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phrogvt

recommend prepaid cellphone plan?

phrog
12 years ago

My wife is looking for a basic cellphone and minimal usage plan. Seems most of the plans have "gotchas" -- you pay for minutes that can expire, or they cancel the service if you don't use it enough.

She uses about 5 minutes a month, and would even pay $1/minute or more if that were the only cost.

BTW, the only providers that I know will work here in VT are ATT, Verizon, and Tracfone.

Comments (7)

  • sevrm
    12 years ago

    I used to have a Tracfone. As I recall, I had to buy 120 minutes for $20 every three months. The unused minutes rolled over.

    I now have an ATT GoPhone. I have to buy $25 worth of usage every three months. They deduct $2 for every day that you use the phone, whether you use it once or a hundred times that day. That also includes unlimited text usage. Your unused balance also rolls over.

    Both plans worked well for me since I seldom use my phone. The reason for switching was that I would too often not have service with my Tracfone. I live in south Florida.

  • don_1_2006
    12 years ago

    Check Virgin Mobile. I pay $20.00 every 3 months. I hardly use the phone and the money accumulates. If I do use the phone it is 18� per minute. In my opinion this company is straight shooters.

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    12 years ago

    I have and use PagePlus. It only requires that you purchase $10 (100 minutes) every 90 days. If you add the minutes before the 90 days are up, the existing minutes will roll over. Once you buy the phone, it figures out to $40 a year.

    Page Plus phones

    Here is a link that might be useful: Page Plus plans

  • albert_135   39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
    12 years ago

    My wife uses TracFone. Most of her day she cannot use a phone. With TracFone she can pick up voice messages with the land line and not use minutes so $20 might get her 120 minutes of voice phone and unlimited(?) minutes of voice messages too. BTW, she said that a couple of months ago the hardware from TracFone was much cheaper than the same hardware from WalMart.

  • yosemitebill
    12 years ago

    After years of monthly cellular bills (starting since the 1980's) that would always seem to increase for "who knows" how many various reasons, I went with TracFone several years ago and am very happy.

    I use a cell phone as a telephone and nothing more. If I need more time I can just buy it, and each time I do, it extends service for another 90 days from the last end date. I'm good now until way after the Mayan calendar ends!

    I have a TracFone Motorola W376G which comes with lifetime double minutes. So, minimum 60 mins @ $20, gives you 120 minutes and 90 days of service.

    If I'm doing a lot of traveling on business, I buy more time in whatever quantity I need , and when not, I just don't worry about it.

    The only thing I found in setting up one of the phones (my wife has the same phone too) is that I was having some problems and their "standard 800 number support people", located outside of the USA, couldn't solve it. I found that there is another unadvertised 800 number that gets you into their Florida offices with very capable people - don't have it off-hand but you can Google around to find it.

  • Mo
    12 years ago

    I'm with Virgin Mobile, and only pay $15 every 90 days with auto top-up. All of the unused time rolls over too.

  • shiane
    12 years ago

    I use STI mobile which is a prepaid plan. The cost is 9 cents per day and 9 cents per minute. You must use the phone for at least 1 minute every 60 days or you lose your phone number and have to get a new number by calling them. (This has happened to me a few times so it just shows how little I actually use a cell phone! LOL) I have been using this for the past 5 years and find that it works very well. It doesn't do text but I only call. Also, if you order a phone card from ephonecardss.com or other outfits (google STI discount phonecards) you can save a little more-3 to 5% by using a discount code which you can find in a search on the internet.

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