Extended until 7/15: TracFone Nokia 5165 or 5180 + one year service for $95

[OptiMiser]

TracFone is replacing their "Plus3" card, which gives you 100 minutes over one year, with a "1-year" card, which gives you 150 minutes over one year. If you buy the 1-year card here for $95, you get a free refurbished Nokia 5165 (TDMA + analog) or 5180 (CDMA + analog), depending on your zip code. You get 40 minutes for activating the phone and 100 bonus minutes if you activate the 1-year card by June 30, for a total of 290 minutes over one year (40 for the phone + 150 for the card + 100 for the promotion). That averages out to $7.92/month for 24 minutes/month, or 33 cents/minute.

BTW, they are offering 60 extra refer-a-friend minutes to both referrer and referree, so send me your email address and I'll refer you. (Am I allowed to say that here?)

 

[skoka]

I just saw this deal a few days ago and placed the order and got the phone today. After activating it on their website I got 290 minutes for $95 with one year free active service.

 

[bambam]

Good deal for an occaisional use phone . I was also looking at www.ecallplus.com but I think this deal may have them beat .

 

[icer]

Got a email from tracfone stating that people can't combine the two promotions of 100 bonus min and free reconditioned phone.

 

[skoka]

Originally posted by: icer
Got a email from tracfone stating that people can't combine the two promotions of 100 bonus min and free reconditioned phone.

No it does work. I have received 290 minutes with the $95 offer for Free refurbished phone + 150 minutes card.

I am not impressed with the company though. I am trying to setup voicemail through the website and all I get is a "coming soon" message. When I try their customer service number for voice mail setup, all I get to hear a long TOS BS. When I try to speak to a customer representative, I get a message that the volume is too high, please try your call later.

They seem to be competing with SprintPCS (Clair) in customer service.

 

[OptiMiser]

Has anyone besides me had trouble with incoming calls not ringing the digital TracFones?

I sat in a parking lot by the freeway and did a test-- only 10 of 21 incoming calls rang the phone. The phone was showing 3 of 4 bars of signal strength. Outgoing calls are fine. I'm in the middle of the suburbs-- not a fringe area.

Also, my sister took both the digital 5180 TracFone and the analog 252 TracFone with her on a 600-mile trip up the east coast. She said that once she left her home city, the digital phone showed "no service" the entire way, while the analog phone worked during the entire trip. (This despite the fact that the 5180 is supposed to be both a CDMA and analog phone, and automatically switch to analog when it's out of digital service areas!!!)

The good thing is that TracFone is going to let me switch my minutes over to my old analog 252 TracFone, which works just fine. Then I can sell the 5180 on ebay for about $55 and get the year's service for $40!

 

[ConnCarl]

How long does it take to see the entire 290 minute balance? I got mine today FedEx Overnight, activated it over the website and entered the 1 year/150 minute cardnumber, but all I see on the phone is 30 minutes.

Thanks! Carl

 

[Woz]

Thanks Optimiser, this is exactly what I've been looking for! I just need the phone for occasional calls for convenience and safety and this is perfect. I'm sending a PM regarding a ref. Please do so ASAP.

 

[Mthrboard]

Originally posted by: ConnCarl
How long does it take to see the entire 290 minute balance? I got mine today FedEx Overnight, activated it over the website and entered the 1 year/150 minute cardnumber, but all I see on the phone is 30 minutes.

Thanks! Carl

If you only got 30 when you activated, you're going to need to call them...or try adding the 1 year card again online. I just activated mine, and all I got was the 30 units, even though I typed in the number for the 1 year, 150 unit card. I tried typing it in again, and it kept on bringing up a blank page, so I finally called and added the airtime that way...I got 250 units (150 plus the bonus 100), plus the 30 for activation, and an additional 10 for the e-mail thingy, for a total of 290.

 

[Woz]

Their online activation does not seem to be error free, obviously! When I activated, I received NO AIRTIME at all, even though all codes were accepted and I received my phone number. So, I called in and the rep had me punch in a code and read him the numbers displayed, then gave me a new code which put in 20 minutes of time. He said he couldn't give me the other 10 for online activation and I should send an email to the website about the problem. Then, hopefully, I will get the other 10. I didn't put my 1 year code in when I activated and I'm glad I didn't!

 

[JeffCutter]

I have used Tracfone in between Salt Lake and Boise for the last 2 years and it has worked great. The per minute cost is expensive, but much cheaper than keeping an inactive line for the months that you are out of town.

I have always bought the 300 minute cards directly from Amazon. They used to be $99 per card, and I would use a few coupons and a few AT promotions to get the price down a little, but this 1 year deal with the same minutes with a free phone is much better.

Good deal.

 

[JeffCutter]

One other thing to mention about Tracfone is that the company will let you change your local calling area up to four times per year at no charge. Since tracfone charges you double the cost per minute when you are roaming, this is a necessity if you travel. For example, if you are an east coaster who goes out west for a few months per year you can switch to a west coast local number and switch back without paying anything or losing any minutes.

 

[Woz]

Bumping this great deal while there is still time.

BTW, you can get the free referal minutes even if you have bought the phone before another member refers you. I bought my phone 4 days before OptiMiser sent a referal email and I received the extra 60 minutes today! So, instead of 290 minutes, I've got 350 now.

 

[waggy]

i had a tracfone for the limited use i use it. it was great cost/use.

though the phone suckes and the area is limited. i ended up getting voicstream instead heh

 

[Woz]

Not to late to jump on this one.

 

[alchemize]

Got one for me, one for my wife. Dumping Nextel, figure I can buy 3,000 minutes a year for the same price...