Family Plan Question.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

Please correct me if I'm wrong in my reading of the Verizon web page
regarding America's Choice, Family plan:

1. Plan costs $39.95 for 400 shareable minutes (web page promo).

2. The Main Phone has free unlimited "In Network" and "Nights and Weekend"
calling that doesn't dip into the 400 shareable minutes.

3. The Satelite Phones have free unlimited "In Network" calling to each
other or to the Main phone and to anyone during "Nights and Weekends" but
any other "In Network" or non "In Network" calls come from shareable
minutes.

4. For an additional $10 per account, not per line, the Satellite phones can
have free unlimited "In Network" as well as "Nights and Weekends" calling.

Soooo, excluding activation fees etc., for a Main phone and two (2)
Satellite Phones, the monthly cost to have items 1 thru 3 available would be
$39.95+20+20=79.95 per month.

To add item 4 would be an additional $10/month or 89.95 per month.

Am I correct?? Thanks.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

"Rich" <mathwhiz@mathwhiz.org> wrote in message
news:qSaoc.28376$iF6.2876662@attbi_s02...
> John wrote:
>
> > Please correct me if I'm wrong in my reading of the Verizon web page
> > regarding America's Choice, Family plan:
> >
> > 1. Plan costs $39.95 for 400 shareable minutes (web page promo).
> >
> > 2. The Main Phone has free unlimited "In Network" and "Nights and
Weekend"
[snip]
> > Soooo, excluding activation fees etc., for a Main phone and two (2)
> > Satellite Phones, the monthly cost to have items 1 thru 3 available
would be
> > $39.95+20+20=79.95 per month.
> >
> > To add item 4 would be an additional $10/month or 89.95 per month.
> >
> > Am I correct?? Thanks.
> >
> From my understanding of how it works, you are correct on all accounts.
>

That is correct...plus the taxes and fees. :-)

Harold

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

"Evan Platt" <evan@TheObvious.espphotography.com> wrote in message
news:rji3a01vo6afh61gmql6sf0eln4hp0nvqd@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 11 May 2004 15:43:36 -0400, "John" <Me@myhome.net> wrote:
>
> >Please correct me if I'm wrong in my reading of the Verizon web page
> >regarding America's Choice, Family plan:
> >

*snip*
> >

> >4. For an additional $10 per account, not per line, the Satellite phones
can
> >have free unlimited "In Network" as well as "Nights and Weekends"
calling.
> >
> >Soooo, excluding activation fees etc., for a Main phone and two (2)
> >Satellite Phones, the monthly cost to have items 1 thru 3 available would
be
> >$39.95+20+20=79.95 per month.
> >
> >To add item 4 would be an additional $10/month or 89.95 per month.
> >
> >Am I correct?? Thanks.
>
> Correct on everything but #4 - the $10 would be per satellite phone.
> So if you had 5 satellite phones and each one wanted unlimited in
> network, it would be an additional $50 per month.
>
> Evan
> --

Everything that has been posted on here by at least a few individuals has
indicated that it is $10 per account NOT per line so you may want to check
on that.

JennL

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

"John" <Me@myhome.net> wrote in message
news:f%9oc.29$U4.6@bignews6.bellsouth.net...
> Please correct me if I'm wrong in my reading of the Verizon web page
> regarding America's Choice, Family plan:

<snip>

> Soooo, excluding activation fees etc., for a Main phone and two (2)
> Satellite Phones, the monthly cost to have items 1 thru 3 available would
be
> $39.95+20+20=79.95 per month.
>
> To add item 4 would be an additional $10/month or 89.95 per month.
>
> Am I correct?? Thanks.

You are correct. What it boils down to, is that the Verizon family plan is a
bad deal.

I just went through this with two sister-in-laws, one was dumping AT&T, one
was a new user, deciding to join the 21st century.

To add them on as family members was ridiculous because the $10 extra cost
for in-network calling brought the price up to $30 per month per extra line,
and the peak minutes still needed to be shared.

