T-Mobile’s New Unlimited Phone Plan Is Designed for Families, But Check the Details

If you are looking for unlimited data phone plan for three or more people that includes plenty of benefits, T-Mobile’s new Better Value plan has a lot to offer. But does the name really reflect better value for an unlimited plan, especially since, according to the company, it’s a limited-time offer?

We rank T-Mobile’s Essentials plan highly in our Best cell phone plans, Best unlimited data plans And Best T-Mobile plans lists, although after looking at the details, the Experience More plan – the number two unlimited postpaid plan – presents a more interesting comparison. Let’s see how they stack up.

Better Value Plan Price and Features Comparison

For a three-line account, the monthly cost of the Better Value plan is $140 (with AutoPay active), plus applicable taxes and fees. Experience More also costs $140 per month for three lines. The Essentials plan costs $90 per month for three lines, but lacks many of the add-ons that make the other two plans attractive.

The Experience More and Better Value plans offer unlimited data on T-Mobile’s 5G network, a five-year price guarantee, and two-year device upgrades.

However, the Better Value plan includes 250GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data, compared to 60GB for the Experience More plan. Once these quantities are exhausted, data is available at an unlimited speed of 600 kbps. (In comparison, T-Mobile’s highest plan, Experience Beyond, includes unlimited high-speed hotspot data.)

Better Value also includes more high-speed data when you’re in other countries, with 30GB available in Mexico and Canada, as well as 215 countries and regions around the world. That’s more than the Experience More plan, which offers 15GB in North America and 5GB elsewhere.

T-Satellite is also included in the Better Value plan, a feature that costs $10 more for any other T-Mobile plan except Experience Beyond.

One of the attractions of these packages, especially in the context of families, is the set of streaming services included. Both the Better Value plan and the Experience More plan include Netflix Standard with Ads and Hulu, and Apple TV can be added for $3 per month.

Important Qualifications

This is where the fine print comes into play, and it appears T-Mobile is aiming to inspire and reward loyalty.

If you’re changing carriers, the Better Value plan requires three or more lines and two eligible ports. Although it is likely that a family or small business will switch from another carrier and not keep their other lines, Better Value is an effort to develop collective plans and provide incentives to move away from other carriers.

If you’re already set up with T-Mobile, the Better Value plan requires you to have been a T-Mobile postpaid customer for at least five years. And if you’re that senior, you should know that your current plan may include taxes and fees, while the Better Value plan doesn’t.

The Better Value plan is available in the T-Life app and on T-Mobile.com. When you walk into a T-Mobile retail store, you’ll likely be directed to the app or website with the help of an employee.

And finally, T-Mobile is billing this as a limited-time offer, but I confirmed with a spokesperson that it currently doesn’t have an end date.

See also: I looked in depth T-Mobile Emergency Response Programs.