Help choosing Pre-Paid Phone for Mom...

[amdhunter]

I need to get my mom a prepaid phone. I need a really basic phone. I haven't owned a prepaid phone since 1999 with OmniPoint (lol.)

Can you have a prepaid phone just deduct from a Credit Card these days? I don't want my mom to go through buying prepaid cards or anything, I just want to pay with my credit card from month to month with zero interaction from me.

Who's the best prepaid provider, that can allow me to do this?

 

[GregMal]

I'm not sure about others, but Virgin Mobile allows automatic payments from credit/debit cards and even paypal...

 

[amdhunter]

I'm not sure about others, but Virgin Mobile allows automatic payments from credit/debit cards and even paypal...

Ah, thanks. I didn't even know they had phones. Prices look alright too.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

yeah the virgin mobile for $25 looks pretty good. metropcs has lte phones for $40 a month

 

[amdhunter]

yeah the virgin mobile for $25 looks pretty good. metropcs has lte phones for $40 a month

She needs the simplest phone possible. So far the only place I saw that can refill automatically is MetroPCS. I don't know why it's so hard to find info on a prepaid phone.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

She needs the simplest phone possible. So far the only place I saw that can refill automatically is MetroPCS. I don't know why it's so hard to find info on a prepaid phone.

i understand i just got my own senior dad a phone myself. i thought he needed the simplest phone possible as well but i ended up getting him iphone and it turned out he was actually able to figure out how to use it. you might want to actually show your mom the phones in the sprint store since they are basically the same price to maintain as a dumbphone

 

[NutBucket]

I got a Virgin Mobile phone for my dad. The plan I have requires a $20 top-up every 3 months to maintain the line. I haven't found anything significantly cheaper either.

EDIT: Virgin can automatically top-up if you choose to have it do so.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

I got a Virgin Mobile phone for my dad. The plan I have requires a $20 top-up every 3 months to maintain the line. I haven't found anything significantly cheaper either.

EDIT: Virgin can automatically top-up if you choose to have it do so.

are you saying that for the $25 a month smartphone they make you pay an additional $20 every 3 months? is that a phone reactivation fee every 3 months? i didnt know that...

 

[maniac5999]

are you saying that for the $25 a month smartphone they make you pay an additional $20 every 3 months? i didnt know that...

Nope, Two different plans there. I have the Virgin $25 Android plan, and it's just $25+tax every month.

 

[queequeg99]

I use T-mobile. I got an older Nokia 6010 phone (made $5 after rebate) and buy 1,000 minute cards for $90 each. Walmart recently had a Samsung phone on sale for $14.99 that seemed pretty basic. If you buy the 1,000 minute card, all of the minutes (including anything already on your account) are good for a year after the purchase. I rarely use my phone for what I will call gratuitous socializing so this works for me as I usually end the year with 50-100 minutes left on my account. I figure I would start looking at a calling plan if I were calling around 3,000 minutes a year or more.

Not exactly the setup you're looking for but with 1,000 minute cards that don't expire for a year, it might be an option. But obviously you need to be in an area where T-mobile has decent coverage.

 

[gsaldivar]

Virgin Mobile

 

[cardiac]

PagePlus Cellular is pretty decent. I use this dealer: http://www.kittywireless.com, and they have their own auto-renew system that works beautifully. You can get by with $10 every 3 months....

Bob

 

[Pliablemoose]

http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php/325-US-Prepaid-MVNO-Discussion

Good info on all of the US prepaid.

For me, Page Plus would be up there because it uses Verizon's network, it's pretty robust in the LA area.