Advise on prepaid cell plans?

[runzwithsizorz]

I hardly use my simple basic flip phone, seriously! less than 6 hours a year, last year only 4. Wife has a Droid with all the bells and whistles and we don't mind paying the premium monthly to Verizon, whom we have been with for 15 years. But, for me it makes no sense to pay $50 a month for less than a half hour a month. Currently looking at Trak- Phone, any others? **with coverage**?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

From a former wireless guy, you can't beat ATT for $100 = 1000 minutes & 12 month to use them. Unused balance (up to $500) will carry over to the next card.
**Sounds like you are not looking for data beyond WiFi**

 

[Schfifty Five]

What is it with the words advice and advise? How come people get those two mixed up all the time?

 

[Scarpozzi]

I've heard a lot of people that only do basic phone service have success with Page Plus wireless. If you like talking with your wife, you could look into prepaid Verizon that does V-to-V minutes for free...but I don't know if Verizon does rollover.

Page Plus Wireless uses Verizon towers and around here, that's more important than anything. Most of the other companies have more dead spots than Verizon in my area.

http://pagepluswireless.com/ $12/month for their most basic plan.

 

[Triumph]

i have page plus and am very happy with it, but it is NOT the full Verizon coverage. anywhere verizon is on an extended network is a roaming area for PP. not a big deal in my area but your mileage may vary.

they also have pay by the minute plans instead of 12 month, but you do forfeit some momey if you dont use it by a certain time.

 

[overst33r]

reddit.com/r/nocontract

Selectel seems to be what you're looking for. $75/yr http://www.selectelwireless.com/wireless-plans/

 

[Thump553]

I had Page Plus, was reasonably happy with it-full Verizon coverage as far as I could tell but you are restricted to Verizon type phones. Switched over to Cricket (ATT network) and just as happy with a lot larger selection of phones.

Do some research online, stop by the deal boards (FW, SD, etc). My rough guess is some plan where you buy XX dollars worth of minutes and can use them over time may be the best for you. Your wife save money switching off Verizon to something like Page Plus, I'm sure. When you're done you'll be outraged at all the money you pissed away over the years at Verizon for no reason.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

What is it with the words advice and advise? How come people get those two mixed up all the time?

Gee don't know, please advice me. Is it advice on, or advise on?

 

[Imp]

You should have Virgin Mobile in the US of A. I'm on Virgin in Canada, paying $100 a year just to maintain my balance but $0.30-ish a minute and per text message -- this draws from the $100. I have a permanent carry-over amount... It's expensive, kinda, on the actual usage, but every other plan I've seen here requires a minimum pre-paid bump up just so you don't lose your balance.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

page plus is something like $10 every 4 months to maintain your account. pretty cheap if you don't use it too often. if you use a site like prepayrefill you can set up an autorefill every 4 months and you get 5% off.

trac phone is pretty cheap also. you can get a generic phone that has double minutes for life or one of the smart phones with triple minutes for life.

 

[Hopeless]

Check to see what type of plan your wife has with Verizon. A quick look at their web site appears they have family share plans where you pick the amount of data to share for $X then phone service is $20 per phone.

 

[uhohs]

If T-mobile reception is good in your area, maybe consider Lycamobile. I'm on the pay as you go plan with 2 cents a minute rates. I do a $10 top up once or twice a year.

 

[thedarkwolf]

I did trac phone for years. I hardly use my phone either so I'd put a $100 on my double min phone and usually get 9-12 months out of it. Now I"m using Ting.
https://ting.com/rates
I like their tier based rates and usually pay $15-18 a month.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

If T-mobile reception is good in your area, maybe consider Lycamobile. I'm on the pay as you go plan with 2 cents a minute rates. I do a $10 top up once or twice a year.

Sounds good, and right up my alley, however when I look at their site, I see no such offer.

