T-Mobile Announces “Better Value” Family Smartphone Plan With 250GB of Hotspot And 30GB of International Use – But Also Strict Signup Conditions

T-Mobile announced a new family smartphone plan option that will be available starting January 14th, 2026, called "Better Value."

This plan has some very attractive features and pricing, but comes with a major downside - only a relatively narrow band of potential customers can sign up.

This plan is also designated as a limited-time, promotional offer, although T-Mobile hasn't announced an end date. Let's dig into the details to see if this is a good option for mobile internet users.

Better Value Video Overview

 

Better Value Plan Details

The Better Value plan doesn't replace any existing T-Mobile smartphone plans - it's intended to be a limited-time offer. The plan itself is a "family plan," meaning it requires a minimum of three lines. You cannot get this plan as a single or two-line option. The plan is available on T-Mobile postpaid, and there is also a small business version with the same terms and features.

First, the pricing. The plan comes with features comparable (and in a couple of cases, better) to the most expensive Experience Beyond plan (one of our current Top Pick smartphone plans), so we'll compare it to that plan.

Experience Beyond is $170 for three lines, while the Better Value promo is $140/month with the autopay discount. Each additional line costs $30/month with Beyond Value, compared to $45/month with Experience Beyond. So for five lines, Better Value is $200/month while Experience Beyond is $260, a substantial savings.

Like recent T-Mobile plans, including the Experience lineup, taxes and fees are extra and not included. This plan also includes T-Mobile's 5-year price guarantee, so the base price is not subject to sudden increases, though the guarantee does not apply to carrier fees, which T-Mobile just raised by fifty cents.

The terms and features are attractive for those looking for a large amount of hotspot and international data. Here's what the plan offers, which is largely the same as Experience Beyond, except where noted:

• Unlimited premium data with no deprioritization
• 250GB of high-speed hotspot data (then unlimited at 600 kbps)
• 30GB of high-speed data in Mexico and Canada (then unlimited at 256 kbps)
• 30GB of high-speed international data in 215 other countries (then unlimited at 256 kbps) - Experience Beyond only offers 15GB
• Up to 4K UHD streaming
• T-Satellite included
• The same entertainment bundle as Experience Beyond - Netflix, Hulu included. Apple TV for $3/month
• Option for a Home Internet Backup line for $10 with AutoPay  - Experience Beyond is $20

While these terms are very similar to the Experience Beyond plan, the Better Value plan offers more international data - 30GB instead of 15GB, making it one of the best postpaid smartphone plans for international data use.

All this sounds great, especially for a price that is much less expensive than Experience Beyond - so what's the catch?

The Catch

The catch is that this plan has several restrictions, some of which greatly restrict who can get it. It is a limited-time promotional plan, so it's intended to attract a targeted set of customers. And that target set is relatively narrow.

Here are the specific restrictions:

• Requires 3 lines minimum - no option for 1 or 2 lines. T-Mobile advertises this as a family plan, so there is a 3-line minimum.
• For new T-Mobile customers, porting in at least 2 lines from another provider is required. In other words, you can't sign up as a new customer with 3+ new lines - you have to port in at least 2 lines.
• Existing T-Mobile customers can only switch to Better Value if they've had a postpaid account for at least 5 years.
• For existing T-Mobile customers, this new plan is not compatible with any existing free/bonus lines or insider discounts you may already have. If you switch, you lose those benefits.

These restrictions mean that many people cannot get this promotion. And existing long-standing T-Mobile customers will need to carefully consider whether losing bonus lines and discounts is worth it.

The restrictions also show what T-Mobile intends with this promotional plan: It wants to entice customers from other providers to switch and entice long-term T-Mobile customers, many of whom are likely on legacy tax/fee-inclusive plans, to upgrade.

Concluding Thoughts

T-Mobile has been very aggressive in expanding its customer base, and this promotional plan is the latest effort to poach customers from other providers and bring them into Team Magenta.

For those who qualify, this is an offer worth considering, as it provides a lot of value in a smartphone plan at a lower cost than even T-Mobile's current best postpaid plan. 30GB of high-speed data per month in Canada/Mexico, plus another 30GB in 215 other countries, is particularly good for international travelers. No other smartphone plan from T-Mobile, AT&T, or Verizon includes this much international data in the base plan.

The 250GB of hotspot data is also superior to most other smartphone plans - only T-Mobile's business plans and Verizon's Unlimited Ultimate with a $10 add-on offer more, and both cost a lot more and don't include nearly as much international data. AT&T's Unlimited Premium PL plan only includes 60GB of hotspot data, but does include unlimited high-speed data in Canada/Mexico and 19 Latin American countries. AT&T's Business Unlimited Premium 2.0 plan offers 200GB of hotspot, unlimited data in Canada/Mexico and 19 Latin American countries, and 7 free international day passes that can be used elsewhere. All these alternatives, however, are more expensive than the Better Value promo plan.

If you meet the signup criteria, the Better Value plan is worth serious consideration. The Better Value promo plan is available starting January 14th.

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