Premium vs. Standard Text Message Charges

Entering SMS sweepstakes is a fast and fun way to win. However, text message sweepstakes may have charges associated with them. There are two types of charges to watch out for before you enter sweepstakes by text -- standard and premium text message charges.

What Are Standard Text Message Charges?

If you read the rules of SMS sweepstakes, you might see a line that says something like: "standard text message rates apply." What are standard text message charges?

Standard text message charges are the fees that your mobile provider charges you to send or receive SMS messages. What you pay -- or if you need to pay anything at all -- depends on your individual service plan. Some of the common options include:

• Unlimited Text Messaging: For one flat rate, you can send and receive as many text messages as you like.
• Limited Text Messaging: For a flat rate, you can send a specific number of text messages at no additional charge. This could be a couple of hundred messages or more than a thousand, depending on your plan.
• Per-Message Charges: You are charged a fee, usually a few cents, for each text message you send or receive.

To get an idea of some of the options available, see About.com's Cell Phones Guides' Carrier Comparison for Cheap Text Messaging.

Note that these fees are not directly controlled by the sweepstakes' sponsors, and the sponsors do not profit from them. You should also be aware that by entering SMS sweepstakes, you may be agreeing to receive mobile marketing messages from the sponsor by text. If you are paying for every SMS message, these charges can stack up, so be sure to unsubscribe if you are not interested in the messages.

Premium Text Message Charges

Premium text message charges are fees that are charged by the SMS sweepstakes' sponsors, in addition to any standard messaging fees your mobile provider may charge.

Premium text message charges may be used to sell you products like ring tones, or to sign up for subscriptions. When it comes to sweepstakes, this is usually a one-time charge, but you should be careful to read the rules carefully to determine you want to pay the fees.

It's debatable whether sweepstakes sponsors are allowed to charge premium text message fees, which could qualify as consideration. For example, the television game show Deal or No Deal was sued in 2008 for a sweepstakes that involved premium text message fees. The lawsuit was dismissed on other grounds, and did not answer the question of whether premium text message fees qualify as consideration.

Premium text message charges can also be used by deceptive marketers. This was one of the Good Morning America's complaints about sweepstakes. You can contact your mobile service provider to ask them to block premium text message fees, if you don't want to take any risks that you might accidentally agree to a charge.