Transparency

Websites that publish reviews or recommendations often make disclosures along the lines of:

We receive commissions from some companies, but we are unbiased and would never let financial incentives impact the content we publish.
In most cases, these disclosures are disingenuous. Even when disclosures of this sort are meant sincerely, they’re rarely accurate.

I’m not impartial. I aim to avoid letting financial incentives affect how positively or negatively I view companies, but I won’t always get that right. If you think conflicts of interest are adversely affecting the quality of my content, please let me know.

While I regularly discuss, recommend, and review companies I don’t have financial relationships with, the quantity of content I publish about a company may be impacted by the financial incentives involved.

Below, I list companies I have financial relationships with. In most cases, I also share details about the nature of the arrangements.1

Cellular Companies

AT&T Mobility

Last updated: 6/14/2021

I receive commissions from AT&T Mobility according to the structure below:

  • $75 for add-a-line and postpaid phone orders
  • $50 for postpaid data products
  • $10 for upgrades and prepaid orders

Mint Mobile

Last updated: 8/4/2020

I’m a member of a Mint Mobile affiliate program that typically offers commissions of $20 per sale.

Reach Mobile

Last updated: 11/17/2020

I receive a commission from Reach Mobile when I refer new subscribers to the carrier.

Red Pocket

Last updated: 5/7/2020

I’m a member of a Red Pocket affiliate program that I believe offers a 50% commission on the initial sale of service to new customers and a $30 commission on devices over $150.

Tello

Last updated: 3/19/2020

I receive a commission of either $10 or the cost of one month of service for each new customer I refer to Tello.

Ting

Last updated: 5/6/2019

Ting offers me a $25 commission for every new line of service activated.

Total Wireless

Last updated: 6/10/2020

I receive a 5% default commission (excludes phone service) and a $30 commission on some high-end device purchases.

Verizon Wireless

Last updated: 6/10/2020

I receive the following commissions from Verizon:

  • $75 for postpaid service contracts
  • $30 for prepaid service contracts
  • $30 for additional phone lines
  • 10% on accessories

US Cellular

Last updated 3/19/2020

I’m a member of a US Cellular affiliate program that offers a $60 commission on most plans, a $30 commission on prepaid plans, and a 7% commission on the purchase of phone accessories.

Xfinity Mobile

Last updated: 1/13/2020

I’m a member of an Xfinity Mobile affiliate program that offers a $75 commission for new customers I refer.

Device Manufacturers

Motorola

Last updated: 6/18/2020

I’m a member of a Motorola affiliate program that offers a 1% commission on most orders.

Internet Service Providers

Verizon Fios

Last updated 3/23/2021

Verizon Fios offers commissions on multiple services:

  • $35 – Consumer high-speed internet
  • $45 – FiOS Data
  • $45 – FiOS TV
  • $45 – Streaming Services

Other

Skimlinks
I use a service called Skimlinks. Skimlinks has partnerships with a lot of merchants and automatically converts some of my non-affiliate links to affiliate links. Details about the merchants Skimlinks works with can be found here. As of April 2021, revenue from Skimlinks has not made up a substantial share of Coverage Critic’s total revenue.

Trial Partnership
I’m trialing a partnership where I’m compensated on a per-click basis for a handful of cellular carriers.2 I plan to update this page with additional information if the partnership starts generating a large fraction of Coverage Critic’s revenue.

  • Tello
  • Ting
  • Twigby
  • Mint
  • Pure Talk
  • Reach
  • h2o Wireless
  • Red Pocket
  • Good2Go
  • US Mobile
  • Ultra Mobile
  • Unreal Mobile
  • Xfinity Mobile

MMM Recommendations

I manage the cell phone service recommendations on MrMoneyMustache.com. MrMoneyMustache.com and CoverageCritic.com have separate affiliate relationships with companies in the cellular industry. In most cases (but not all cases), the relationships involve the same commission structures.

Companies I Don’t Have Financial Relationships With

Below, I list companies I don’t have direct financial relationships with. There are numerous companies in the telecom industry, so the lists are far from comprehensive. I’ve tried to focus on companies that are particularly large or regularly discussed on Coverage Critic.

Last updated: 4/4/2021

Cellular Industry

  • T-Mobile
  • Teltik
  • Wing
  • Consumer Cellular
  • SpeedTalk Mobile
  • Altice Mobile
  • Metro
  • Apple
  • Samsung
  • LG

Internet Service Providers

  • AT&T Internet3
  • Mediacom
  • Windstream
  • Sparklight
  • CenturyLink
  • Optimum (Altice)
  • Suddenlink (Altice)
  • Spectrum
  • RCN
  • Starlink
  • HughesNet
  • Viasat

I can’t guarantee that this page is always accurate and up-to-date. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Mistakes

I hate the that journalists and news outlets are usually incentivized to hide or downplay their errors. On my I Was Wrong page, I keep a log of my serious, journalistic mistakes.

Footnotes

  1. I usually partner with companies that have public-facing affiliate programs that involve standard compensation structures. In these cases, I can share details about compensation structures without seriously threatening partners’ competitive interests or my own competitive interests.

    When partnerships don’t follow a standardized structure that’s public knowledge, I still aim to disclose the existence of a relationship, but I may be more reserved about sharing details. To date, I’ve not run into many situations where I, or companies I partner with, have reservations about detailed disclosures. However, I anticipate running into more tricky situations as Coverage Critic grows.

  2. When companies are listed both in the “Trial Partnership” section list and elsewhere on this page, links may run through either arrangement.
  3. I have a financial relationship with AT&T Mobility which primarily sells cell phone service.