Getting a deal on a cell phone (and service plan)

There is no single answer for everyone, but chances are that you fall into one of three categories:

1. Average user (i.e. most of you): you travel occasionally, demand coverage everywhere, and call a lot during off-peak hours

You probably already have service with AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile.  You can save money on your existing contract or on a new phone:

• Corporate/education discount.  These usually range from 5-25% off of monthly service plans (and sometimes a smaller percentage off phones).  You don't necessarily need to work for a big company to get a discount.  You can mooch off your friends or family.  Carriers even offer discounts to alumni or fans of a sporting team.  (Check your alumni website -- I found one for Northwestern University, one of my alma maters.)  Then call customer service or walk into a store and tell them about your affiliation.  Or you can also try the links that the carriers provide to determine eligibility: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile.
• Amazon.  Lots of carriers offer phones for free, but these phones generally suck.  You can get paid to buy the latest phones from Amazon (after rebate).  Amazon doesn't have to pay for retail space, so they can afford to subsidize their phones more.  For example, you can get paid $100 to buy the Blackberry Pearl (after $100 rebates).  The same phone costs $100 at t-mobile.com and att.com (after $50 rebate), and $150 at sprint.com and verizonwireless.com (after $50 rebate).
• Consider switching carriers at the end of every contract.  With number portability, you can switch phones without losing your number.  If you like to use new phones, your current carrier won't give you a deal, so you'll be stuck with either an old phone or an expensive one.  If you want to just make money, you can sell your new (or old) phone on eBay (or give it to a clumsy friend) and just use the new SIM card in your old phone (for AT&T and T-Mobile only).
• Call to quit.  If you are currently beyond your 2-year contract, you can call to cancel your line (just to see what they might offer).  These companies want to keep you as a customer because they pay about $350 to get a new customer.  Often, they offer you 100 extra minutes a month or a deal on a new phone to stay with them.

2. No frills: you economize on everything, including minutes with your dying grandmother (or you lost your phone in the middle of a contract)

If you don't talk much, then you can afford to economize and pay less than a recurring $50/month charge.  The best way to do this is to buy a prepaid card and phone from AT&T or T-Mobile.  These plans let you pay about 10 cents per minute.  This is ideal if you just use less than 200 minutes a month (e.g. emergency phone for a car).  Or you lost your phone in the middle of a contract (AT&T and T-Mobile only), this is a cheap replacement.

Periodically, Target will really give you a deal.  Target often (including now until 3/1) sells $100 cards from T-Mobile bundled with a Nokia 2610 phone for $88.  So you get 1000 minutes plus a phone for just $88, and spending $100 lets you keep the minutes for a year.

Alternatively, T-Mobile.com will often sell phones for $30 (no commitment), and they come with a $25 recharge.

3. Unlimited: you talk. A lot. And don't travel.

In many metro areas (and soon more), you can find MetroPCS or Cricket.  They sell plans for $40/month, with unlimited calling (including long-distance and messaging).  There is a catch.  In fact, two catches:

• Your coverage won't be very good.  These carriers build out fewer towers in each market, so your calls will drop or you will pay expensive roaming charges to Verizon (even in your home market).
• You can't travel (much).  You might be able to travel one town over, but chances are pretty slim that on a business trip you will not need to roam.