
http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=28201&stc=1
April 23rd, 2006 at 3:18 pm
That is 5 dukes or 10% off your the monthly cost of your plan, but your contract will now be 2 years until 2 years afher you call.
April 24th, 2006 at 2:59 pm
WOW!! Saw this on DIGG, what a great tip, THANKS LOTS!!! I’ve been eligible for upgrade since 2003 but have been hanging back waiting for the right offer, I’ve even called them and was getting NO satisfaction, until now.
Went to the SERO site and clicked the order by phone, altho I could have done it online. The Sprint SERO site is actually hosted by INPHONIC, and if you call you’ll be talking to an INPHONIC rep, not Sprint, but it’s all good.
There’s also more info re this offer at
http://zarlwilliam.blogspot.com/2006/01/sprint-sero-plan.html
Thanks again!!
April 24th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
Sounds awesome but I dont know anyone that works there.
I also don’t have the greatest credit anymore.
April 24th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
That’s fantastic, now I just need a way to get out of my Verizon contract… =/ I came across something saying this offer ends in June, but I’m not out of my Verizon contract til August. Booo
April 24th, 2006 at 8:11 pm
Anyone have an email I can use? x@sprint.com doesnt work
April 24th, 2006 at 9:43 pm
You can use: artem.x.lapitski@sprint.com
I haven’t gone through with mine yet because I am poor but using that email got me to the credit card page where you pay so I assume it is legit.
Also about changing your billing address to Nevada. Wouldn’t that part be kind of illegal? Also how would you get your bill?
April 24th, 2006 at 11:01 pm
Where does it say you need to have a billing addy in nevada?
Also thanks for the email
April 25th, 2006 at 8:39 am
Aimee — where did you see it ends in June?
April 25th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
It was supposed to “end” on 01/01/06 too, but it’s still going. It’s just a ploy to try and motivate you to sign up. It’s like “sales” at Car Dealerships, they are always there.
April 25th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
Yeah, I saw it was supposed to end 1/1/06 too, and got extended, so I’m hoping it gets extended again. =/ Will I don’t have any specific websites handy, but apparently the employees were told that’s when it ends, I saw that several times including from 1 or 2 Sprint employees.
April 26th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
I just signed up for this and they fucked me over with an additional $150 deposit that they “hold” for one year. I just turned 18 so I don’t have any credit yet and apparently that is the reason. So yeah, just beware of that.
April 27th, 2006 at 11:27 am
Hawt thats nothing… When I was 18 I signed up for cingular with zero credit and they charged me a 500$ dep and my mom wanted on my account so they charged me another 500$ dep. Cingular also ads things to your account without the account holders permission.
Example: We have friends overseas and we called them with our cell phones with phone cards. Everything was fine for 8 months or so then they added a feature called international calling so you wouldnt need a phonecard. We didnt like the rates they had so we just kept using the phone cards. Well the bill came and it was $1500… Whoa, Hmm cingular says that phonecards dont work anymore and the phones will use the default international plan.
Sprint is prolly a good place to be. 150$ aint that bad and plus you will get it back in a year. Its just a thing they do so they dont get screwed over.
May 2nd, 2006 at 5:57 pm
I just got my phone yesterday and this plan is killer. However, I have been trying to add the 6pm nights to my plan since I get free text messaging for a month. I’ve sent out a couple e-mails and keep getting this sent back to me…
“I noticed that you have the SERO Plan on the account and with this plan you already have various promotional offers. So I am sorry that we cannot add this option free on your account.”
May 2nd, 2006 at 5:59 pm
Hawt - You need to just keep trying. You WILL get it. They’re cracking down, but it’s still possible.
May 22nd, 2006 at 10:10 pm
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May 28th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
Does any know if you will be able to get the palm 700p via the sprint employees discount? It is a wonderful plan. One day I saw the treo 650 on the site then it was gone. I was hoping the palm 700 would replace it.
May 28th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
Look back a couple days… I wrote an article on how to get the 700p cheap.
June 7th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
Sounds like a giant hassle to me. Any phone calls to companies are a hassle. And begging for additional perks? I’d rather use smoke signals.
June 8th, 2006 at 3:37 pm
I’m newbie on SPRINT and would like to have treo 700p for my first mobile. I find out around 80$ deal for two contract like below. But it doesn’t come with “SERO” plan. I was told. Do I have to buy phone and SERO plan separately ? Hope to have a good deal both phone and plan.
