Are You Eligible for the Cricket Lifeline Credit?!

What’s the Cricket Lifeline Credit?
First of all it’s important to understand that Cricket Communications’ Lifeline assistance program is not a free cell phone service like TracFone’s SafeLink or Virgin Mobile’s Assurance Wireless programs.  There are some good reasons for this that are discussed below.  Basically, Cricket’s program provides eligible individuals with a credit on their monthly bill.

Although Cricket does have both Daily and Monthly unlimited plans under the PAYGo brand, their core product looks and feels more like a no contract postpaid plan.  So what does this mean?  Essentially it means that although you must pay for a month of service in advance, you actually get a paper bill (you can opt into paperless bills as well), and any overages you may have in a particular month (ex. ring tones, wall papers, etc.) are actually added to your next month’s bill.  I know, kind of strange and certainly not the norm in the prepaid industry, but it is what it is ;-).


The reason for this background is to help explain why it is that they’re calling it a credit to your monthly bill; because you actually do have a monthly bill!  So the Cricket Lifeline Credit is availableonly on their core monthly plan, and not on their PAYGo Daily or PAYGo Monthly plans; they don’t have a classic pay per minute plan.

Who’s Eligible for the Cricket Lifeline Credit?
Eligibility varies by state.  The program is currently only offered in the following states.  Here’s the information from the Cricket website:

California
Residents of California are eligible for a $13.50 monthly credit based on either a Program basis or an Income basis:

Program Based:

• Medicaid/Medi-Cal
• LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program)
• SSI (Supplemental Security Income)
• Section 8 (Federal Public Housing Assistance)
• SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
• WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Program)
• Healthy Families Category A
• NSLP (National School Lunch Program)
• TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
• CalWORKs (California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids)
• StanWORKs (Stanislaus County Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids)
• WTW (Welfare-to-Work)
• GAIN (Greater Avenues for Independence)
• Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
• Head Start Income Eligible (Tribal Only)
• Tribal TANF

Income Based:

• One or Two Person Household: $24,000
• Three Person Household: $28,200
• Four Person Household: $34,000
• More Than Four Person Household: $34,000, plus $5,800 for each additional household member

Illinois
Residents of  Illinois participating in any of the following services are eligible for a $10.00 monthly credit on their Cricket Wireless service:

• Food Stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
• Medicaid Medical Assistance
• TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
• SSI (Supplemental Security Income)
• Section 8 (Federal Public Housing Assistance)
  
• MEAP (Maryland Energy Assistance Program)
• LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program)
• National School Lunch (Free Lunch Program Only)

Maryland
Residents are eligible for a $13.50 monthly credit towards their Cricket Wireless monthly service and add-ons, if they participate in one of the following government assistance programs:

• EUSP (Electric Universal Service Program)
• Food Stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
• SSI (Supplemental Security Income, not including Security Retirement benefits)
• MEAP (Maryland Energy Assistance Program)
• Medicaid Medical Assistance
• TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
• TCA (Temporary Cash Assistance)
• Public Assistance to Adults
• TDAP (Temporary Disability Assistance Program)

Missouri
Residents are eligible for a $12.30 monthly credit towards their Cricket Wireless monthly service and add-ons, if they participate in one of the following government assistance programs:

• MO HealthNet (Medicaid)
• Food Stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
• SSI (Supplemental Security Income, not including Security Retirement benefits)
• LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program)
• Section 8 (Federal Public Housing Assistance)
• Free Lunch Program (National School Lunch Program)
• TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)

South Carolina
Residents are eligible for a $13.50 monthly credit towards their Cricket Wireless monthly service and add-ons, if they participate in one of the following government assistance programs:

• Food Stamps
• Medicaid Medical Assistance
• TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
  

How do you apply?
The key here is that you must already be a Cricket Wireless customer, meaning that you can’t apply to the program without first having an account.  Once you have an account, you can apply for the Cricket Lifeline Credit by visiting a Cricket Retail Store or a Premier Dealer.  The application is available in-store or can be downloaded online.  During the application process you need to provide documentation that proves you’re participating in one of the eligibility programs, as well as show a government issued photo ID.

When will I get my credit?
You should see the credit within 30-60 days after filing your application.  Note that you may be asked to validate that you’re still eligible for the Cricket Lifeline Credit each year.  So if you’re a brand new customer, you can expect to have to pay at least one month of service at the regular price before you see the credit show up on your account in the second and subsequent months.

What about Cricket Broadband?
Unfortunately Cricket’s Prepaid Wireless Internet service is not eligible for the program.  As noted above, only their core wireless program is included.  Why you might ask?  The Lifeline assistance program is a government subsidized program that is only for voice service.  Although Cricket’s Daily plan is a voice service, because it’s a daily unlimited plan, it gets very tricky (i.e. unaffordable!) to offer the credit on this type of plan.  For example, the $1/day plan would provide too much value (i.e. too much cost to the business) because there’s no limit on the number of minutes that can be used.  Also, there’s no monthly bill, so someone could essentially have a credit on their account and use unlimited service for 12 or 13 days, as opposed to SafeLink’s 55-80 minutes or Assurance Wireless’ 200 minutes per month.

What’s the catch?
There really isn’t a catch at all!  So long as you’re eligible for the Cricket Lifeline Credit, it should be smooth sailing.  The only restriction is that you can only apply for one phone per household.  Oh yeah, unlike the other programs, you won’t get a free phone, though you do get to buy the phone of your choice.

Final Thoughts
The Cricket Lifeline Credit is a great deal for people who are eligible, however, for some reason, it just doesn’t seem as compelling as the other Free Cell Phone Services available.  This program lets you get a discount on a fixed monthly plan.  Even the least expensive plan will require that you pay money each month.  On the other hand, with Assurance Wireless and SafeLink, you get truly free service each month (including a phone!), and if you need more minutes than what’s included, you can always add more money.  The point being that you don’t HAVE to spend any money each month if you don’t want to or can’t afford to.

Return to Free Cell Phone Service

Return from Cricket Lifeline Credit to Prepaid Wireless Guide Homepage

New! Comments