 

[pontifex]

I've heard a lot of people that only do basic phone service have success with Page Plus wireless. If you like talking with your wife, you could look into prepaid Verizon that does V-to-V minutes for free...but I don't know if Verizon does rollover.

Page Plus Wireless uses Verizon towers and around here, that's more important than anything. Most of the other companies have more dead spots than Verizon in my area.

http://pagepluswireless.com/ $12/month for their most basic plan.

pageplus can do 10$ every 3 months also. or $80 for 1 year.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

I did trac phone for years. I hardly use my phone either so I'd put a $100 on my double min phone and usually get 9-12 months out of it. Now I"m using Ting.
https://ting.com/rates
I like their tier based rates and usually pay $15-18 a month.

So you're paying "$15-18 a month" to make 2, or 3 local calls a month?

 

[uhohs]

Sounds good, and right up my alley, however when I look at their site, I see no such offer.

Ah, looks like they don't advertise the pay as you go plan on their page anymore. If you top up and don't select any of the monthly plans it should default to pay as you go. The sim cards are also cheap from Amazon sellers, you need a newer plus card though.

http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2011/02/best-prepaid-voice-plans.html

 

[DaveSimmons]

I'm on a legacy T-Mobile plan, but you can't get it anymore.

Last time I looked they also had another "pay as you go" plan that was $3 a day for any day that you used the phone. Maybe they still do.

 

[WilliamM2]

Tracfone now has phones with triple minutes for life. I just paid $99 for 1200 minutes, plus 300 bonus minutes, and a years service time. My wife uses it, I have no use at all for a cell.

 

[JEDIYoda]

What is it with the words advice and advise? How come people get those two mixed up all the time?

this is the internet -- why does it matter....whats with you not commenting on the thread???

Consumer cellular...

 

[thedarkwolf]

So you're paying "$15-18 a month" to make 2, or 3 local calls a month?

No that would be $9 a month. I pay $18 for being on the phone around 60 mins a month, sending some text messages, and checking e-mail/facebook/other little internet stuff. Back when I was still using tracphone they didn't have data just voice and texts and I was still averaging around $12 a month so paying $18 and having data seemed like a decent deal.

If I were changing now I"d be tempted to give republic wireless a try.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Again ATT prepay: $100 card get 1000 minutes, text .20 per or $5 gets you 200 for 30 days.
Unused balance is save provided you get a new card. Balance is capped at $500.

 

[balloonshark]

I've been using Tracfone for years for emergencies and when I go out. You can find deals on ebay for phones with minutes.

You might want to check out howards forums. They have tons of info about different services. Here is their tracfone forum. http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php/330-Tracfone-Net10

You might also want to look into H2O wireless. If I ever burn up my Tracfone minutes I'll probably go with H2O because they are cheaper. I don't think they roam though so be sure to look into roaming if you need it.

 

[TwiceOver]

Cricket wireless. If you'd like a $25 credit, PM me for referral.

 

[MWink]

pageplus can do 10$ every 3 months also. or $80 for 1 year.

Actually, Page Plus is $10 (for 100 minutes) every 120 days (which is 4 months). It's also possible to get 2000 minutes for $80, which lasts 1 year.

From a former wireless guy, you can't beat ATT for $100 = 1000 minutes & 12 month to use them. Unused balance (up to $500) will carry over to the next card.

That can easily be beat. Just look at the Page Plus rates mentioned above. 1 year of service is $20 less and gives you twice as many minutes.


I've used a number of prepaid services over the years and Page Plus is probably my favorite. I can spend as little as ~$35 per year (for 300 minutes) and it runs on the native Verizon network.

I also liked the old T-Mobile Pay as you go with "gold rewards". That allowed you to keep a phone active for as little as $10 per year but that is hard to find these days. I also used PlatinumTel for a while, before they moved from the Sprint network to T-Mobile's. I liked their price structure but, after the move, you had to refill your account more often. FreedomPOP can be a great deal but you have to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. Be prepared to play games and expect sub-par service.