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RingPlus hasn't run any new cell phone plan promotions in a couple of weeks. Perhaps this is because the Sprint MVNO was busy changing its plan lineup around in a big way.
RingPlus has reduced the number of its paid, or premium monthly plan count from 9 plans to 3! Additionally the company has redone all of its free plans and added what should be an ample amount of MMS to every cell phone plan that it offers.
The inclusion of MMS is long over due for RingPlus's plans and something I suggested would be a nice addition to their 2016 plan lineup when I gave them the award for the most disruptive MVNO of 2015. Some of course may now make the argument that MMS, and SMS texting is becoming obsolete given the proliferation of apps such as WhatsApp, SnapChat and Hangouts to name a few.
New RingPlus Plans
While I won't be doing a direct side by side comparison of the new plans compared to the old simply because RingPlus offered too many plans and a direct comparison would be difficult, I will make a few general comments about what I think is going on here before introducing their new plans to you.
[xyz-ihs snippet="300x250-float-left"]RingPlus's free plans have gone up in price. For those who are unfamiliar with what just seemed like an oxymoron, RingPlus doesn't charge a monthly price for its "free plans" so in that sense they are in fact free. What it does charge for though is called an "auto top-up." RingPlus charges subscribers the auto top-up fee upon subscribing to any plan to cover any overages a customer may incur while on that plan. If at any time a customers account balance ever reaches $0 from accumulating too many overages, their credit card gets automatically charged again for the top up amount that the plan requires. RingPlus is now charging higher top up amounts for its free plans.
The remaining premium plans seem to be of better value than before due to the inclusion of MMS and no more auto top ups required.
For those who are still interested in seeing what their previous plans were, a look at the web archives time machine website will help.
Free Plans
| Monthly Price | Auto Top-Up | Minutes | SMS | MMS | Mobile Data | Overages | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michelson | $0 | $9.00 + tax | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 MB LTE | 5¢ | |
| Chadwick Member+ Only | $0 | $5.00 + tax | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 MB LTE | 4¢ | |
| Anderson | $0 | $18.00 + tax | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 MB LTE | 5¢ | |
| Davisson Member+ Only | $0 | $10.00 + tax | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 MB LTE | 4¢ | |
| Lawrence | $0 | $27.00 + tax | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 MB LTE | 5¢ | |
| Stern Member+ Only | $0 | $15.00 + tax | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 MB LTE | 4¢ |
Premium Paid Plans
| Monthly Price | Minutes | SMS | MMS | Mobile Data | International | Overages | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloch | $12.99 + tax | Unlimited | Unlimited | 500 | 1 GB LTE | 4¢ SMS 100 Minutes to Special Intl. Destinations | 5¢ | |
| Bloch Member+ Only | $3.99+ tax | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1000 | 1 GB LTE | 4¢ 100 Minutes to Special Intl. Destinations | 5¢ | |
| Kusch | $19.99 + tax | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2000 | 2 GB LTE | 4¢ 200 Minutes to Special Intl. Destinations | 5¢ | |
| Kusch Member+ Only | $9.99 + tax | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2000 | 2 GB LTE | 4¢ 200 Minutes to Special Intl. Destinations | 5¢ | |
| Bridgman | $29.99 + tax | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3 GB LTE | 4¢ 300 Minutes to Special Intl. Destinations | 5¢ | |
| Bridgman Member+ Only | $19.99 + tax | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3 GB LTE | 4¢ 300 Minutes to Special Intl. Destinations | 5¢ |
Tablet Plans
| Monthly Price | Auto Top-Up | Mobile Data | WiFi Minutes | Overages per GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bardeen | $3.75 + tax | $14.99 + tax | 500 MB LTE | 200 | $14.99 |
| Bardeen With Member+ | $1.99 + tax | $12.99 + tax | 500 MB LTE | 350 | $12.99 |
Analysis
Personally I like that RingPlus has reduced the amount of plans that it offers. Research has shown many times that if you give a potential customer too many choices, they walk away without having selected an item. As mentioned, I also like the inclusion of MMS with all of their plans. Although their free plans may have gone up in price, their plans overall still represent a great value compared to other cell phone service providers.
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