I haven’t seen a prepaid wireless thread in a while, and things have changed a lot over the last few years, so I thought I’d ask for some advice and experiences. My contract with Verizon Wireless is up and I’m thinking about switching to a prepaid mobile carrier. I don’t use my cell phone very much (probably less than 500 minutes per month). I don’t currently have a texting plan. I pay 20¢ per text sent or received. I send/receive about 8 or 10 texts per month, but I’d probably text more if it were free. With an employee discount, I pay about $40 per month for my plan. I want to pay less than that. I want to pay as little as possible, while still maintaining some quality. Yes, I’m cheap.
One of the plans that I’ve seen out there that caught my eye is Straight Talk. I believe that this plan is exclusive to WalMart. The plan I’m interested in is a $30 per month plan with 1000 minutes and/or texts. It also includes 10MB (I think) of web access, but that is not all that important to me. I’m told that Straight Talk uses the Verizon and AT&T network, so presumably the coverage should be pretty good. Another plan I’ve seen is Net10. I’m kind of interested in their 750 minute/text plan at $25 per month. I had Net10 about 4 or 5 years ago and everything was great until I started having issues with the phone. Their customer support is in India, and it was so difficult to get issues resolved that I finally gave up and went with a Verizon contract program. T-Mobile has a similar pre-paid plan with 1000 minutes/texts for $30 a month that might be a fit for me as well, but I’m not so sure about their coverage in my area.
I’d like to keep my current mobile number, so porting a number in (or out, if I find I don’t like the plan) would be important to me. I lost my mobile number twice with Net10 because they had to send me a new sim card and that is what ultimately made me decide to ditch them. They assured me that the sim card they were sending me would allow me to use my old mobile number, but I found out that was not the case after I received it.
What are your experiences? I think I’ve described what I’m looking for, but feel free to discuss other plans that you use that others might be interested in.
Have you tried Cricket? They have an unlimited talk, text, and data plan for $35 a month. And if you trade your old phone in, you get a really good deal on a decent phone, especially since you are porting your current number.
If all you care about is talking and text; Kroger has a pretty cool phone. The minutes are dirt cheap. Also, you can connect the phone to your Kroger shop card. For every $100 you spend at Kroger; your phone automatically gets 20mins added to it.
Back when I had a Kroger phone, I would go months with out paying a bill at all. The times that I did, I’d put $20 in and be good for another 3 or 4 months.
$30 will get you 1500 minutes, 1500 texts and 30 MB web with Virgin Mobile. I have my smart phone plan with them, too: 300 minutes and unlimited text and web for $25.
Thanks for the advice, all. TheChileanBob, how is the connectivity with Virgin Mobile? Are there many dropped calls? Also, can you explain exactly what 30 MB of web access equates to? If I could get that included in the plan, that would be great, but not necessary. I probably wouldn’t use it too much, but being able to check my email and/or directions on the go would be useful to me. Shakes, there are no Krugers in my area (RI), but I like the idea of using supermarket points to pay for my mobile minutes. Maybe one of my local supermarkets will introduce a plan like that.
I haven’t had many dropped calls. I honestly don’t know what you can do with 30MB. I had a different plan before I got my smartphone and web wasn’t included.
We use T-Mobile for the kids’ phones and it’s worked well. I top off about 10 dollars each month (or whenever I think of it); neither kid uses it much at all. After you’ve added a total of 100 dollars, you get a slight discount and the paid-for balance lasts for up to a year.
I do not know how well it would work to port a number to the T-Mobile plan, my kids’ phones were new numbers. I do know I couldn’t get the “right” area code, they had no more numbers in our range and so the kids’ phones have the overlay code (571 vs 703).
Verizon’s prepaid plans, last time I looked, were not a good deal - cost too much, balances expired far too soon (e.g. 10 dollar top-up went away after 10 days). However as another poster mentioned, PagePlus might be a better deal.
I’ve had MetroPCS since March and am very happy with it - plans start at $40 a month for unlimited MMS/SMS text and picture texting and unlimited minutes. No added taxes or fees, discounts if you share the plan, decent phones. And I’m picky, because it’s my only phone and I use it a lot - I have the 4G $60 a month plan and have someone else on my account, so it costs me $55 a month.
Looks similar to the PagePlus plan, but I’ve never heard of them so maybe they don’t have any presence here in Michigan.
Only downside is, I don’t think you can use your current phone number.
Just thought I’d post a follow up to this thread. A few months ago, I signed up for the Straight Talk prepaid plan. It’s available at Wal Mart and also online. I paid $69.99 for a Samsung 401 phone and one month’s worth of service. They have two plans. For $30/month you get 1000 minutes, 1000 texts and 30MB of data. For $45, you get unlimited minutes, texts and data. The phone I got is definitely not cutting edge, but I didn’t need it to be either. And although it’s got web access, I wouldn’t exactly call it user-friendly. I rarely use it. But the phone works well, and the service so far has been great. Rather than having to buy a new minute card each month, I signed up on line to have the $30 charged automatically to my credit card so that I wouldn’t have to bother with that hassle. In exchange for doing so, they gave me the unlimited plan for the 1000 minute per month price for one year. They also have smart phones available (again, not the latest models), but I can’t speak to them. What I know is, if you’re looking for a decent phone plan to talk and send texts, Straight Talk might be a good, inexpensive option for you.
Thanks for the update. I got out of the contracts a couple years ago. I wanted a basic cell phone. I use the phone part occasionally, as well as texting once in a while. I do not use the internet features at all. I wanted something dirt cheap, and I found Tracfone.
You can buy one in a blister pack at just about any grocery or Target/Walmart. Look for the double minute phones - every minute you purchase is doubled as long as you own the phone. I got a cheap $10 phone, and started with $20 worth of minutes (60 min x2 for 120 minutes). You have 90 days to use the minutes, or buy more to keep the phone active. I have never run low, and the minutes roll over. I figure my monthly cell phone costs are less than $10, and no contract.
I like the cheap phone - it is a button kind that I can put in a ziplock on a bike ride and still be able to answer it (no flipping or sliding, and definitely no smart). If I lose it or destroy it, no biggie. I have had no connectivity issues, either, in suburban Northern California.
+1 to Mama Zappa’s recommendation of T-Mobile. I’ve had a T-Mobile pre-paid for seven years. (Same number, just popped the SIM card into new handsets as necessary).
Thank Og the AT&T merger didn’t go through. Their pre-paid plans suck…
Yeah, it seems like there are a lot more options out there now, even when compared to just six months ago. I see on Straight Talk’s website that you can now purchase just a Sim card from them and get your own unlocked GSM phone to use with it. This can only lead to increased competition and lower prices for us down the line. I like that. The big guys have held us hostage for too long. I don’t think that I’ll ever get roped into a mobile contract again. Even if I decide that I need a smart phone, there are plenty of cheaper options out there than Verizon, et al. The only real issue that I’m unsure of right now, is the quality of the connectivity on some of the lesser-known providers. But that will work itself out as time goes on and users offer their opinions. This internet thing is pretty good, ain’t it?
