It looks like I’m going to Los Angeles next month for a couple of days. It would be handy to have a cell phone for the trip, but I have never had a cell phone and Google results are just confusing me. I just want a phone to be able to call my mother and or my brother when I arrive at Union Station or in case my train is late or I miss my transfer. The phone needs to work in San Francisco, Oakland and the Los Angeles area. I don’t need MP3s, texting, web access, or a camera, just a phone. I don’t have a lot of money. I like to pay less than $20. The cost of this trip is coming out of my groceries money for February (it’s not like I can’t go without eating for a few days).
Most pre-paid phones (I think) are nationwide so you should be able to buy one anywhere (Walmart etc). IIRC the inital free activation that comes with some pay as you phones is usually 60-90 minutes (more in some cases) so that should be enough for your trip needs if used sparingly.
I’d recommend Net10; they’re a subsidiary of TracFone so you get the same great coverage, but a much simpler rate system: 10 cents per minute or the new unlimited minutes for one monthly prepaid fee.
Their phones are often very cheap or free, especially if you order online. Set it up before you travel to make sure everything works.
You can also find them at RadioShack, Safeway, etc.
PS: Sometimes a pay phone is still the simplest solution, especially if you have a prepaid phone card with an 800 access number.
No. Buy a Trac phone (hopefully with Life Time Double or Triple minute deal which means you get double or triple times minutes every time you add minutes - lt will say on the box) and turn it on online (seemed easier for me). Look for promo codes, for extra minutes, such as this site; you need to sometimes try a few different codes before you get the one that works. You can usually get 60 to 100 extra minutes with promo codes.
If it was me, I would probably add $20 card just to be safe though but I have one that has like 100 minute left on it and something like 300 days left that I keep in my car for emergency. If you don’t talk much it’s not a bad deal.
Do you have a friend who can give or lend you an old Verizon phone? If so, just take out the battery so you can see the ESN, call PagePlus and activate it, and put $10 worth of minutes on it.
T-Mobile also has prepaid phones, I think their cheapest model is about 30 dollars. When I got the kids cell phones a couple years back, that’s the route I went (and glad I went cheap, as each kid has lost at least one phone and had to replace it out of his/her allowance). As it happened, they were running an online promo which included a 25 dollar top-up card with the purchase, so basically the phone was about 5 bucks net.
The cheapest one I see on their website right now is about 25.00. Looks like you might get a similar model at Walmart.com for a bit less. It won’t be a great phone, but it would do the job. Walmart.com also shows some AT&T and TracPhone units for less than 20 dollars.
If you order your phone directly from Tracfone online, you can get CDMA service, ie, Trac phone through Verizon service (Tracfones work through local carrier services as they don’t have their own infrastructure.)
Enter CDMA only location zip code as your location (some small towns out West like Arizona somewhere etc has only CDMA phone company as their cell service provider - you’ll have to google for the map that shows the phone service coverages.) Then you’ll get the option to pick CDMA only phones. If you have a CDMA only Trac phone, your service will be provided by Verizon or US cell or whatever local CDMA carrier is… but generally Verizon as they are the biggest CDMA provider. I always had and like Verizon service. My real cell phone carrier is Verizon.
I have one of those little phones–it says LG on the front and I am 95% sure it was a Net10 instead of regular Tracfone. I also have the charger. I don’t need either of them and would be more than happy to toss them in a Priority envelope and mail them to you. It hasn’t been used for probably close to a year and would have to be reactivated and I have no information at all about how to do that. If you can get that info, you are welcome to it, I’ll cover shipping. I’m assuming the battery will charge after all this time. Let me know if you want it and I’ll try charging it up.
I’ve been to Pasadena before, I lived in the LA area for 19 years before moving to San Francisco.
I just don’t like traveling in general and this trip is just to see my mother. We haven’t seen each other in over ten years. Also I will be seeing my brother as the plan is for him to pick me up at the Gold Line Station in Pasadena and drive me to my mother’s in Duarte. It isn’t going to be a “fun” trip.