Instead, they signed up for regular service with 300 minutes per month, and
unlimited in-network calling, for $30 per month (promo).

However, Verizon now has a new deal where it's $50 for 400 minutes, and this
includes in-network on all lines. So three lines would cost $50+20+20=$90;
the same as three stand-alone lines with 300 minutes each. Still no deal,
but $10 less overall than paying the extra $10 for each line.

Verizon didn't used to charge extra for in-network calling on the
non-primary line on family plans. The price increases are typical Verizon
operating procedure. Remove a standard feature, offer it as an extra-cost
optional feature, then later raise the base price and include the optional
feature as standard again.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

On Fri, 14 May 2004 04:51:47 GMT, "Steven M. Scharf"
<scharf.steven@linkearth.net> wrote:

>"John" <Me@myhome.net> wrote in message
>news:f%9oc.29$U4.6@bignews6.bellsouth.net...
>> Please correct me if I'm wrong in my reading of the Verizon web page
>> regarding America's Choice, Family plan:
>
><snip>
>
>> Soooo, excluding activation fees etc., for a Main phone and two (2)
>> Satellite Phones, the monthly cost to have items 1 thru 3 available would
>be
>> $39.95+20+20=79.95 per month.
>>
>> To add item 4 would be an additional $10/month or 89.95 per month.
>>
>> Am I correct?? Thanks.
>
>You are correct. What it boils down to, is that the Verizon family plan is a
>bad deal.
>
>I just went through this with two sister-in-laws, one was dumping AT&T, one
>was a new user, deciding to join the 21st century.
>
>To add them on as family members was ridiculous because the $10 extra cost
>for in-network calling brought the price up to $30 per month per extra line,
>and the peak minutes still needed to be shared.
>
>Instead, they signed up for regular service with 300 minutes per month, and
>unlimited in-network calling, for $30 per month (promo).
>
>However, Verizon now has a new deal where it's $50 for 400 minutes, and this
>includes in-network on all lines. So three lines would cost $50+20+20=$90;
>the same as three stand-alone lines with 300 minutes each. Still no deal,
>but $10 less overall than paying the extra $10 for each line.
>
>Verizon didn't used to charge extra for in-network calling on the
>non-primary line on family plans. The price increases are typical Verizon
>operating procedure. Remove a standard feature, offer it as an extra-cost
>optional feature, then later raise the base price and include the optional
>feature as standard again.
>
While a family plan may be a bad deal for you it is a good deal for
me.

My family share plan has 4 phones sharing 1200 minutes with 1000 MTM
on the primary and 250/sharing phone. One phone uses the bulk of the
minutes.

No matter how I try to slice it up I can't find a combination of plans
that wouldn't waste minutes for two phones and provide enough minutes
for the other two at a lower cost so sharing the 1200 minutes is
ideal.

MTM or In Network as it is called now is not an issue for me at this
point.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (More info?)

Steven M. Scharf wrote:
> "CharlesH" <hoch@exemplary.invalid> wrote in message
> news:c81mgd0u3l@news1.newsguy.com...
>
>> But I thought the $10 to add full In-Network to all phones was per
>> family plan, not per phone. So adding two share phones with full
>> In-Network costs $20+$20+$10 = $50, plus the regular charge on the
>> primary phone.
>
> They do have that option now, it's $10 more for the primary phone,
> but the addtitional lines all have MTM.
> I guess the only reason not to get that is if you don't care about
> MTM on the secondary lines.

That would be me. I have a 1500 family share with the Wife as
primary, myself and the daughter as secondary. My usage is pretty
constant. The Wife and daughter have a very high variance in usage
from month to month. The wife ends up talking to more In-Net people
than we call each other. The 1000/250/250 MTM more than covers
it.

If our usage was more constant then it would be close.
All three would have unlimited MTM but we don't use the 250 as it is.
All three would have new-any-two instead of just the primary.

So Family share is great when each line has a good sized variance in usage
from month to month. Since the overage cost/min is so high you would
have to overbuy more on individual plans then you do for an aggregate
family share.

-Quick