# Alternative to TracFone?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [December 29, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194 "2020-12-29T21:01:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/1 "2020-12-29T21:01:43Z")
About 6 months ago I got one to keep in my car in case it broke down when I didn’t have my other phone. And the other night that happened but my plan had expired. Minutes never expire, and it was my understanding that all I needed to do was make a call at least once every 6 months to keep it active. Turns out I also need to add money.
Well I am not paying $15 a month for a phone I hope to never have to use again, I’m going to have to go back to what I used to do, which is take my regular phone with me even if I’m only going to the grocery store, unless I can find a plan that does not expire
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### Author:  [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/2 "2020-12-29T21:10:19Z")
Straight Talk from Walmart is similar to TracFone with a monthly fee but no commitment.
A cell phone without monthly payments is a tall order. I don’t know of any but you can always make 911 calls on any cell phone, even without a plan. If it’s truly just for 911-type emergencies you can keep using the one you have and just stop paying.
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### Author:  [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/3 "2020-12-29T22:13:29Z")
> [@Dark\_Sponge](#):
>
> A cell phone without monthly payments is a tall order
I think you are right. I just contacted them to see if I could have added time if I had one of those prepaid cards, but of course can’t do that if the service plan has expired. Wouldn’t make much sense for them to allow that, they want you to add time every month or 3 months
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/4 "2020-12-29T22:16:59Z")
I have a pay-as-you-go plan with T-Mobile. I had to pay a year in advance to get on their so-called “Gold Star Plan” but it means that my minutes don’t expire from month to month and I don’t pay a monthly rate, I just pre-pay for the minutes themselves. Once a year, right around the expiration of the yearly plan, I have to top off with some extra prepaid minutes to keep it from expiring at the end of the YEAR, if (and only if) I didn’t top off at any point during the year, but that doesn’t happen for me any more (it’s my only cell phone and I do use it at least _that_ much). It used to, though. So I had on my calendar to make a minimum purchase each year at that time. So it works out – I buy my minutes, used them as I need to, don’t get billed a monthly “plan” fee, and the minutes I paid for never expire.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/5 "2020-12-29T22:22:08Z")
Can you qualify for a Lifeline phone, aka an “Obama phone”? Generally you can qualify if you make less than $17,226 for a single person or $23,274 for a couple or qualify for one of the following programs:
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps
Medicaid
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA)
Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit
Tribal Programs (and live on federally-recognized Tribal lands)
or have a qualifying dependent.
Plans generally come with 350 minutes a month, unlimited texts, and about 3gb of data. Service is free and you can also get a free smartphone. You have to make one call a month or send one text to keep your account active.
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### Author:  [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/6 "2020-12-29T22:22:35Z")
> [@AHunter3](#):
>
> pay-as-you-go plan with T-Mobile
I’m betting it is over $100 a year?
I’m on Cricket site now, I think I can add an extra line for $10 more a month
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### Author:  [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/7 "2020-12-29T22:23:15Z")
Thankfully I don’t qualify
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/8 "2020-12-29T22:23:47Z")
Thankfully, I do.
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### Author:  [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/9 "2020-12-29T22:31:10Z")
I think I have a solution. Currently paying $50 a month with Cricket, unlimited data. Mint Mobile has a deal, $30 for the same, I could get a 2nd phone with them with unlimited talk for $15. And after 3 months, if I sign up for a year, can keep the same price
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### Author:  [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/10 "2020-12-29T22:39:38Z")
can’t reach customer service at Mint. If I were to transfer my current number there, would it continue to work with Cricket until the new phone arrived from Mint, or would I have to go without a phone for a few days? I
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### Author:  [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/11 "2020-12-29T22:44:12Z")
Amateur radio license? Semi-serious.
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/12 "2020-12-29T22:48:00Z")
Wouldn’t it be simpler just to take your primary cell phone with you?
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### Author:  [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/13 "2020-12-29T22:49:01Z")
On the Mint FAQ now which says there are no stupid questions, but I guess I just asked one. The new phone is not going to work until I put the SIM card in. I knew that, sometimes I type before I think.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/14 "2020-12-29T23:33:53Z")
I believe there is an annual tracfone plan that’s around $100. It can also auto renew if that is your preference.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/15 "2020-12-30T00:05:33Z")
[Moderating]
Requests for advice are better suited for our IMHO category. I’ll move this over there for you.
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### Author:  [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/16 "2020-12-30T01:02:05Z")
Yes which I almost always did, the Trac was in case I forgot, or for those times when I got to my car and realized it then. Do I just go ahead and go to the 7-11 which is less than a mile away, or go back to my apartment and get the phone, I would almost always do the latter. I didn’t want to be in a situation where _the one time_ I needed a phone I didn’t have one
Which of course is exactly what happened
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### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/17 "2020-12-30T02:40:33Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#):
>
> I believe there is an annual tracfone plan that’s around $100.
Tracfone can be as cheap as $60 per year. Go to the Tracfone online store. Do NOT pick one of the plans near the top of the page that include added days. Instead pick a data-only or minutes-only plan (you may need to scroll down to near the bottom of the page to find them). For example, you could buy one GB of data for $10 as of 10/2020. Add this $10 of data to your cart, and proceed to checkout. During checkout, you will be given the option to add on an extra 365 of service (with no added minutes, texts, or data). This costs only about $50 as of 10/2020.
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### Author:  [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/18 "2020-12-30T02:55:57Z")
Trying to think back, that sounds like what I thought I was getting. I got the service in June, it ran out, as I just found out, in Sept. I think all I had to do was make a call every 3 months to keep it active. And I remember making a call a while back to keep it active, but like David Bowie I can’t trace time.
Anyway I will check that out, thanks!
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/19 "2020-12-30T03:43:39Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#):
>
> > [@AHunter3](#):
> >
> > pay-as-you-go plan with T-Mobile
>
> I’m betting it is over $100 a year?
I think it’s over $100 the _first year_. It’s been awhile since I had to “top off” due to not having reason to buy any additional minutes for an intervening year, but I think it was a minimum $10 for the priv of carrying over unused minutes.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2020, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-to-tracfone/929194/20 "2020-12-30T04:56:06Z")
> [@bibliophage](#):
>
> Tracfone can be as cheap as $60 per year. Go to the Tracfone online store. Do NOT pick one of the plans near the top of the page that include added days.
Yeah. Scroll down and find the cheap-ass shit. It’s there. I’m on a bargain-basement plan, cause I only use it to call long distance or if I get stuck in the Desert (I don’t. I carry sand-ladders).
But you can find cheap as dirt shit. And I made them send me a new, free phone a couple weeks ago. Now I just need to learn how to use it…
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