I haven't heard anything from surgephone themselves but stumbled across this browsing the website. Seems like there is a new app for surgephone called surgerewards .
Digging into the details on the activation page for surgephone it says:
Your first $1 earned each month is automatically applied as a $10 credit to your SurgePhone wireless bill.
So looks like we'll need to earn $1 in the app to get our $10 discount.
No idea when this becomes live because there is still mention of moolah app on the website but I imagine it will change soon.
Obviously, whether one can reasonably earn $1 (to credit $10 against the bill).
Since interaction is now required, and 'in theory' the app needs to be loaded on the active phone, this really limits the utility as a glovebox phone. (It's not likely to be in my glovebox if I need to fire it up regularly to earn credits.)
3). The FAQs indicate that ad content is not zero-rated, and that they anticipate data requirements to be around 500mb a month. WiFi is needed to come out with usable plan data beyond the app requirements. (The FAQ does say there's a setting to limit ad viewing to WiFi only..)
That pesky concern about whether the app will mine contact info. A number of people were avoiding that issue by not loading contacts on the phone-- but that further limits the useful niche for a phone that needs to be interacted with regularly. (Without the mining concern, I might actually use the phone as a primary at times.)
Answer to question 6 is Juan didn't say anything about the new app, and I got my new credits in about the same 3-4 minutes as last time.
As an aside, I am baffled by the order in which the transactions for my three monthly credits appear. They are not in order by month, by day of the month, by transaction ID, or by invoice ID. Strange. Oh well.
The new app provides a digit entry pad for the birthdate instead of a date picker but requires MM/DD/YYYY instead of a sane format, which is infuriating, but it does show clearly what it's expecting, so at least it's not a real obstacle.
That said, I tried to get set up on the new app (largely to assess question 1) and it says "this sim is unavailable to register." I figure there's a small change that's because my sim is linked to my account in Moolah Mobile and a much larger chance it's for the same reason I originally couldn't link it in Moolah (my ICC ID displays in the Moolah app with an F appended to it).
Doesn't look easy. $0.001 an ad but there are multiple freebies like you can earn $0.15 each month by logging in each day and then they have lock screen ads and offers to do. I hope they refine that over time to make it easier to earn. There are currently two ad providers in the app (hypermx and something else with a cube logo) as well as two offer providers (fyber and adgate) listed though the offers are not live.
They did give me $2 for signing up. If that counts for the free plan that gives me two months free.
There is also a VIP status which looks like you get bonus earnings like more for each ad view. I am currently on bronze +0% so at the lowest level. Not sure how to get higher. It looks like it might be if you use the app a certain number of days in a row you get leveled up. That could potentially make it much easier to earn that $1.
IMEIs and ICCIDs are linked to the app. I don't know if we will be able to get away with swapping the sim to other phones. The good thing is this app is not invasive. You don't have to have it running all the time. It is a bit like cellnuvo - you open it up and interact to earn. You can disable lockscreen ads.
yes wifi is important
yes I imagine they will mine all the data they can get
The new app isn't live yet. Supposed to later this year and the moolah app will no longer be used. Continue to moolah for now. They really needed to get the new app ready before having it on the website etc.
I shouldn't think so since it is applied to your account
Also do note this new app is supposed to ensure auto renewal so that is a benefit. There is a "news" section in the app which cellnuvo was sorely lacking.
Depends on how easy it is to earn. If it takes me 30 minutes a month to get a free $10 plan that isn't too bad. If it takes me 30 minutes a day then no way.
I just renewed my free plan with Surge using Chat 2 days ago. After giving the full name, address, phone, and email, I told the rep that I had the Moolah app on my phone. I had no problems with the renewal, actually it went smoother than the last 4 renewals.
There was no discussion of a new app. I've received no emails about a new app yet.
Here's a cut and paste of a chat I just did with Surge's CS
Chat
Hello, welcome back! Can I help you in any way?
Fredy
yes, I am an existing customer who has been on the free plan for 3 months. is Surge still providing free service when the phone has the Moolah app installed?
Me
right now the free plan will be given by surgerewards.com
please un install the moolah app and download the surge reward app
Fredy
Ok I have that installed too.
Me
that application was just released
Fredy
What do I need to do to get free/discounted service
Me
if you already have the app
you will earn point that later you will be able to exchange for minutes
Fredy
OK how do I redeem?
Me
the app has a option to redeem the credit
just follow the steps
Fredy
I don't see it
Me
the most common question can be found at surgerewards.com/
Fredy
hello. I'm awaiting instructions on where to locate the redemption option on the surge app
Me
SurgeRewards uses your phone's internet connection (Wi-Fi or cellular data) to play a short ad when you unlock your screen. For every ad you view, you will receive points which can be redeemed for a credit towards your wireless service bill. Additional credits may be earned by viewing videos and completing surveys.
Fredy
yes but that doesn't answer my question. once you collected enough points how do I use them?
Me
the system will notify you whenever you have enough points to redeem for minutes /text or data
Fredy
