Are Prepaid Cell Plans A Good Idea ?

[PineRidge]

Need some advice. I have not used a cell phone for some years now so I need to tap into some of that savvy advice from seasoned cell phone users. My wife wants a cell for the car for emergency purposes. Since we do not plan and giving out the cell number any calls would be originating from us and we could control the airtime used. In this instance is a prepaid plan with no monthly charges a worthwhile deal? We have been talking with Alltell about a $74.95 for 700 weekday minutes and unlimited night & weekend home minutes. Is there a better way? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[DK35vince]

Mike,
My wife and I wanted a cell phone for same reasons you mentioned.
We went with Trac-phone that uses the prepaid plan about 6 months ago and so far it has been perfect for our uses.

 

[RoyJackson]

We went with a prepaid plan when we first got the cell phone. This was with PCS-1 (now T-Mobile).

As long as you can roll any unused minutes into the next billing cycle, it would be OK. If I recall, the plan we used didn't allow that (use 'em or lose 'em).

I left PCS-1 when T-Mobile, a German company, bought them out. First thing they did was raise the rates, so "Syanora, T-Mobile".

We're using Verizon now and the bill is tied in with our land line phone bill. It works OK for us.

Can't say prepaid is the way to go, but that's some folks only option.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

While some pre-paid cell phone plans can be good, please read the details carefully. Many of the plans have minutes that expire if you don't use them. So if you buy a 60 minute "card" and toss the cell phone in the glove box for 90 days and then your wife has a flat and decides to call you to come change her tire, you might find out that the minutes you bought expired. Some had plans that expired 30 days after activation if they went unused. Some had plans that lasted longer, but it varied by the service provider.

My company sells goods and services to C-Stores, and one of the things we offer are phone cards, reactivation of prepaid phones, etc. You will find that prepaid cards work very well for some users, but generally they are expensive per minute, often 3 or 4 times the price per minute. If you don't use, or plan to use, a cell phone very much then they may be good for you, but they can off spottier service (depending on the provider) at a higher cost and they can expire (depending on the provided).

I am NOT saying they are bad, but I'm not recommending them to people who do not CAREFULLY look into them to make sure they fit your lifestyle.


AS FOR ALLTELL, you should check their coverage maps and make sure that they cover the area where your wife frequents. In rural areas many providers CLAIM to offer service but the CLAIM does NOT match REALITY.

 

[yellowsocks93]

Pineridge, my mom wanted me to get a cell phone for the same thing your wife wants one for and we just ended up getting the cheapest Sprint plan and a couple camera phones. So far so good. I believe we pay $49 dollars a month for two phones. Not the cheapest but the clarity is good and if you are going to be travelling out of non populated areas I think this would be a better bet for your phone coverage.

 

[AMP762]

We've had our Trac-fone just over a year now,we like it.

 

[Old_Hickory]

Get yourself a TracFone

Happy New Year

 

[gws]

Do the minutes roll over forever? Is there a montly limit you must use your minutes? $75 for 700 minutes isnt bad if its good for a year, but my bet is its only good for 4 months.
Also check coverage area. Are you in a roam or non raom area. Your 700 minutes might end up being 1/2 that due to roaming.

tracfone has a large roaming area west of the mississippi and doenst cover much outside of NYC on the east coast.

 

[BRUSHTAMERS]

I use my cell phone as my business line, as it's much cheaper in my area than hooking up a second line to the house. I used prepaid cards for the first year, and never did figure that they worked for me. Never could use all of the minutes on a $25 card, and $15 wasn't enough. Then they went from a 90 day plan to 45 days maximum, with no refills available on the card. This is ATT wireless by the way. Signed a two year contract for minimum minutes and have never come near to burning all of my time. Costs about $34 a month. Figure to switch in February when my contract is up, to Nextel, who has better coverage in my area, but need to be able to keep my phone # as it's on my business cards, yellow pages, etc. ATT apparantly hasn't signed that agreement with the other providers that guvmint insisted on.

 

[PineRidge]

I just wanted you guys to know that I am not ignoring all this good information that you are passing out. I'm checking into a few of these plans and I will let you know what we have decided once we finalize.