You Might Want To Ditch Your Old AT&T Unlimited Plan, Here's Why

Even if you don't use AT&T, you've more than likely heard of the company's variety of unlimited data plans. These plans have taken many different forms over the years, with many going on to be discontinued to make way for new and improved plans. More recently, AT&T retired some of its longtime unlimited plans such as AT&T Unlimited Extra, AT&T Unlimited Starter, and AT&T Unlimited Premium. While you aren't required to switch if you're already on an unlimited plan that's been retired, keeping it won't help if you're trying to save on your AT&T bill.  

AT&T customers on retired unlimited plans will be experiencing notable price increases come August. As announced by AT&T, those with only one line on their plan will have their monthly bill go up by $10, while those with multiple lines will have a $20 increase on their monthly plan in total, rather than increasing the price per individual line. Along with the existing benefits of plans, such as unlimited talk, text, data, and AT&T's ActiveArmor mobile security, with the price increase customers will also get a set of enhanced performance features to enjoy across North America.

That will include 75GB of high-speed and 30GB of hotspot data for those customers with AT&T Unlimited Choice, Choice II, Choice Enhanced, Unlimited &More, or Unlimited Value plans. Meanwhile, if you have AT&T Unlimited Plus, Unlimited &More Premium, AT&T Unlimited with TV, or Plus Enhanced, you will receive 100GB of high-speed data and 60GB of hotspot data. If you have a Connected Car plan of any kind, however, you will only be able to keep your high-speed data benefits with no additional hotspot perks.

It's easy to see why longtime AT&T customers might be frustrated by the company's recent price spikes to its retirement plans. Even with the added data and hotspot perks, it may not be enough to convince them to stay on board. At the same time, people often find it difficult to switch to another brand, and favor keeping the service they've grown accustomed to. So, is it more worth sticking with AT&T or is it time to start looking into cheaper options?

Currently, AT&T has three active unlimited plans with Unlimited Starter SL for $35.99 a month per line, Unlimited Extra EL for $40.99 a month per line, and Unlimited Premium PL for $50.99 a month per line. Each comes with unlimited talk, text, and data. However, the Unlimited Extra EL and Unlimited Premium PL plans enjoy AT&T's ActiveArmor advanced security app, while the Unlimited Starter SL plan only includes the basic ActiveArmor security app. Hotspot data also increases from 5GB, to 30GB, to 60GB in the respective plans.

Furthermore, the Unlimited Extra EL plan provides 75GB of additional high-speed data while the Unlimited Premium PL plan allows users all the data they want without any slow downs. Additionally, those on the Premium plan get both 4K UHD streaming capabilities and unlimited calls and texts in 20 Latin American countries at no additional cost.

While AT&T does offer a handful of perks and discounts worth looking into, if these advantages don't interest you, it may be more worth exploring your other options.