Red Pocket Mobile has launched a family discount plan. The MVNO that operates on every carrier in the USA currently sells a total of 6 phone plans through its website. At the moment only one plan is eligible for a family plan discount and that is the $30 plan. Additional lines subscribed to the plan will pay just $20/month for service plus an additional one time $10 setup fee. A maximum of 4 additional lines can be added to an account.
The $30 plan includes unlimited talk, text and data with the first 3GB or 5GB of data at LTE speeds. The data allotment varies by network. Those who signup for AT&T or Sprint based service will get 5GB of data, while those with Verizon or T-Mobile based service get 3GB. The plan also comes with unlimited international calling to over 70 countries. Taxes and fees cost extra.
Is The New Family Plan Option A Good Deal?
Yes and no.
Whether or not this is a good deal for you depends on which network you and your family are subscribed to and whether or not you are willing to pay for service months in advance.
Red Pocket does sell some eBay exclusive plans that come with multi-month discounts. For instance, one eBay exclusive plan comes with 5GB of data for just $20/month but you do have to pay for a whole year in advance to get that pricing. The plan is also limited for use on just the AT&T and Sprint networks. However if service on those networks is what you are after, you'll pay just $80/month for a family of 4 if you are willing to commit to the MVNO for a year. If you are not willing to pay for service in advance or need service on Verizon or T-Mobile, it will cost you $90/month for a family of 4 using the multi-line discount plan. That's in addition to the initial extra up front cost of a $10 setup fee that each additional line must pay to get started.
Of course buying 4 lines of service for a year in advance will cost you $960 up front, which is a pretty big ask. Patient shoppers however will note that eBay seems to frequently offer coupon codes that give anywhere between 10%-20% off the purchase price of items sold through their market place.