Help Cell phone question

[granmanh603]

Hi. Has anyone any experience with the TracFone, the pre paid phone? Right now I have
Verizon service that cost $40 a month for 3-- minutes. We live rural and do not have service in our house so only use phone in car and on trips to Disney but 40 a month is getting to be alot so was thinking about the Trac Fone or if anyone know of a wireless service that will charge less for fewer minutes a month. Thank you for any help. You people on here seem to know something about everything. Thanks in advance. Carol

 

[S. C.]

I sent you A PM

 

[pumpkinboy]

Verizon and all the other major cell phone providers will do prepaid plans too. Check out their websites. That way you only pay for the minutes you use, so maybe $25-30 every three months. I believe that the minutes expire after about 3 months unless you add more minutes to the phone.

We have T-Mobile, bith monthly and prepaid (for the person that takes car of DS) and have been very happy with them. Their coverage is not great outside of metropolitan areas, so perhaps not a great choice fro rural folk like you. It has been my experience that Verizon has the best rural coverage, so maybe that would be a good choice for you. Alternatively, since the merger of Cingular and AT&T Wireless (all Cingular now) their coverage has increased substantially. Also Cingular has deals with many local AAA organizations, tho I am not sure if that would work for pre-paid.

But it is just so handy to have a couple of cell phones at WDW. This past November, we were a party of 6, and all four adults had their own cell, so if anyone got sperated from the rest, he/she could always find them again with a quick call.

 

[mslangen]

Hi all,

You are talking about pre pay phones. With that you are talking about an amount that you should pay every three months, right? I thought that with pre pay you don't have to pay any amount every ??? months. Maybe a pre pay phone is another kind of thing here in Europe. If we talk about a pre pay cellphone you buy a pre pay kit which contains your sim card and an initial calling amount. For that you pay an amount of let say $35 and you get an initial calling amount of $10. The $25 you pay is for the netwerk provider who provides you with a phone number which is pre programmed on your sim card. The only thing you have to do is to put your sim card in any cell phone that is simlock free and you can start calling. At the time your initial calling amount is up you need to go to a shop and buy a calling card that is good for your network provider. In the case you buy a calling card for $50 you need to dial some code numbers into your cell phone to upgrade your sim card. From then you can go call the 50 dollars away. You can also call a toll free number and give your paying details and then your sim card will then be upgraded for the calling amount you payed for.
If there is no activity for a given period like two years your telephone number will be deleted and your sim card becomes worthless. From then nobody can call you on your number anymore Then you need to buy a new pre pay kit.
Pre pay comes in handy when someone don't call much. You pay more per minute with pre pay then if you choose to get a contract where you are paying a monthly fee.

Isn't this system around in the US?

Marcel.

 

[georgina]

Yes, that sounds pretty much like the tracfone. There isn't a card you put in it, but you buy a phone and program into it the number of minutes you have paid for. We've had them for a couple of years. I paid $100 for 350 minutes for the year, and I never use that much. The minutes never expire as long as you buy another set of minutes when the year is up. You can buy smaller time periods, but the year is cheapest.

 

[jetsetter90]

Hi,

We got my Mom virgin mobile. She pays $20 every 3 months. That is the cheapest plan. The minutes she doesn't use get carried over once you pay the next 3 months. She has used the phone here in NY, FL and California without any problems. You can have the amount you chose debited from your credit card every 3 months so yo don't forget, it works great for her. We purchased hers from Best Buy but I think you can go to their website also www.virginmobile.com.

TTFN

Jetsetter90

 

[Lewisc]

With some of the pre-pay plans in the US your unused minutes expire in 30 60 or 90 days (depending on how many minutes you pre-pay). The unused minutes may "roll over" if you buy a new card before they expire.

Hi all,

You are talking about pre pay phones. With that you are talking about an amount that you should pay every three months, right? I thought that with pre pay you don't have to pay any amount every ??? months. Maybe a pre pay phone is another kind of thing here in Europe. If we talk about a pre pay cellphone you buy a pre pay kit which contains your sim card and an initial calling amount. For that you pay an amount of let say $35 and you get an initial calling amount of $10. The $25 you pay is for the netwerk provider who provides you with a phone number which is pre programmed on your sim card. The only thing you have to do is to put your sim card in any cell phone that is simlock free and you can start calling. At the time your initial calling amount is up you need to go to a shop and buy a calling card that is good for your network provider. In the case you buy a calling card for $50 you need to dial some code numbers into your cell phone to upgrade your sim card. From then you can go call the 50 dollars away. You can also call a toll free number and give your paying details and then your sim card will then be upgraded for the calling amount you payed for.
If there is no activity for a given period like two years your telephone number will be deleted and your sim card becomes worthless. From then nobody can call you on your number anymore Then you need to buy a new pre pay kit.
Pre pay comes in handy when someone don't call much. You pay more per minute with pre pay then if you choose to get a contract where you are paying a monthly fee.

Isn't this system around in the US?

Marcel.