We’re switching over to prepaid cell phones and I’m trying to research which company to go with. Many plans charge $1 per day of use, but I can’t figure out if that includes texting. If someone texts and that’s the only thing my phone does that day, do I get charged $1?
Not to be snarky, but did you read the fine print? It usually says things like that.
I’m trying to determine which company to go with; I don’t have any fine print to read yet. There are about a zillion companies out there, and the “compare” sites just tell me certain ones charge $1 a day of use, and assume I know what that means. Just looking for experiences.
I can almost guarantee you will be charged. They want to make money.
I know with tracphone - it depends n the model, but varies between free for incoming (only on some models) to .3 minutes or .5 minutes of prepaid minutes. Helped a friend of mine set one up yesterday. Got a full color Samsung phone - no credit check - no anything (set up on a different phone with minimal info).
$20.00
I couldn’t believe how nice it was for someone they have no clue who they are. They are subsidizing the crap out of these. Not anywhere as near of as big a screwing for poor people as it used to be.
Check out Virgin Mobile. I have their pay as you go phone with unlimited data for about $30/month. I gave them my credit card so they can take the money out as needed but there’s no contract.
The downside is that you only have maybe a dozen phones to choose from. So if you want something slick, you might not find a phone that suits you. Of course that’s an issue with most pay as you go phones.
Even if you don’t necessarily make at least one call per day, with the data package, it still might work out to be cheaper for you.
I also have a couple of burner phones (like the tracphone) that can’t be traced but I rarely use those. One is for emergencies and the other for the alarm system.
edit: they recently put in a cap but it’s ridiculously high - at least for me. After you hit the cap, they just thottle your data rate though.
edit2: they use the sprint network btw
Thanks. I talk on my phone about 30 minutes a month, and don’t really need data or a snazzy phone, so I’ve been looking at pay by the minute plans, but I don’t want to pay a buck every every day because despite very little actual time on the phone, I do use it just about every day for at least a few seconds.
We also live out in the country and most of the little companies don’t have great coverage out here. After a few hours of looking at all this, I’m actually leaning toward AT&T’sgophone plan,which as I understand it is $0.10 a min with no daily charge, and 200 texts for $5, so my total bill should be around $8 a month. Seems pretty reasonable. I also know I can get reception here, so that’s important.
If anyone has a GoPhone, do you end up with various stupid service charges, or is it pretty straightforward?
I’ve been looking at doing the same thing and the man at the AT&T store said there were no additional taxes or fees on that plan. However, I don’t know that you’ll get away with only paying $3 a month for voice since it looks like the points expire after a certain time. For example, if you get a $15 card, the minutes expire after 30 days. The best value is a $100 card (~$8.33 per month) which lasts one year. Still $13.33 per month isn’t too bad.
Thanks, Radiowave. If we go that direction, I’ll get the year-long card.
Just remember that the gophone minutes expire. I just re-upped one of the burners which is a gophone. The only plan that gave me a full year before the minutes expire was the one for $100. I think the longest expiration otherwise was 90 days.
Right now for my husband and I we’re paying $100 a month for a family plan on Verizon, and using about 120 minutes a month combined. So $100 for a year of minutes is sounding pretty good.
Seconding Tracfone. I got a $10 cheapie phone with double minutes for the life of the phone (e.g. $20 buys you 60 min but you get 120 min). Minutes roll over. You must use your min or buy more in 90 days. Includes texting (I use) and internet access (I do not use). For me and my light usage it works out to be less than $10/mo for my cell phone, and no contracts or other charges. It does not get much cheaper than that.
Your usage sounds similar to mine, except that i probably only average about 15-20 minutes a month.
I use Virgin Mobile, and instead of a monthly plan, i use their “Pay as you go” system. It doesn’t require a monthly payment; instead, you pay 20c/min for your calls, and you top up your phone when you run out of money.
You have to top up with $20 every three months, but unused minutes roll over. If you don’t use up all your money (i never do), then it basically costs you $80 a year ($20 x 4 times per year), plus the cost of the phone. As dzero says, your choice of phones is somewhat limited, but it sounds like you don’t care very much about that. My basic Samsung phone cost me $10.
I have an AT&T Gophone pay-as-you-go on the 10 cents/minute plan. The $25 refill is good for 90 days, and unused minutes roll over, so the cost for that for one year is just a few cents more than the $100 refill.
No additional fees? In Chicago a 911 fee is added, and my total for a $25 card was $27.43 when I last refilled online. My records go back 3 years and show that that amount (± a few cents) was consistent. Even before that I’m sure the total charge was always above $25.
So the AT&T man’s information on that point might be, shall we say, inaccurate.