Mint Mobile Customers Just Got A Free Data Upgrade On Every Plan

How do you choose your smartphone's carrier? Do you go with the company with the most coverage, or do you pick the cheapest data plan? If you pick the latter, Mint Mobile has one of the best cheap plans on the market, and it's about to get even cheaper. From a "best bang for your buck" perspective, anyway.

Recently, Mint Mobile announced that it would increase the data caps of all plans. (Well, technically Ryan Reynolds announced it via YouTube, but he co-owns the company, so it still counts.) Anyone who owns a 5GB plan will get 6GB a month; the 15GB plan now offers 17GB, and the 20GB plan provides 23GB. Best of all, these increases won't require any additional fees. Decisions like this are why users claim Mint Mobile is one of the most reliable carriers on the market.

Admittedly, when we said "every plan" is getting a data upgrade, we didn't mean it literally. Obviously, you can't increase the cap of Mint Mobile's unlimited data plan. Instead, Mint Mobile is doubling the amount of hotspot data you can use; subscribers with an unlimited plan now get 20GB of hotspot data, up from 10GB.

If you don't currently subscribe to Mint Mobile, you might be wondering if this free data upgrade might finally win you over. JD Power says Mint Mobile leads the way in customer satisfaction, but let's do the math.

The lowest-tier plan, 6 GB, costs $15 a month, with payment due upfront; the amount you'll owe will vary depending on whether you choose a 3-, 6-, or 12-month plan. Compare that to Xfinity, which also costs $15 a month for unlimited data, but only for the first year. After that, it's $45 a month. Meanwhile, Mint Mobile's unlimited phone plan costs $30 a month. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Especially since many wireless companies try to sell you service bundles. Who needs a phone plan that works like cable TV if you're just going to use streaming services like Netflix? Well, Mint Mobile is no stranger to limitations.

While you will likely save money in the long run, each Mint Mobile plan requires an upfront payment, and the more data you request, the higher the plan will cost. Also, you have to commit to plan lengths — if you want the best rates/savings, you need to sign up for a year. However, the biggest issue that might get in the way of your enjoyment is the total lack of in-person tech support. You can call for help, but if you need or want to see someone to fix your issue, you're out of luck. Oh, and Mint Mobile uses T-Mobile's network, so if T-Mobile is unavailable in your area, paying for Mint Mobile will be a waste, even if its plans otherwise provide more data for less than other services.