@J.007 Well, ‘bribe’ typically refers something dishonest or even illegal….the tab bonus ncouldn’t be furthe from that definition.
First off nobody forces anyone to take it. It’s a choice. You want to pay up front for a new phone? Your choice. You want something like an interest free loan to spread out the payment over 24 months? It’s a better choice. Especially with 7%-8% inflation. No one forces you to stay either. You want to leave earlier than t24 months. No problem. Simply pay off an of outstanding amount and that’s it. More details here:
https://www.koodomobile.com/en/help/Tab-bonus
I hope this helps.
Yes, it does help; thank you for the clarification.
And yes, perhaps “bribe” was not a very diplomatic description on my part. Maybe I should have said “incentive”? 
(On the other hand, I did not say anyone was forcing me to take it.)
It just seems like ALL cell carriers hire copywriters who use the most convoluted phrasing and deliberately vague wording and terms when describing the services offered.
Maybe YOU should be writing the copy instead. 
Putting it in plain English with a straightforward comparison to an interest-free loan was good; it’s immediately understandable and a familiar concept.
I do have a couple more questions if you don’t mind.
- If I buy a newer phone elsewhere, can I just swap my Koodo SIM card into it and keep my current plan?
- What is the price of “pay per use” data? (Now there’s another vague thing … why couldn’t I find the cost even after multiple searches on the site?)
I don't think a bribe is accurate but personally I see it as the old cancellation fees if you were to leave early. It's not just Koodo… it's an industry wide standard. Koodo was one of the last carriers to do the tab bonus being something you pay back in addition to the regular tab amount. It doesn't help that Koodo often, to varying amounts, makes the retail price above msrp.
To answer your first question, the good thing about a Sim card is that you can transfer it into any compatible device and use it. Carriers don't care what device you use, so long as you pay your bill.
Pay-per-use data varies by the plan but currently as per the plan page listing the 27 dollar plan with Pay-per-use data, it is 13 dollars per 100MB of data. It's quite expensive and should only be picked if you just want talk and text. And then you're better off with the prepaid 25 dollar plan as it includes unlimited talk and 500MB of data plus 500MB if you do auto top-ups. And the data boosters are a much lower price if you sometimes need more than 1gb in a month.
Thanks very much for answering my questions.
I did see the $13 / 100MB price but they list it as “additional data” which, in my opinion, is confusing. I mean, how can it be “additional” when there’s no data included in the plan to start with???
Anyway, that goes to my point about convoluted and deliberately vague writing by all carriers.
Guess I’ll definitely be staying with my current plan at $28 which already includes 100MB (which I have almost never gone over).
Thanks again.
They likely copy and pasted the same explanation used in all the other plans. I wouldn't think too much about why they chose the word additional instead of PPU or something else.
In case you want to use a bit more data, I would recommend switching to the prepaid 30 dollar plan as it includes 1gb of data with automatic top-ups setup and that's 900MB of data for 2 dollars more à month. But if you see no value in that, then by all means stick with the plan you have now. I certainly wouldn't switch down to the 27 dollar plan if yours includes some data.
To all who responded … thanks for all the quality information and details. It’s a relief to have a more accurate and complete set of facts so I can make a better decision in the end.
One last question --- not for me but for my elderly mother who currently is using an old 3G flip phone.
Can she keep her current $15 basic plan if she opts for the TCL Flip available now?
One last question --- not for me but for my elderly mother who currently is using an old 3G flip phone.
Can she keep her current $15 basic plan if she opts for the TCL Flip available now?
She can if she purchases the phone outright. Not if she wants to get the phone on the tab.