Deciphering those family cell phone plans

We have one, and it seems to work well. However, Verizon isn't doing this as a favor to us. For one thing, it hangs on to us a customers. 

“Once you’re on a family plan, it’s really hard to switch everyone over,” says Carl Howe, the director of Anywhere Consumer Research at the Yankee Group, a Boston-based market research firm.

And these things aren't always easy to figure out or compare. “These plans are very simple if you have your Ph.D.,” Howe says.

Here from Smart Money are some tips on family plans:

Handset requirements 

Be cautious giving in to teens’ pleas for the latest handset. Many, especially smartphones, come with voice and data plan requirements, says Schwark Satyavolu, the president of cellphone comparison site BillShrink.com. Depending on the carrier, those strings can effectively force consumers into a more expensive family plan. On T-Mobile, for example, buying a smartphone requires a Family Talk + Text + Web plan, which starts at $140 per month for two lines and 750 minutes, and charges a per-phone unlimited web fee of $10 to $30. (That’s at least $40 more than the same number of minutes on a Family Talk + Text plan.)

Even if a new phone isn’t on the table, review requirements on family members’ current handsets to get a sense of the minimum coverage needed.

Individual vs. total usage

Carriers may offer a choice of add-ons such as text and data on a per-line basis, or as coverage for everyone on the plan. Look at recent bills to gauge the family's usage as a whole, as well as each individual’s, says Allen Keiter, the president of comparison site MyRatePlan.com. That can help you decide whether to cover one line or everyone. Sprint tacks on a per-line fee of $5 for 300 text messages, $10 for 1,000 and $20 for unlimited on its $70, two-line family talk plans with 700 minutes. Or consumers could trade up to a $100, 1,500-minute plan with unlimited texting.

Minutes required

An unlimited plan isn’t necessarily the best deal, Keiter says. “Any family plan is already going to have unlimited mobile-to-mobile in network and unlimited nights and weekends,” he says. Consumers have a relatively small window to actually use plan minutes, and adding lines to an unlimited plan is significantly pricier than adding them to a limited-minute plan, he says. On AT&T, additional lines beyond the first two in a family plan cost $10 per month on plans with up to 2,100 shared minutes and rollover. On unlimited plans, they cost $50.