Prices on everything from groceries to appliances to electronics are on the rise, and cell phone bills are rarely an exception. If you’re not on something like a price-locked T-Mobile plan, you’re at the mercy of your carrier when it comes to potential price increases.
Costs aren’t likely to go down soon, either, with experts projecting tariffs planned by incoming president Donald Trump to cause even more price increases. That means every penny saved is helpful.
Luckily, T-Mobile has a plan to help with that, at least for their Metro by T-Mobile customers.
The New Ad It Up App
According to a document shared with us here at The Mobile Report, Metro by T-Mobile customers will now be able to use a new app, called Ad It Up, to earn points towards paying their bills.
The document, which we’ve recreated below, says that customers can open the app at any time to complete various tasks, such as installing and playing new games, to earn points. Those points can then be redeemed as payments toward the phone bill.
Of course, the main point of this app is advertising. Companies pay for their ads and their games to be featured in the app, and customers are required to install those apps to earn points. That opens up the possibility for those companies to earn revenue from the customer in the form of in-app-purchases, if they happen to like the app/game.
For now, only the Samsung A35 and the Moto Edge 2024 are compatible. The document says these devices come with the Ad It Up app preinstalled, and there is no way to download the app directly from the Play store (yet).
Cricket Wireless Customers Already Have This Option
An identical app is already used for Cricket customers, and is available on the Google Play store. Shown below, it allows for customers to install games for points and redeem those points. There’s even an option to install a custom lock screen to earn points every time you unlock your phone.
Reviews for the app seem mostly positive, and the app sits at a rating of 4.7 on the Play store.
Many comments say earning points is very easy, with one customer even claiming they haven’t had to pay their bill out-of-pocket in over a year thanks to the app.
Bloatware?
This will likely be seen as just more carrier “bloatware” for many customers.
Carriers, T-Mobile included, often load up their lower-cost devices (and even some more high-end ones) with unnecessary and unwanted applications, often without the ability to easily uninstall them. These apps are called bloatware.
On the other hand, some customers may find this a helpful and fun way to help pay off the phone bill every month, just like the reviews for the app from Cricket customers.
There’s currently no mention of when the app becomes available, but our best guess is it’s available now to customers with the two previously mentioned devices. It’s unclear if the app will become available to iPhone devices or be available for customers to directly download to other Android devices.
