Last week I got an excellent used iPhone 5 for $130 and I was in need of an AT&T GoPhone Starter Kit to activate the iPhone. Without sim card we can’t activate an iPhone which means you can’t use the iPhone. After couple of hours of googling online finally I got free AT&T GoPhone Starter kit from an AT&T Store near by. If you are looking for a free AT&T GoPhone sim card for your unlocked GSM mobile, continue reading this article for information.
The iPhone I purchased was a backup phone and mostly intended to use at home while connected to WiFi. Occasionally I wanted to make a call or two. So my objective was very clear – spend as less as possible to activate the iPhone.
The first choice for me to buy a AT&T GoPhone Starter kit was from Amazon as they ship everything in a day or two these days with Prime. AT&T is selling sim cards on Amazon for $6 plus I need to buy $10 refill card to around 15$ including shipping charges. This quickly added up to 21$ + tax and the refill card is not eligible for Amazon Prime. Its going to take its own sweet time to reach my mailbox through snail mail. Amazon option ruled out.
The next stop to look for sim card is AT&T Website – they are selling it 5$ , but no mentions about whether it’s compatible with iPhone 5 (as it needs a nano-sim) or not. Also the shipping is going to take a week or more for sure.
Finally I decided to walk in to an AT&T store near by to buy a sim card. To my surprise the store representative told me “You don’t need to pay money for the Starter Kit, its free!”. That’s nice it’s a savings of 5-6$+tax. He asked my driving licence and gave a free sim card and also as part of the processes he insisted on activating the sim card with 20$ refill. But I asked for a 10$ refill and explained him how I can buy 10$ refill cards online. He quickly verified his system and refilled the account with 10$. So finally I paid just 10$ + taxes for the refill and got sim card for free.
I think many people are not aware that they can get free starter kits from AT&T store. I searched online and could not find any references to this information. Hope this information saves you few dollars.