The initial decision I made was to try to hussle Sprint for various freebies to help bring the cost down to a level comparable with what we’d be paying if I switched to AT&T. I had read on SlickDeals and on Hustler $$$ Blog that many people had been able to successfully get Sprint to throw in free phones, free data plans, and other goodies to get them to renew a contract. Sadly my call to Sprint retentions didn’t go as well. They would offer me no freebies, and the best they could do on a new phone was a Motorola Q for $199.99 after rebate, which is $100.00 more than I could get it for on their website. So I politely declined and mulled it over during the Christmas break.

Well, in comes my brother-in-law JoeMoney to make the decision for me. He found some deal where he could get iPhones without a contract for about $150. He bought several to resell, and generously offered to sell me one at his cost. This sealed the deal for me – I decided to switch to AT&T, and here’s why:

1. I was actually offended that Sprint wouldn’t do more to keep me as a customer. No freebies, no phone, nothing. If your service sucks as badly as Sprint’s does, you need to show at least a little bit of love at renewal time.  Since I couldn’t get any concessions from Sprint, my cost with separate accounts for me and my wife would have been about $20 more per month than an AT&T family share.
2. The iPhone is just a really cool device, and I’ve been wanting to replace my iPod shuffle (it’s one of the old 512MB ones that looks like a USB thumb drive). This will be a far cry from my Treo 700p, which has to be one of the crappiest phones ever made.
3. Because I’m getting the phone without a contract, there is no requirement to sign up for the AT&T data plan to use the phone. My brother-in-law is unlocking the phone for me so I can just use WiFi and save the $20 or so a month.
4. Since I’m not buying the phone under contract, I can purchase another phone at a discount from AT&T. I bought an LG Shine for free after rebate, which appears to be going for around $150-$175 on eBay. That along with selling my old Treo should come close to covering my cost for the iPhone.
5. I realized almost everyone else in my family and my wife’s family is on AT&T, so a lot of the minutes I was burning calling them will now be free mobile to mobile minutes. That makes the shared pool of minutes go a lot farther.
6. I decided I don’t really want to port my Houston number. From my days as a consultant a lot of people had my number, and since I’m now working in a corporate accounting department I don’t really need or want those people to be able to contact me. My cell phone is now purely for my convenience and no one else’s, especially since I’m no longer reimbursed for any of the bill. Plus my new number will be a Baton Rouge number, which will be great since a lot of the people who call me are calling from Baton Rouge anyway. They can call me from a landline without long distance charges.

So there you have it. As soon as I receive the package with the new phone and SIM card, I will no longer be a Sprint customer. A better phone, better service, and a lower cost. Oh happy day!