I think one of the biggest needs out there when folks are searching for a cell phone plan is finding one that is uniquely suited for their particular situation. It's really difficult to find a place online that you can go to that will help give you unbiased advice about where to find a plan and also provide you with costs.
The challenge in creating such a service is that it needs to include some of the following criteria:
- Available providers
- Costs of all their plans
- Coverage maps tailored to each individual
- How many will be on the plan
Our friends at Cinch Financial (who we've reviewed) are trying to solve this with their new cell phone plan recommendation tool.
A little background on Cinch
Founded by two financial gurus, Cinch Financial’s goal is to make it easy to get the right information about some of the biggest expenses we encounter on a daily basis: mortgages, credit cards, insurance, banking and now, phone plans.
Let’s just say you are looking for a credit card. Cinch gets to know you a little bit in order to determine your needs. It literally takes minutes and is uber easy.
When I plugged in my information about wanting to obtain a card that gave me more cashback rewards, it came up with 3 recommendations that fit my needs.
Here's what I find pretty interesting about Cinch: they don’t receive any compensation for recommending a particular product (unlike most other recommendation website out there).
So how do they make their money? Here’s what they state on their website:
No companies can pay to be recommended on Cinch, 'cause that’s just not our style.
To me, that’s pretty refreshing – not to mention rare. But, I applaud their efforts and approach to build a service that is totally for the end-user.
Easy cell phone plan recommendations
Getting back to Cinch's new cell phon plan recommendation service. I logged in to my account at Cinch and gave it a few test runs to see what kind of results I got.
It essentially walks you through a simple 10-questionnaire process to give you the best plan for your needs.
Here's the first question you get when you land on the recommendation page:
The good thing about what Cinch provides is that it takes into account our needs / lives are always changing. While many of us already have a cell phone plan – we aren't always so happy with it. Being the thrifty guy that I am, what's really important is trying to balance a great deal with decent enough service. That gets to be a fine line. As I've found out with Republic Wireless, the cheaper you go – service tends to suffer. When I was with AT&T (and paying a lot more), I almost never had any service-related issues.
Cinch walks you through the recommendation process, asking several pertinent questions like,
- How many lines do you need?
- Do you need a new phone?
- How is your credit score?
- Who is your existing carrier?
- Are there networks that don't work well for you?
Once you have answered the questions, you will get a recommendation screen (often 3 providers):
What I like most about Cinch's recommendation process: It's easy!
Folks can also check out the “Best Plans” page that gives customers 5 plans based on whether you need a single-line, two-line or family phone plan.
While Cinch offered many of the major networks – I was little surprised to see they don't have some of the smaller players that can save people more money (like Ting, RW, etc). However, one budget-friendly provider, Cricket, is in their recommendations.
Final thoughts
If you are checking around for a new cell phone plan OR looking to see if yours is the best match, it's worth checking out Cinch's service to see if you could be saving more than you are or if you need helping finding a plan that better fits your needs.
Have you tried Cinch's cell phone plan recommendation service and if so, what did you think?
This post was brought to you by the fine folks at Cinch Financial. All opinions expressed are our own.
5 Comments
Awesome tool for comparing cell phone plans! Wish I would have known about this two months ago when I was shopping around. There are so many catches to each carrier and this helps people navigate them. Thanks for the great resource, Aaron.
I recently switched from Verizon to Cricket and couldn’t be happier. I was paying $140+ at Verizon for 2 smart phones & a basic phone even after a 17% company discount and several loyalty discounts for being a customer for 10 years. Switched to Cricket and now have 3 smart phones for $90 per month (that includes taxes). No brainer if AT&T (Cricket uses their towers) has a good signal in your area.
Great deal on Cricket, Dillon!
Which carrier are you using? Interested in using their other comparison tools. Just went and read your review of their auto-insurance tool. Did you end up switching?
I use Republic Wireless – pay about $15-18/month. It’s probably like Cricket in many ways (piggy-back on another network). Sometimes calls take a bit to “connect” – but overall (for the price) – I’m pleased.
Cinch has a great recommendation service. I have not switched yet – a little too comfortable with my present insurer! Thanks for the reminder!
Good deal! I was initially going to switch to Republic, but Sprint’s signal is quite weak in my area. I also use a fair bit of data when traveling for work. Definitely a great service depending on your needs.