This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this folio. Terms of use.

Branson celebrates Inner Circle by David Cardinal

For many of us in the United States, getting a new phone with a massive subsidy every ii years was a longtime ritual. With that subsidy came the baggage of locked phones, two-year contracts, and early termination fees. In full general, consumers have welcomed the shift away from that system to the more than open up approach of paying separately for an unlocked phone and for service — usually on a month-to-month footing.

Withal, the phone subsidy was addictive. It meant that you felt okay near upgrading your phone every two years, even if you really didn't need a new phone. And so it makes sense carriers accept been working to bring that subsidy dorsum in a friendlier form. This week, Dart-owned Virgin Mobile has gone farther than anyone with an aggressive iPhone-just offer for half-dozen months of free service every time you lot buy a new phone — and a year as an intro teaser.

Virgin Mobile's Inner Circle is a phone plan and lifestyle play

Inner Circle is a pitch to join the Virgin family, embodied by its slogan -- Live Life in the Virgin WorldVirgin'southward new plan, branded Inner Circle, starts with a nominally unlimited talk, text, and data plan for $50 per month. At the launch event, though, Virgin Mobile CEO Dow Draper and Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson stressed that the Inner Circumvolve is designed to be a portal into Virgin's wider product offers. To whet your whistle, Inner Circle subscribers go a free flying to London, a complimentary hotel night, and a discount voucher for Virgin's Wines. Of class, the fine print is that the airplane ticket is a companion ticket, the free night is but for the tertiary night of a stay, and vino clubs litter mailboxes with discount vouchers as it is, and then no one knows the actual value of the goodies.

Virgin and Sprint realize that the Virgin brand is probably the all-time thing Virgin Mobile has going for it. The launch event drove that dwelling in spades. It was staffed past Virgin America flying attendants, and Branson celebrated the launch past spraying Draper with champagne — something I've seen at the end of Formula ane races, but never expected to see at a tech printing result.

Like the old subsidies, this isn't a one-time deal

What makes Virgin's offer virtually interesting is that it isn't a erstwhile offer. Every time y'all purchase a new, electric current-model iPhone, you get six more than months of free service (technically for $1). Despite Branson'due south flip comment that anybody gets a new iPhone every year — mayhap he doesn't fly in Economy much? — let's assume you become a new phone every 2 years. That is a $300 subsidy every two years, almost exactly the same as carriers used to provide. If you are ane of the lucky ones who springs for a new telephone every year, you get half of your cellphone service paid for.

Virgin volition as well be selling refurbished iPhones (which it calls "pre-loved") for half-cost with a 1-yr warranty. They aren't available yet, simply depending on the terminal details, they could provide an amazing value when coupled with the service subsidy.

The fine impress: Is the deal too skilful to be true?

Outset and foremost, if you accept reward of the offer, you'll exist on the Sprint network. That may be a good option for saving money, but withal has pretty mediocre speeds and coverage.

And despite Branson and Draper repeating that in that location weren't any catches in the offering, of course there are. First is the expected throttle for heavy users, at 23GB (similar to the one AT&T has). That's non likely to be an issue for nigh. But this might: Video is limited to 480p, music to 500Kbps, and deject gaming to 2Mbps. There is too a fairly ominous warning in the fine print, "Virgin Mobile may terminate service if off-network roaming use in a month exceeds: (1) 800 mins or a majority of mins.; or (2) 100MB or a majority of KB." Since the plan is US simply, that roaming is for domestic use on other networks.

iPhones in iconic Virgin Red

Finally, the 12-month initial teaser is but available until July 31. The other Virgin perks are merely available until September 30th.

Is the Inner Circumvolve for y'all?

On paper, you can purchase a new iPhone SE for $280 or iPhone half-dozen for $320, and get $600 worth of coverage, plus a few perks, for free. If you live in an expanse where Virgin Mobile coverage is good, that'southward a pretty impressive deal. Y'all exercise demand to motility an existing phone line (either ane you have with Virgin Mobile or another carrier) over to take advantage of the deal, then you can't only pick upwards a new phone and get a free boosted phone line or plane ticket.

Of class, if you already like Virgin Atlantic, or are itching to take a trip to London — or Chicago or San Francisco for the Hotel stay — the phone may pay for itself.