Sprint and Best Buy have teamed up to offer a compelling offer to students who are enrolled in school (elementary school all the way through college). The two companies are promising free text messages, voice calls and 1GB of data each month for up to a full year if you buy a device from Best Buy.
Students only need to purchase a phone at Best Buy between Nov. 15, 2013 and Jan. 4, 2014 at a “student activated price.” You’ll also need to activate the phone immediately and sign up for the “My Way Student Promotion.” Of course, also you’ll need to prove that you’re a student. After the 12 months is up, students will be required to pay the standard $70 per month for service, though the service can be discontinued at the discretion of the student before the 12 month period is up. Sprint says that, for each referral, a student can earn an additional 12 months of free talk, text and 1GB of data.
The deal is only available in Best Buy stores, and our guess is that Sprint hopes to turn students into long-term account holders. It also stands to make money from students who consume more than 1GB of data each month, though an unlimited data plan is available for $10 per month.
Update: Best Buy has a list of the phones and the prices. Be prepared to pay more than full off-contract pricing for the devices. The Galaxy Note 3, for example, costs $749.99. An iPhone 5s with 16GB of storage will set you back $699.99. Sure, those are super high prices, but they aren’t terribly awful considering you get a year of free service.
Source: Phone Scoop, Sprint