So I lost my old cell phone, and cancelled my service, because I’m pretty sure I was paying way too much for how much I used it. Basically, I talk on the cell phone an average of 1 to 2 minutes a day, and I was paying $45 a month for that or something.
Anyhow have a suggestion for what I should get? Maybe one of those pay-as-you-go things where you pay for $30 of calls, then make $30 of calls, etc.?
thanks
I’ve shopped around, and I don’t use my phone much either, but it seems to me that pay-as-you-go doesn’t save most people any money. For heavy users, it’s more expensive, and for light users, it’s usually easily as expensive, so the only benefit would be not being bound to a contract.
Here’s an example:
Say a given prepaid plan costs you 10 cents a minute (that’s the lowest price I’ve seen). Say you use about 250 minutes a month. So, 250 minutes should cost you $25, right? Well, except they charge a fee for the privilege of getting 10 cents a minute-- at Virgin Mobile it’s $6.99/month; at AT&T it’s $1 every day you use the phone. Then you add in texting (10 cents each plus a fee, or $5 for like 200), or internet connection (who knows how much), or what have you, and you’re back up to your $45.
I’m sure for some people you come out better. If you honestly don’t use even 100 minutes a month, yeah, pay as you go might work for you. I use about 300, so it wouldn’t save me any money and I’d have to switch phones. shrug Best thing you can do is go check out the various providers’ websites and do the math.
I use Virgin PAYG and it’s .18 a min. with no $6.99 monthly connection charge. I’m like you I use no more that an hour a month it runs about $14 a month (w/tax) or less. With no contract and a phone that can be replaced for $20-$100 depending on the level of features you want, I’m happy. They even transfer your unused minutes if you lose your phone. I had a Tracfone but the coverage sucked and you needed another phone or an internet connection to recharge it with minutes (even with pre-paid cards?!?) My $20 Virgin mobile allows me to use prepaid cards, credit cards or PayPal directly through my cell to buy minutes (A nice feature in the middle of Bum Fuq).
I started using NET 10 several months ago. It’s available at Wal Mart and other locations. It’s a straight 10 cents a minute no matter where you are, what time of day, or where in the U.S. you’re calling. You buy a 300 minute card for $30 bucks and get the phone free. You get extra minutes by buying another card and you can add them directly and easily from your phone (no computer logon required). Text messages are 5 cents a minute and international calls are 15 cents a minute. No taxes, no surcharges, no minimums, no nuttin’. It’s a great deal.
Here’s the website if you want more info, but really all you need is in the package you buy at the retail outlet.
Sorry…make that 5 cents per text message, not 5 cents a minute.
I would agree with Nevermore’s analysis. I use a pay-as-you-go Cingular/ATT phone and it works out for me because I don’t use it every day. When I do use it, it is usually for short calls - not more than 5 or 10 minutes. The key is the $1.00 per day for the “first” use.
So if you don’t make long calls, but tend to use it every day, a pay-as-you-go plan may not work well for you. I think Cingular also has a flat .25/min. with no $1.00/day plan, and that may be another option. And you can switch between plans at any time (and also switch to a monthly plan, of course, as well).
The good thing with my plan is if I call other Cingular users, there is no .10/min. fee. So I can talk all day to those people (still have the $1.00/day, tho).
There are other, cheaper, pre-paid plans, but then you have to consider the coverage. And how much you travel, and whether those places are likely to have coverage.
We use Virgin. We pay about $20 every 3 months.
We only use about 400 minutes per year, though. Year.
This is me as well. I just reviewed my call history for 2 months and I’ve used 102 minutes in that time. I’ve made a lot more calls than usual though with the new condo. (realtor, meeting for walkthroughs, inspector and the like). This phone has never cost me more than $80 per year for my usage.