Any advice please~
———————–
Thank you for your interest in the TREO700p offered on Ebay. This offer is
subject to a two year agreement and approved credit with Sprint. It can not
be used to upgrade existing Sprint service. This phone must be activated
on a $39.99 or higher plan and can not be switched to a SERO plan.
June 18th, 2006 at 7:14 pm
The Palm Treo 700p is now available with the SERO plan from SPRINT.
June 29th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
I finally tried to get on SERO (I know I know, procrastination, but I was trying to decide *which* SERO plan to get on and I didn’t want to switch more than once), but it looks like I won’t be able to. I’ve talked to several sprint reps now (probably at least 5-6) and they say that I can’t convert an existing account to SERO, that you can only get on it by getting a new plan. Ty, I don’t know how you were able to get on it with an existing plan, maybe you just got lucky. It would have been nice but oh well.
July 2nd, 2006 at 10:22 pm
Hey I used artem.x.lapitski@sprint.com as an email for SERO but it also asks for an Employee id for this guy. Anyone can help. In giving me the id # or another person???
July 2nd, 2006 at 11:43 pm
I still can’t get free text messaging or 6pm nights and weekends. maybe ty got it because he has been with them like 5 years.
August 18th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Just went through the SERO website, lifted a Sprint employee e-mail off of Google, and checked out a 700p for $350. 500 minute plan plus unlimited data for $30.00. Amazon was offering it cheaper, but the cell phone plan price more than made up for the difference in price. Thanks to Ty. Now on to getting the 6pm and 500 text messages.
August 26th, 2006 at 2:30 am
Got a Treo 700p from an eBay retailer. Then, got the SERO plan, 49.99 version. I then found your site, took your advice, and asked for the early nights and 500 messages. They gave it to me on the first shot! OK, I did make up a really, REALLY good story!
Thanks for the great advice!
August 26th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
I got a Treo 700p from Radio Shack for $499.99, called up and switched to SERO 500 and got 500 free text and 6PM N/W. Then I asked them to price match the phone and they gave me $225 in service credits, and I added my corporate discount on top of that. My bill is only about $24/month + tax, but with the service credits, I don’t have to pay my bill for the next 8 or 9 months.
August 27th, 2006 at 7:34 pm
so if you sign up for the $30 plan can you later switch to the $50 without restarting your 2 yr contract? and can you switch back?
October 18th, 2006 at 10:17 pm
I am considering getting a two year agreement and excellant phone deal through cellular choices dot net which is inphonic I think - then switching to sero = would this work? I wonder. Any experiance along this line? Has anyone been totaly shut down so far in trying to get a sero account.
October 20th, 2006 at 9:17 am
Amazon sells Palm 700 for $255. If I buy the phone from Amazon, will I be able to switch my service to SERO? Did anyone try it? Thanks.
October 21st, 2006 at 3:08 am
I just bought the 30$ SERO plan (thanks to this blog). For anyone who’s intrested, I used the CEO of Sprint as my employee referral, LOL. All I have to do now is wait for my Samsung A900 to come thru the mail and add on the upgrades, thanks Ty.
October 21st, 2006 at 2:51 pm
No one has posted about this in a while and wanted to say the SERO plan is still available, but without the 500 text messages. Lame! I had better luck by calling (866) 250-2221, the business center. The reps were much more familiar with the SERO plan.
October 24th, 2006 at 12:43 pm
I keep being told that only an employee can make the switch from the “Intranet” site, or that I have to cancel my current account (incurring an early cancellation fee) and sign up new at sprint.com/sero
I’ll keep trying and post an update later. Try number 4…
October 24th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
Shutdown all day today. It looks like everyone has been instructed to say that the employee must sign me up.
October 24th, 2006 at 2:57 pm
So far SERO for an existing coustomer looks dead (at least to me). I’ve called several dozen times and get told the same thing.
December 2nd, 2006 at 4:02 am
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December 10th, 2006 at 3:23 pm
hey i was wondering if the sero plan is still there because i wanted to get it when my contract was up in feb
December 19th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
Yes the sero plan is still there… just signed up 12/15/06
December 23rd, 2006 at 8:33 pm
do u know any one cent plans?
