I am looking for suggestions to the cheapest possible plan for a cell phone I only intend to use for emergencies. I have no real use for a cell phone, but it would be nice for, if I rented a car and it broke down, or I’m on the El and it stopped and I had to call in late for work.
I don’t really use a phone. Even my land line is used mostly for the internet. So I’m looking for something VERY basic.
I know in Illinois, at least, any charged up cell phone has to be able to call 911, but I would not want to do that if I just needed to call a tow truck.
I have looked around but can’t find a cheap plan. Again if I used the phone, it would be once every six months, and that would be a lot.
Have you ever looked into the prepaid phones? I’ve never used one, but AFIAK, you buy the phone and it works like a phone card- it comes with x amount of minutes and if you need more, you call (or buy a card maybe?) to recharge it. I know that when I was doing phone card customer service, you could get these phones at Wal-Mart.
My aunt has a plan that is 20 minutes per month on her phone, but i think that is through a local place.
Can’t really use it at home though. Bad coverage. It works from my house, but barely. Not good for a call to friends or family. It will go through. but if you move or walk around, forget it.
I do a lot of work on my house. When I’m by myself, I clip the cell on my tool-belt in case I have a ‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up moment’.
I bought them for my Wife, my Mom (my Mom lives a hundred miles away, but we got her on our plan) and myself, and we don’t use them much.
$120.00 a month for peace of mind. Verizon.
If you can wait until Christmas, ATT usually has a free-after-rebate prepaid phone at 7-11. I think you can get it for $50 right now. You get a phone and a $10 prepaid card. Just keep that until you need it and then activate the card.
The problem with the prepaid phones is that they expire. However, don’t let that stop you if you can do something like was suggested earlier and not activate it until you need it without there being a delay in activation.
Get a Virgin mobile. Costs about 70 bucks you buy a top-up card in 20, 30 ,or 50 dollars. The first 10 mins cost you 25 cents a min. after that 10 cent. You only have to buy a card every 3 months, so if yiou never use it it’ll cost 7 bucks a month. Works good too.
one thing to remember is that if you really only need it for an emergency–a true emergency, not “i’ll be late to work again”–any cellphone will connect you with 911 whether you belong to a plan or not. cellphone companies are required to handle 911 calls from any caller. some people buy a used phone and stick it in their glove compartment for just that purpose. some organizations collect old phones and distribute them to battered women so they will always be able to call the police. also, as i understand it, if you need to make non-emergency call, you can use the phone to reach an operator who will let you charge a call on a credit card. it’s very expensive per minute, but if you only do it a couple times a year it’s cheaper than most plans.