Students really want smartphones, but parents usually don't want to pay the high price of data. In order to coax more family member onto the Sprint bandwagon. Sprint and Best Buy are offering free talk and text for student smartphones with one gigabyte of data for one year.
The price for the smartphone is the "Student-activated price," which is very close to the full unsubsidized price of the phones see chart below for student pricing. There is a $100 discount on the Samsung Galaxy S4 for activation. In case phone gets lost or damaged, you may want consider insurance.
After the one year when the student is addicted to smartphone use, someone will have to pay full price. Someone in the family must already have a Sprint line of service.
If you add a new phone line on the Unlimited, My Way or My All-in plan to the same account at Best Buy, and the account gets an additional 12 months of free service for the student lines to share.
Eligible Phones for Sprint Student Offer
| Model | Student Offer Price | Open-Box Price |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy Note 3 | $749.99 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Note II | $699.99 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S 4 | $649.99 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S III | $549.99 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S II | $549.99 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S 4 Mini | $449.99 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Victory | $299.99 | |
| iPhone 5S 16GB | $699.99 | $649.00 |
| iPhone 5S 32GB | $799.99 | $749.00 |
| iPhone 5S 64GB | $899.99 | $849.00 |
| iPhone 5C 16GB | $599.99 | $549.00 |
| iPhone 5C 32GB | $699.99 | $649.00 |
| iPhone 4S 8GB | $500.99 | $450.00 |
| LG G2 | $599.99 | |
| LG Optimus G | $599.99 | |
| LG Nexus 5 | $449.98 | |
| LG Viper 4G LTE | $449.98 | |
| LG Rumor Reflex | $329.99 | |
| LG Rumor Reflex S | $279.99 | |
| HTC One | $599.99 | |
| HTC EVO 4G LTE | $599.99 | |
| Motorola Moto X | $599.99 | |
| Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE | $449.99 | |
| Kyocera Rise | $299.98 | |
| Kyocera Kona | $249.99 |
Referral line requires 2-yr. service agreement.
You can get a minimum $100 trade-in on some smartphones, tablets and gaming devices also at Best Buy.
We've expanded the small print to see what the real deal is:
**Monthly charges exclude taxes & Sprint Surcharges [incl. USF charge of up to 15.6% (varies quarterly), up to $2.50 Admin. & .40 Reg. /line/mo. & fees by area (approx. 5-20%)].
Surcharges are not taxes. See sprint.com/taxesandfees. Offers end 01/04/2014 . Credit approval req. Not available on Business accounts. Account holder must be of legal capacity, including age, to accept Sprint Terms and Conditions of service.
Free phone service includes monthly recurring charge for qualified plan only; excludes add-ons, one-time charges and applicable surcharges and taxes.
Early Termination Fee (sprint.com/etf): After 14 days, up to $350/line on referral lines.
Student Line: No term agreement required. Must purchase phone at Student Activated Price and activate at Best Buy no later than 01/04/2014 .
Student Activation Price may be higher than other advertised prices.
Acceptable proof of student status (elementary and above) required w/in 14 days of activation (i.e. report card; student I.D.; tuition receipt).
For students 12 and younger, parental consent is required. See www.sprint.com/studentverify .
After 12 months, account will be charged full price for student line on Unlimited, My Way ($70/mo. for unlimited talk, and text and 1GB of data; add'l $10/mo. for optional unlimited data).
To avoid charges, student line may be terminated by calling Sprint or dialing *2 from your mobile phone prior to the end of the 12 months.
Student line cannot activate on a discounted phone or enter into a Sprint One Up agreement while receiving the free service or line will be charged full price.
Referral Line: Cannot be a student line. Must activate before the 01/04/2014 and remain an active line of service on Unlimited, My Way plan for duration of the service term agreement. If referral line deactivates, account loses remaining months of free service (up to 12 months per referral line). The referral line must be on the same account as the student line.
Account Limitations: All existing lines of service on the account must remain active for at least 90 days from the activation date of the student line for the offer to remain valid. Deactivation prior to 90 days will result in the student line being charged the regular price for service for
Unlimited, My Way ($70/mo. for unlimited talk and text, and 1GB of data; add'l $10/mo. for unlimited data, if applicable). Unlimited Guarantee: Available while line of service is activated on Unlimited, My Way plan or My All-in plan. Applies to unlimited features only. Price and phone selection subject to change. Account must remain in good standing and non-payment may void guarantee.
Plan: No plan discounts apply for talk or messaging. Premium content/downloads are add'l charge. Text to 3rd parties to participate in promotions or other may result in add'l charges. Int'l svcs are not included. Includes select e-mail. Amount of data depends on option selected. Add'l data above 1GB: 1.5¢/MB. Usage Limitations: Other plans may receive prioritized bandwidth availability.
Streaming video speeds may be limited to 1 Mbps. Sprint may terminate service if off-network roaming usage in a month exceeds: (1) 800 min. or a majority of min.; or (2) 100 MB or a majority of KB. Prohibited network use rules apply. See sprint.com/termsandconditions.
Samsung Galaxy S 4 Student Actived Price: $749.99-$100 Instant Savings=$649.99 with a new student line activation.
18 Month Financing: On approved purchases with the My Best Buy Credit Card.
*On approved purchases with the My Best Buy Credit Card. Terms and Conditions apply. See a Customer Specialist for details. Other Terms: Offer limited to up to 10 total lines per account. Offers are non-transferrable and account must remain in good standing. Offers and coverage not available everywhere or for all phones/networks. Available only in-store at Bestbuy. .