The next time you play a game on your cell phone, you might just be paying your bill instead.
Ad It Up is a popular app that lets users earn points by playing games, answering surveys, watching videos, scanning receipts, and shopping. Now, Metro, T-Mobile's popular prepaid provider, has partnered with the app to let you use those points toward next month's bill.
When you downloadAd It Up (it comes preinstalled on some T-Mobile devices), you'll be asked to choose your carrier: Metro or Cricket Wireless (you can't change this once you pick). I'm on another carrier, so I couldn't actually earn points, but I can see how the app functions.
In the app, you'll see games and tasks you can do to earn points. When I checked, games included Merge Restaurant, Colorwood Sort, Yahtzee, Parking Jam, and Travel Town -- all typical mobile games. Games offered anywhere between 25,000 and 250,000 points.
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There are also specials for trying subscriptions like Ancestry, SoFi credit check, and ABCMouse, plus a daily spin game.
You can let your points accumulate, but they expire if you don't earn any new ones for 90 days. The app doesn't mention a cap on how much you can earn, so it seems you're only limited by the number of offers the app presents.
Overall, the tasks seem fairly easy. The redemption values are a little steep, but there are enough offers that you could conceivably cover your entire bill. 100,000 points earns you a$20 credit, 50,000 points earns you a$10 credit, and 25,000 points earns you a$5 credit. Still, it's a useful option for knocking a little off your cell bill by doing things you're probably doing anyway.
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Gamifying your cell bill is a solid move for T-Mobile Metro, and saving money will only make customers more satisfied with their service -- and entice new customers.