A key reason why many people stick with the latest phone plans is that these plans come with the best deals on new phones. Carriers usually reserve the biggest discounts (like $1000 off the new iPhone) for their premium plan customers.
That’s especially been the case for a while at T-Mobile. The carrier has changed their mainline plans multiple times over the years, and with each new plan comes the “grandfathering” of the previous plans. These grandfathered plans receive reduced promotions compared to the modern offerings.
The best way for these customers to maintain the best device promotional values and get the best service discounts were to sign up for what are called “segmented” rate plans. These are the regular Go5G, Go5G Plus, and Go5G Next plans, but with discounts built in for 55+ customers, First Responders, and Military.
Unfortunately, it seems T-Mobile will now restrict these plans from receiving high value promotions.
According to documents obtained by us here at The Mobile Report, T-Mobile will soon restrict their “segmented” rate plans from receiving the highest device promotion values.
Typically, when a new device promotion drops, the promotional value will vary only by plan name. For example, Go5G Next plans, regardless of if it’s a 55+, First Responder, or Military version, would receive the highest values.
Going forward, at least for the promotions beginning October 4th, that will no longer be the case. Customers on discounted “segmented” rate plans will receive reduced values compared to customers on the standard non-discounted plans of the same name.
As you can see in the promotional sheet below, customers on any of the discounted plans will get less value for the same promos. For example, adding a new line on Go5G Next will net you $800 off the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, but on Go5G Next 55+, you’ll only get $600 off.
This marks the first time that promos are being separated by segment and not just plan. It’s a clear sign that the glory days of T-Mobile are long gone.
It’s unclear if this will be the standard operating procedure moving forward, or if it only applies to this one round of promotions. Knowing how T-Mobile works, however, we’re willing to bet this will be the new norm from now on. The changes begin to go into effect on October 4th.
