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Free phone service: Get two months of Tello for $0

Cheapskate exclusive! Here's your chance to try a different carrier with no obligation and no cost. Plus: Get a free Dairy Queen Blizzard!

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
3 min read
tello-cheapskate-plan

Cheapskate readers can save 100 percent on two months' worth of Tello phone service. You're welcome!

Tello

Whenever I talk about cheap phone service -- which is often -- readers jump in to champion Tello, a Sprint-powered carrier with some of the lowest rates around.

Want to try it yourself? For a limited time, new Tello customers can get two months of service for free. Regular price: $19 per month. (That link should automatically apply the necessary promo code, but if you don't see a $0 balance at checkout, use code CHEAPSKATE.)

First things first: You'll need an unlocked Sprint- or Verizon-compatible phone. You can bring your own or choose from a variety of inexpensive models sold by Tello. You can also port in an existing number or get a new one.

The Cheapskate-exclusive two-month freebie plan nets you unlimited voice calls and text messages, plus 2GB of 4G LTE (aka high-speed) data and unlimited 2G (aka pokey) data after that. A particularly nice perk: Tello supports tethering at no extra charge. Another one: Free calls to Canada, Mexico and China.

As you might expect, signing up requires a credit card, and you'll get billed at the regular rate starting with month three -- unless you cancel. Will you want to? Tough to say, but assuming you can get by on 2GB of high-speed data per month, $19 is as dirt-cheap as phone service gets.

Need more? You can easily tweak your plan to include 3GB, 4GB or 10GB per month for $24, $29 or $39. (There's also a 1GB option for just $14.) Indeed, one of Tello's claims to fame is how simple it is to upgrade or downgrade your plan based on your needs.

I happened to have a spare unlocked Sprint phone lying around, so I took advantage of the offer myself. Signup was easy, and within about 10 minutes my phone was activated. I did notice a $1.50 charge to my credit card, but I'm assuming that was the usual make-sure-the-card-is-valid test. I'm also assuming it will be refunded.

You've got until Friday to take advantage of this offer. If you're already a Tello user, hit the comments and let your fellow cheapskates know what you like or don't like about the service.

My two cents: This is a fantastic way to see if a smaller carrier is right for you, and a great introduction to one that has some impressively low rates.

free-dairy-queen-blizzard

Grab a free Blizzard!

Dairy Queen

Bonus deal, food edition: There are certain things about humanity I'll never understand, like why someone would choose vanilla ice cream. Chocolate exists, people!

See for yourself: Today only, you can score a free Dairy Queen Blizzard (small) when you install the Dairy Queen app and register for an account. (Once you do that, you'll have a week to redeem the freebie.)

The one to get, of course, is the Choco Brownie Extreme. But in a head-scratching move, DQ makes this with a vanilla base. Wrong, wrong, wrong... ask for it to be made with chocolate ice cream.

OK, vanilla fans, I apologize. I must remember that other opinions are valid, no matter how misguided they may be. [Ducks.]


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