pay as you talk phone

[Lory]

We are trying to trim our monthly budget so we will be able to take more trips to DisneyWorld of course! I dont really keep up with all the new gadgets out there but I did hear something about a cell phone where you only pay when you use it. We pay $36.00 a month on a cell phone we might use 3-4 times a month so I was thinking perhaps a phone that you only pay when you use would be better.
Does anyone know what I am talking about??
Any information would be appreciated.

Lory

 

[mad4themouse]

I have an AT&T prepaid wireless phone. As long as I add airtime every 45 days, my remaining minutes rollover. I can add as little as $10. That buys 20 minutes of local talktime. It's more than enough for me. I can text message for a fee but I don't know what it is because I only use the phone to make quick calls.

 

[Lory]

Can I just buy one of these phones online? Do I add my minutes online? How do I get the phone up and running?

Thanks so much,

Lory

 

[mad4themouse]

I bought mine a couple of years ago at Amazon.com but you can order directly from AT&T as well. The plan is called the "Free to Go" wireless plan. You can refill your minutes in a number of ways:

1. online at ATT.com and a credit card
2. by phone using a credit card and their automated refill system
3. purchasing a prepaid refill card at Walmart or other retailer and adding that time either online or by phone
   [/list=1]
   
   I prefer the last option because retailers frequently discount the prepaid cards by a few cents and there is no surcharge. If I refill using my credit card by phone, the refill costs $10 plus the surcharge.
   
   AT&T is not the only provider that offers a prepaid plan. I believe SPrint, Cingular and Virgin all have similar plans. It's just that their plan worked out to be the best for me. You can get more details about it here:
   AT&T Free to Go Plan

 

[ceecee]

I have a Tracfone....you get one year of service (without having to buy extra cards) and 120 minutes (they have online sign up activation minutes so you usually end up with 150 min) for $94.00. The phone itself is normally $49.00 ($$$) We got a rebate on the phone, so ours was free.

 

[Lory]

Thanks so much-this is exactly the information I have been looking for!!

Lory

 

[johde]

I currently carry 2 prepaid phones with complementary coverage areas.

The cheapest prepaid phone I found was from locus. They are a resaller of ATT. They offer two varieties of wireless. Callplus wireless and locus wireless. The cheapest airtime card you can buy for each is $10 and is for 90-days ($3.33 a month) Call Plus is $.40 a minute with the cheapest card but has access to more local phone numbers. Pharos is $.25 a minute but has access to fewer phone numbers if having a local phone number is important. I buy my airtime from
http://www.pharosint.com . They seem to be the only online vendor offing the $10 cards. As far as finding a phone I would buy one off of Ebay. Just make sure it is a tri-band phone compatable with the ATT wireless network and not their new GSM network.

The other one I use is simple freedom which is powered by Alltel. It costs $.25 a minute and a $20 cards lasts 60 days ($10 a month). The phone are sold through Wal-Mart.

Verizon Wireless also has a plan that is good if it meets you needs. They offer a lower rate for night and weeking and mobile to mobile calls but you pay more for roaming. A $30 card lasts for 60 days ($15 a month).

The biggest suggestion I can make is to look at the coverage areas and see which one tend to cover you they best.

Jeremy

 

[slimplaw]

I have a Virgin Mobile phone. I paid $50 for the phone which included $10 airtime. I have to put $20 in it every 90 days. Anytime you use your phone money is deducted at $.25 per minute for the first 10 minutes used in 1 day. After 10 minutes in 1 day's time, your rate drops to $.10 per minute. Everyday, you start over at 0 minutes used. If you do not use your phone that day, nothing is deducted. You must use the credits you have in 90 days or lose them. There is no extra charge for long distance.

 

[Lory]

Thank you so much for all the great information. I do have one more question--Are any of the phones like the ones from AT&T or Vigin Mobile good for anywhere in the US. I mean we live in Northern Wisconsin, so any brand phone I buy will be good here?
I know you guys are probably going "Duh" but I want to make sure I order the right phone. We are a small town and only have like 2 cheap places to buy phones here and they dont seem to know what is best!
The AT&T "Free to Go" Plan sounds good, could I use that here?

Thanks again,

Lory

 

[sln88]

they have a special right now where you can buy a phone for $30 and that includes 100 minutes. If you have someone refer you, you can get an additional 100 minutes for free. If you activate online, you get another 20 minutes.

This gives you 220 minutes for $30. Theoretically, you could strech those minutes to last you 4 months(I think- I just got the phone myself and I am trying to figure it out! )

 

[Lory]

Never heard of tracfone---is that a good brand? Is it available in Northern Wisconsin? Or all the phones available everywhere?

