Following in the footsteps of T-Mobile, Sprint announced this week that it is now offering up to $650 in equipment trade-in and early termination fee credits to new subscribers. The goal of the promo is to entice customers to switch over from their current carriers.
Folks looking to cash in on the ‘Framily Switching Bonus’ offer must port their existing phone numbers from another company to Sprint. They must also trade-in their previous handsets for new smartphones, and subscribe to one of the carrier’s new Framily rate plans…
What’s a Framily plan? Once you get past the horrible name, it’s actually not a bad deal. Customers can group together with up to 9 people, regardless of relationship, for discounted rates. Plans can run as low as $25 per month for unlimited talk, text and 1+GB of data.
From Sprint’s press release:
The Framily Switching Bonus offer is available to new and current customers bringing a number to Sprint from another postpaid carrier and signing up on a Sprint Framily Plan. Customers will receive credit for their phone trade-in as a part of the initial transaction. Approximately 10-12 weeks after initial sign-up, customers who register and submit their final bill from their previous carrier and who are in good standing at the time of payment processing will receive a Visa® Prepaid card worth up to $350 to pay back Early Termination Fees or, if not on contract, their remaining Equipment Installment balance.
Sprint recognizes that “family” now includes everyone important to an individual, including friends, neighbors and relatives. It’s no longer just a family, it’s a Framily. With the Sprint Framily Plan, the more people added to the group, up to 10 phone lines, the greater the savings for everyone on the plan. Because each account can be billed separately, customers can invite friends, family and others to join their Framily.
Sprint finds itself in an interesting situation these days. While it still counts itself as the third largest carrier in the United States, it seems like an outcast with AT&T and Verizon duking it out for top dog, and T-Mobile making noise at the bottom with its Uncarrier campaign.
Rumors began bouncing around late last year that Sprint was actually looking to acquire T-Mobile, but we’ve heard little about the deal since.