I'm switching carriers after just one year to save $660 — here's how

Just about one year ago, I completely upended my mobile cell service. After 10 years of being a T-Mobile customer and becoming fed up with rising prices and a degraded user experience, I decided enough was enough and left T-Mobile for Visible.

In the year since then, I’ve had a great experience with my new service provider. Visible has been fast, reliable, affordable, and generally given me nothing to complain about. Yet I’m moving on to something else — and saving $660 in the process.

Here’s how I did it.

Everything I liked about Visible

It’s one thing to quickly rattle off that I’ve been happy with Visible, but I want to make it clear that I truly mean it.

After 10 years with one of the largest carriers in the country, switching to a smaller MVNO made me a little hesitant. Even though Visible is powered by Verizon’s network (and owned by Verizon, too), it has the same shortcomings of any other MVNO: lower data prioritization, much less valuable device promos/deals, and virtually no perks for free streaming services, gas coupons, etc. — things I grew accustomed to with T-Mobile.

However, as it turns out, none of that was problematic in the slightest.

My data speeds were never an issue, with my phone reliably connecting to 5G and 5G UWB wherever I went. I even used Visible’s international coverage a couple of times on trips to Italy and Spain, and it worked flawlessly in both places.

I also found living without crazy device promotions and endless miscellaneous perks wasn’t a big deal either — especially not when I was saving $15/month compared to my old T-Mobile plan.

And that’s really what it came down to. Throughout my year with Visible, I was paying less each month than I would have with T-Mobile without any noticeable dip in data speeds, coverage reliability, or anything else. My calls, texts, and mobile data have all just worked over the last year, all while I’ve also been saving a not-insignificant amount of money. What more could I ask for?

Why I’m leaving after one year

If that’s all true, why didn’t I stick with Visible? I certainly didn’t plan on leaving so soon, but that all changed a little over a week ago.

While on the phone with Spectrum to schedule a change of address for my internet service, we got to the inevitable part of the call where I was offered a couple of “limited-time promotions” thanks to my years as a loyal Spectrum customer. I immediately declined the first promo (no, I don’t want 100+ live TV channels for $200+ per month), but the second offer piqued my interest:

• $40/month for my 1Gbps internet service (I was paying $75/month)
• Two lines of Spectrum Mobile Unlimited Plus for $30/month each

In other words, I could pay $100 per month total for my home internet and phone lines for my partner and me. I almost said no out of habit, still used to how long I stayed at T-Mobile. But having just gone through the switching process a year ago, I realized I didn’t owe Visible anything and didn’t have to say.

More importantly, the math just made sense. If I had declined the offer and kept my internet at the usual $75/month rate — and continued with my Visible phone plans (that were increasing by $5/month due to the intro promotion ending) — I’d be looking at $155/month.

By switching from Visible to Spectrum Mobile, I would:

1. Save $55/month.
2. Still have access to Verizon’s network.
3. Have plenty of high-speed data for how I use my phone (50GB per line).
4. Get free international roaming for the occasional work trip.

I sat on the phone with the Spectrum customer service agent for a couple of minutes, mulling everything over, before quickly deciding I’d be stupid not to switch. And just like that, my time with Visible had come to an end.

It pays to get comfortable switching carriers

Although what I’ve described above is just one very specific scenario, I think there’s a takeaway here for everyone reading this.

Switching carriers is intimidating. Especially if you’ve been with your current carrier for multiple years, just the thought of transferring phone numbers, calling customer support, and going through the whole process is enough to shut down any real intention to switch. That’s precisely why I stayed with T-Mobile for as long as I did, despite the fact that I could have left years earlier and saved a heap of money.

Staying with your existing carrier is admittedly much easier, but if you don’t take some time every year or so to assess what else is out there, you’re almost certainly going to leave money on the table. It took me less than an hour between two phone calls to get my new Spectrum Mobile service set up, and in my first year alone, I’ll have saved $660 compard to what I would have paid without switching from Visible.

Not every carrier switch will be that lucrative, but the point is, it’s worth shopping around to see what your other options are; I’m certainly glad I did. If it’s been a while since you last did the same, I’d recommend changing that soon. Your wallet will thank you.