Thanks,

Lory

 

[carone0318]

I also have the Virgin Wireless program. The only thing that I would add is that you do not lose your remaining minutes after the 90 days. As long as you "tap up" ever 90 days, you keep the minutes that you had, it is just added to the total. I add about $20 or $30 every 90 days and I think that my balance normally is around $50. Love it. We bought our phones at Target. You can buy the phone cards to "tap up" at Target too, or do what I do, I just go on-line to Virgin and "tap up" on-line. Very simple!!!

 

[MRS AR]

Whether the pay as you talk phone works well, depends on where you live and the service providers. I have a trak phone, but haven't charged it up for over a year. It just doesn't work well where we live. Horrible reception.

 

[sln88]

Hi
I really can't tell you too much about Tracfone, as I just got it myself. You have your choice of a Nokia or Motorola phone.

I had been wanting to get one for 'emergency' type purposes, and this deal was mentioned on mycoupons.com, so I decided to try it. It seemed like the cheapest way to go. For about $35(with shipping), I got 220 minutes. That is about 16 cents a minute. It includes the phone.

You have to get the referral email to get that many minutes(otherwise, you just get 120 minutes)

I live near Milw and there is service there. If you go to the tracfone site and put in your zip, it will tell you about the specials and if there is service there.

 

[Lory]

I think I will have to go with the AT&T because when I went to the Virgin Mobile site and put in my city and state, no coverage information came up, and when I went with the tracfone the coverage didn't go west of us (it was roaming charged) and that is where alot of our calls are placed.
I want to thank everyone who answered so at least now I know what it is called and estimate price and such, so I can look stuff up.
Wherever we can save a buck will help for future trips

Only 278 days until we leave for FW (1st trip to FW, 2nd to the World)

 

[AdventurerKat]

I, too, just have a prepaid ATT. We lost phone service twice last year right before i was due to have my baby and it scared the heck out of me. I just add $10.00 to it every 45 days and carry it in case of an emergency or if I am shopping or dining and want to call home and see if anyone wants/needs anything. Works well for me.

 

[Lory]

Now when I double check with AT&T i find there is no coverage for where I live
I think the only one is Simple Freedom, which says you can buy the phone at walmart, but when I go to the walmart site all they have is the refill cards but no phone
Does anyone have a webpage where I can order a phone?
Thanks,

Lory

 

[mad4themouse]

Lory,
Try going to Amazon.com. Type in "prepaid wireless" in the search box. It should come up with a few phones with different service plans.

Choose a phone and then type your zip code into the box in the upper right of the page. It will check availability in your area. Keep changing phones and checking availability this way. Being in a remote area can make it difficult. I hope that you can find something.

 

[mainewmn]

I can vouch for the TracFone we had one for over a year now. We had one for emergency basis and it was very reasonably priced for that. However if you plan to use your phone for more then just emergencies this gets very expensive! Also if you accidentally hit the talk button and don’t realize it the minutes are deducted. I did that once, the phone was on the bottom of my purse and somehow I hit the talk button, lost all my minutes on the phone by the time I realized what happened. I called TrackFone and they said there is nothing they could do. Also their customer service is not very friendly or informed, had to call them a couple times for different reason and each time getting answers from them was like pulling teeth. Also the voice mail that we wore suppose to get with the phone still doesn’t work despite the number of calls to get this resolved. Right now the kids are using the TrackFone and my DH and I both have Verizon. It works great for them as they only use it in the mall or when they need a ride, etc. In my opinion if you will use your phone for MORE then 100 minutes a month shop around and get a smaller plan, if you will talk LESS then 100 minutes a month get a TrackFone but watch it to make sure you don’t hit the talk button accidentally.

 

[summerrluvv]

Originally posted by carone0318
I also have the Virgin Wireless program. The only thing that I would add is that you do not lose your remaining minutes after the 90 days. As long as you "tap up" ever 90 days, you keep the minutes that you had, it is just added to the total. I add about $20 or $30 every 90 days and I think that my balance normally is around $50. Love it. We bought our phones at Target. You can buy the phone cards to "tap up" at Target too, or do what I do, I just go on-line to Virgin and "tap up" on-line. Very simple!!!

I have Virgin too. I registered by Credit card with them so now when I need to "Top up" (not tap ), I can do it directly from my cell phone without having to go buy a new refill card. Virgin is one of the best plans out there since they have the 90 day policy, whereas AT&T, T Mobile and Verizon only have 30-45 days.

I got a nice small "vox" flip phone for about $100 at Target. They have it on sale for $88 this week I believe.