Carrier Is Straight Talk worth it for me? Need to switch service by the 1st

[emscie]

I have AT&T 4G, unlimited text and data on iphone 5 for $70 (minus 15% work discount) + $40 for the line.
I also was stupid enough to share cell data on ipad, a service I rarely ever use and they won't cancel, for $10/month.
My monthly bill is about $109.50 before taxes.

If I suspend service for 6 months, I will be be paying about $20/month before taxes. I was thinking about buying straight talk for 6 months with a new number but I am reading so many bad reviews online. Is the temporary 6 months switch worth it?

Where can I get the straight talk kit in a store? Are there any hidden fees that will inflate the bill? Is the SIM card fee included?

 

[Metatron]

I have not used straight talk, but it was one of many vendors I researched before leaving AT&T. If you are a low data user, reviews were high. If you use alot of data, its probably not a good option. I have seen straight talk SIM cards in stores (walmart) before, but it varies by location. Can not comment on fees, sorry. Check out AIO Wireless. If you need tethering, AIO is not an option, but they do have a tablet plan.

 

[emscie]

What would qualify as heavy data user? 2G/month?

 

[TsuaSai]

I have a iPhone 5 straight talk phone and love it. My bill is $50.54 with tax in Texas. If you don't have to have lte it's a good deal. Also it uses Verizon towers. So if Verizon is good in your area your covered. If its not probably should go with a ST phone that uses AT&T towers.

 

[SimplyiOS]

I made the switch recently (starting 3rd month with ST) from my AT&T unlimited data to AT&T straight talk, unlimited $45 plan. I have not had any concerns with the service, in fact have barely noticed a difference, as the same towers and coverage are available. As for data usage, I have not had any concerns with being flagged for high usage, but am on wifi majority of the time. As mentioned earlier, no LTE, but that was not a deal breaker as AT&T's HSPA+ is faster than even some other providers LTE service.

The one concern is not having MMS working, iMessage is flawless, however. There are ways to get MMS working if you have a jailbroken device (tetherme) or doing the tmobile sim swap to adjust the APN settings. This is something I haven't messed with as I do not MMS very often with others who do not use iMessage.

All in all, I have no complaints and am glad to have made the switch. Going from a $86 Bill with employee discount (23%) on AT&T to now $40-45 a month (usually buying cards from 3rd party vendors to save on taxes) was a wise move in my opinion. Also doesn't hurt that I now have a better plan, unlimited talk, text, data for less than half price versus 450 mins, unlimited text/data, as I do tend to use a lot of minutes and would go over the 450 at time (had rollover to cover though).