> Dude, this is not complicated.
No, it really isn't. A giant for-profit corporation is using every trick in the book, every little bit of marketing knowledge and know-how, to psychologically reassure you and lull you into thinking you're getting a "good deal". You're not.
> I already wrote that it was orthogonal to the concept of getting a better deal
It's not orthogonal, because that is how they make money off of you, which is why they're offering incentives to get you onto their network. Once you're on a plan, the bullshit starts, and you'll have to be on your guard so that your plan doesn't change from under your feet.
You might save some money in the absolute sense, but you're paying for it with vigilance and hassle and annoyance. And if you slip up once, they got their money back. A large part of their business model is simply to saddle their subscribers with high-margin useless crap, hoping enough of them won't notice.
As an example, if you compare 5G coverage for AT&T's prepaid vs regular plans, you'll see that 5G is available on cheaper regular plans than the prepaid ones. Why is that? Are they a charity? Is it out of the goodness of their hearts they're offering it to their loyal customers?
No, they're doing it, because they know they'll make more money off of you, on your $55 regular plan, than they'll do off of someone on a $55 total prepaid plan.