December 30th, 2006 at 4:39 pm
i just switched to the sero plan, it took me about 6-10 calls and finally was able to switch my existing “fair and flexible” plan to the sero plan, some of the representatives had no clue what it was… just call 1-888-876-8381, they will definetely help you change your account. they didnt even ask me for any referals or anything… just switched it
January 9th, 2007 at 8:14 am
I have cingular and i am always calling everyone moneth to see if my 10$ credit has been added yet! Little do they know i get it every month but they keep giving it to me lol. I also got 5 mb of media net and 1000 txt messages for 5$ a month as a promotional offer! Smart move on my part i guess
January 9th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
I got onto the SPRINT/sero site but wasn’t able to get any better deals genrally offered Family Plans on the main Web Site. Anyone successful in getting a deal on the Family Plan?
February 2nd, 2007 at 8:49 am
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March 16th, 2007 at 12:41 am
sero plan
March 20th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
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March 26th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
hi tynan,
this is kara from magnolia cafe so co. just wanted to tell you that i switched to sprint a few days ago and got the $30/mo deal thanks to your blog! so thanks!
March 30th, 2007 at 8:41 am
kara ;
Any new fresh updates from anyone reagrding getting the 6pm and 500 taxt messages for free after signing up with sero?
Or anyone else? Is sprint soing it with little to no fuss?
thnx
March 30th, 2007 at 8:43 am
* regarding
* text
I can spell sometimes
April 9th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
hey
can anyone help me out with email address
April 9th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
i’ve tried so many email addresses for sero plan but none of them worked fo me
April 20th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Hi James
here is a fresh e-mail that work well:
Go to:
http://sprint.p.delivery.net/m/p/sprint/epc/epclanding.asp#
use the following e-mail:
aaron.radelet@sprint.com
The service is still up and running…. to bad that does not work for Canada HEY!
April 28th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that I switched to the SERO plan this past week. I guess right now the nights start at 7 with the plan, which isn’t too bad.
I used Tynan’s advice about sending the e-mails requesting text messaging be added for free and they did it! My plan for now is…
500 anytime minutes
Free nights and weekends starting at 7pm
Free PCS-PCS calling
Sprint Vision (internet)
Free roaming (not sure if it’s on Verizon’s network or not)
500 text messages
The next thing to do is send the e-mails for getting my nights changed to 6pm. I just switched the billing to online billing, so I’ll be changing that shortly as well. One thing I noticed after looking up tax rates online, I guess Colorado actually has the lowest of the states (fyi).
Good luck to everyone trying to get on the plan. It’s actually really easy to do it, so just call them up and they should be able to help. Let me know if you have any questions.
Gadget
April 28th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Oh yea, and the plan above is for $30/month total. Sorry about not including that.
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:04 pm
here is an email you can use: savings@sprint.com
May 4th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
OK, called for the deal.
Appears to be good BUT:
-you will be talking to Indians in India who will not get your information correct, so this will cause some problems with youre order which will require you to make several (5 to be exact) additional phone calls to straighten out.
-This offer is not compatible with a Family Plan type setup. The Indians lied to me and told me that it was compatible just to get the sale.
-There will be many rounds of phone games and website games to finally make this happen (very annoying)
In conclusion, if youre willing to spend a total of 5 hours or more on the phone (both on hold and trying to communicate with Indians over a shitty connection half way around the world) then the deal will pan out and it is indeed a good deal.
May 8th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Hey all! So I am a bit confused. Is the SERO compatible with the Family Fair and Flexible Plan? I am currently on a 2 year contract with Sprint with the Family Plan. Will I be able to have my plan switched to this? Help!
May 9th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
NO. NOT COMPATIBLE WITH FAMILY PLAN !!!!
May 29th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
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July 16th, 2007 at 9:42 am
yall, sero is for real, and it works! i just convinced my dad to switch us over! he thought we were on a family plan
August 20th, 2007 at 10:55 am
i was just wondering if you could add unlimited texting for the normal additional price? or were there only specific things you could get added to these plans?
October 11th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Sero still works…Took me 2 calls to get someone to do it and after a little bs’ing and some small talk I got the $30 plan and they threw in 6 PM night and weekend and free unlimited text, which pretty much cuts my cellphone bill in half! Thanks for the heads up and you guys rock!
November 18th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
savings@sprint.com
savings@sprintemi.com
dont apear to be valid offers any more acording to the phone lady from sprint i talked to T_T unless i get on sero i probly wont get a cell phone this year. *sigh*
April 11th, 2008 at 4:34 am
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