Mint Mobile is a prepaid cell phone carrier that is owned by T-Mobile.
It is known as a flanker carrier.
A flanker carrier is a cell phone carrier that is owned by a larger carrier to target a different market segment.
Flanker carriers usually have their own brand image and reputation, different marketing and pricing strategies, and unique features tailored towards their specific market segment.
Mint Mobile is targeting a market segment that is more price conscious, which is why it offers cell phone plans at cheaper rates than T-Mobile.
T-Mobile is okay with offering access to their network at cheaper prices through Mint Mobile because both Mint Mobile and T-Mobile develop their own brand image and reputation.
People often perceive T-Mobile as being more premium and Mint Mobile as being more value-oriented.
Instead of competing directly against T-Mobile, Mint Mobile is really competing against the other prepaid carriers that are also offering value-oriented cell phone plans.
Going with a prepaid cell phone carrier such as Mint Mobile can be an excellent way to save money on your cell phone bill while still getting the same coverage as a big carrier.
The prices you see above are for new customers who sign up for 3 months of service (the smallest bundle Mint Mobile offers), and for existing customers who renew their plan for the 12-month option.
Here are all of Mint Mobile’s plans with their full pricing breakdowns:
Mint Mobile 4GB
Mnit Mobile 10GB
Mint Mobile 15GB
Mint Mobile Unlimited
There are no data overage charges on Mint Mobile. Instead, once you go over your included high-speed data allotment, your data speeds are slowed down to 2G speeds.
Keep in mind that your phone is not actually switching to the 2G network. You still stay connected to either LTE or 5G, but an artificial speed cap is put on your plan to limit your speeds to 128Kbps.
Check out our article here on exactly what it’s like using a plan with 2G data speeds at 64Kbps, 128Kbps, 256Kbps, and 512Kbps.
It is also important to know that Mint Mobile’s unlimited plan is not truly unlimited. Instead, it gives you 35GB of high-speed data before you are slowed down to the 2G speeds.
35GB is plenty of data for most people. In fact, average data usage in North America is at just 14.6GB per month right now, as reported by Ericsson in their 2021 Mobility Report.
Considering 35GB is about 2.4 times more data than 14.6GB, that means a large majority of consumers could switch to Mint Mobile’s plan and continue using their phones exactly how they normally would.
A lot of the major carriers trick consumers into thinking that they need unlimited data when the reality is they do not.
Knowing how much data you actually need and picking an affordable cell phone plan that meets your needs is a great way to reduce your wireless bill.
You can see all of Mint Mobile’s plans below and click on anyone to see what specific features are supported:
Mint Mobile offers an amazing referral program. You earn more credit for each person you refer, and after you refer 5 friends you get an entire YEAR of free service.
Here’s the referral breakdown:
The total credit you get after referring five friends is $240! That’s enough to cover a free year of service on the 10GB plan.
There is no limit to how many people you can refer. Refer five more friends? That’s another $240 in credit.
Plus, if your whole family decides to switch, you can even refer your partner and children! The way it would work is one account would get all of the credit, but then you can use the credit to pay for anyone’s bill by creating a Mint Family.
No discounts or referral programs are available at this time.
Mint Mobile supports family plans, but not in the traditional sense.
When most people think of family plans, they think of group discounts and savings.
Instead of limiting savings to multi-line accounts, Mint Mobile already gives all of their customers the best prices possible.
You don’t need a family account to enjoy saving money on Mint Mobile.
But, Mint recognized that some people prefer managing all the billing and payments for their mobile plans under a single account. So they created Mint Family.
Mint Family lets you manage up to five Mint Mobile accounts under a single account. You need to create each line separately at first, and then you can add them under one account by following our tutorial on how to set up a Mint Mobile family plan.
Each line will keep its own separate plan and its own separate renewal date, but you can change plans for any line under the master account as well as have all lines share the same billing information.
This is a great option for families with kids.
Mint Mobile doesn't support tablets, smartwatches, or hotspot devices at this time.
The above data come from the FCC and from Verizon directly.
Check Verizon coverage in your area by using Verizon's official coverage map.
You can also check coverage using third-party maps such as CoverageMap.com.
CoverageMap.com is building crowdsourced maps of cellular coverage.
Download the free Coverage Map app for iPhone or Android to compare coverage between carriers and to participate in the project.
The above information comes from the FCC and from AT&T direclty.
You can check AT&T coverage in your area by using AT&T's official coverage map.
You can also check coverage by using third-party maps such as CoverageMap.com.
CoverageMap.com is building crowdsourced maps of the cellular networks.
Download the free Coverage Map app for iPhone or Android to compare coverage between carriers and to contribute to the project.
The above information comes from the FCC and from T-Mobile directly.
Check T-Mobile coverage in your area by using T-Mobile's official coverage map.
You can also check T-Mobile coverage by using third-party maps such as CoverageMap.com.
CoverageMap.com is building crowdsourced maps of cellular coverage.
You can download the free Coverage Map app for iPhone or Android to compare coverage between carriers and to contribute to the project.
Mint Mobile supports the same features as premium wireless plans. They support VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling, visual voicemail, MMS, mobile hotspot, 4K video streaming, 5G access, and eSIM.
Add-ons are also available for making international long-distance calls and for international data roaming.
You can check to see if your specific phone will work with Mint Mobile by using their IMEI checker.
Otherwise, you can also consider purchasing an unlocked phone directly from the manufacturer, like Apple, Samsung, or Google.
You can also purchase a phone directly from Mint Mobile. You can pay for the phone in full price, or finance the phone using Affirm.
Mint Mobile is currently offering a deal where you get 6 months of free service when you buy one of their phones, like an affordable Galaxy A12 or even a newer iPhone 12 Mini.
Yes, Mint Mobile supports both international calling and international data roaming.
International calls from the U.S. to Canada and Mexico are included for free with all Mint Mobile plans. Over 160 additional countries are also available at pay-per-use rates.
International data roaming is also available in over 180+ countries.
Mint Mobile offers three international packages to choose from:
Keep in mind that you can always grab an affordable international eSIM plan for better rates on data when traveling abroad.
If you run out of high-speed data in a billing cycle, you can purchase additional high-speed data via a data add-on.
You can also purchase international credit to get service when you travel abroad or to make international long-distance calls.
Here are Mint’s add-ons:
Add international calling credit to your account in increments of $5, $10, or $20. International calls, or calls placed from within the United States and made to other countries, will automatically deduct from your international calling credit on a pay-per-minute basis.
Adding international calling credit to your account is the same as adding "money to your wallet." The funds in your wallet can either be used to cover the cost of international calls, or to pay for the cost of your plan. If you add credit to your account for a one-time international call and do not use all of your balance, you can easily apply your remaining balance towards paying for your plan.
International calling rates vary by country. See Mint Mobile's full list of supported countries and international calling rates here.
International calling to Mexico and Canada is included for free with all of Mint Mobile's plans.
Get 60 minutes, 60 texts, and 1GB of international data for a 24 hour period in over 180+ destinations worldwide.
Get 200 minutes, 200 texts, and 3GB of international data for a period of 3 days. Works in over 180+ destinations worldwide.
Get 500 minutes, 500 texts, and 10GB of international data for a period of 7 days. Works in over 180+ destinations worldwide.
Mint Mobile customer service is available via online chat on their website, the chat section of the application, by direct messaging /u/MintMobileAlex on Reddit, or by calling Mint Mobile at (800) 683-7392.
Human support is available 7 days a week from 5am to 7pm PST.
And Mint Mobile's chat bot, called the “Fox Bot,” is available 24/7 for most questions about plans or the service.