Share with me your best cell phone deals

[Suedrews]

My family plans on going the cell-phone route at the parks this year instead of the walkie talkies.....our contract runs out the 1st of August, so we are going to upgrade to 3 phones, hopefully going with some kind of family talk plan.....anybody out there have any great deals they wish to share with me?

 

[InstImpres]

Check out the sprintpcs website. They have some good shared minute plans that are no charge for any sprint to sprint calls.

(they seem to have more than adequate service for my clients to always catch me on some ride )

Good luck
Sandy

 

[ProfGoofy]

Suedrews,
I'm not a spokes persons for Sprint PCS, in fact we had some problems with our past bills, but they eventually cleared them up.

My wife and I are on the family plan (2 phones) with PCS to PCS and when I travel I can call her from anywhere in the US to her anywhere in the US, cell phone to cell phone, no minute charge (meaning you do not get charged for the minutes used and no long distance charges). I can also call my friends and associates who are also on PCS to PCS plan and not get charged for the minutes. In fact I'm looking at our bill and a 160 minutes were exchanged between us for the month. Also, if you are a member of USAA (Military Banking/Credit Union) you can get 5% off the service fee. There is no rollover benefits, but with PCS to PCS and free nights and weekends, we never use up our 500 primetime minutes. And if it helps, for our two phones here in Chicago, the Additional Charges ( the stuff you don't see until you get your bill: Taxes, Regulatory Related Chages, 911 Surchage, etc.) comes out to about $16/month ($11 for the 1st phone, $5 for the 2nd).

Haven't used the phones at WDW yet, but they worked great at DL. Hope this information helps.

 

[honeymo78]

You might want to check out Nextel.com. The direct connect is great to talk to family members and many plans come with unlimited. While nationwide direct connect will be at an extra cost, as long as you are in the same market you can connect with each other. For example my fiance and I are in the Philly market and connect to each other at home but when we go to WDW we both will be in the Orlando market and can still connect to each other. Also most plans have no roaming or long distance charges so you can call home from WDW at no extra cost.

 

[mbethel]

Here's another vote for Sprint!!! Due to my husband's military orders we are separated for the summer. The first month of our new plan we had some billing problems but they got it figured out quickly. We pay approx. $65 a month for two phones with unlimited minutes between any Sprint phones. In spite of 1400 minutes between my husband and I last month we barely touched our anytime minutes. I used my phone the last two trips at WDW and had no problems.

 

[Rikersmom]

I find it interesting that almost everyone has billing problems with their cell phone companies--I thought it was just Cingular and me!

I'm still waiting for a refund that was promised a LONG time ago. We thought it was smart to pay ahead to avoid late charges in case we were away. My advice: Never, never pay until you get a bill and get a correct bill and never, never use Cingular.

 

[MouseClubMom]

We just went this past week and have Nextel phones with Direct Connect. There are huge pockets of no service for Nextel on property and around Lake Buena Vista. Just a thought....

We are based out of the Nashville area but could all talk to each other when we were in Orlando with no problem. Nextel goes nationwide direct connect for all markets on August 1st.

Good Luck!

MCMom

 

[DMRick]

I have Verizon..never had a billing problem..and have been 100% satisfied the past 2 years I've had them. We tried Sprint briefly, but because we are often in the woods camping..Sprint seldom had a connection...since the Sprint I had didn't have analog and that's all the NY north country got.

I pay $35.00 or so ($41 something with taxes) for 300 minutes anytime, and unlimited nights and weekends. I use it for hours hooked up to my computer (I paid a one time $70 fee for the hook up and software) using their free ISP when away. That's not the family plan..I think that's an additional $20..possibly each phone. I believe the verizon to verizon 1000 minutes are free a month..but you'd have ot check, since we don't call anyone on verizon.

 

[AZKathy]

We have Verizon family plan. I forgot the minutes per month but we have never gone over that allotment except for when DH's father was gravely ill and we spent a lot of time on the phones. We have four phones on it. One for me, DH, my mother, and my MIL. It also includes no roaming charges for 95% of America.

We had absolutely no problems on our trip this past month with our phones. We had three families and were able to communicate very well the entire trip.

 

[clori]

I have tmobile family plan. It is me, my brother, sil, her sister and my 17 year old niece. We have a total of 800 minutes and free weekends. All calls from one cell phone on the plan to another on the plan are free minutes anytime. It is free nationwide long distance and no roaming costs. Technically my brother is the contract holder but I know my share is the total bill divided by 5 and I pay $21.50 per month with tax. For us 800 minutes is plenty especially since many of our calls are to each other. It worked all over Disney world except the airport.

 

[seashoreCM]

Other things to look for:

Credit for wrong numbers, wrong numbers of incoming calls, unwanted incoming calls, unwanted voice mail messages (yess there is voice mail spam out there and it is getting bigger).

Ability to require enterintg a PIN for each and every call, this prevents misuse if the phone is lost or stolen.

Generally cell phone plans sold from kiosks in the middle of shopping mall corridors are much more expensive.

You do not want a [plan that alows the company to change the rates and terms any time they please while not allowing you to quit then and there with no penalty.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[cuti1999]

www.howardforums.com is an excellent discussion board for cell phone users. You will find numerous carriers, plans, etc. there.

 

[Suedrews]

You guys are terrific!!! Thank you for all your help & I will try that website, cuti1999....Susan

 

[netnurse31]

We use Verizon Family Share Plan. I pay 99.00 a month for 3 phones, 500 anytime minutes to share, 1000 mobile to mobile minutes and unlimited nights and weekends. That includes taxes. There are no roaming fees due to the America's Choice option. I've always been completely satisfied with their service and would recommend them highly. I know right now if you buy one phone from them you get one free.

 

[Suedrews]

netnurse: that sounds like alot of minutes! Do you remember if there was anything on a lesser scale? Did you ever use your phones in disney?

 

[nativetxn]

I'm going to move this to the community board for you.

 

[ByTheSea]

Remember to check the coverage area's!

When we were reviewing new plans for my Mom, we almost went with Verison until we discovered her cabin was in the "5%" area where they have no coverage. A big reason we wanted to get her a cell phone was for her trips to the cabin.

I travel a lot, and my cell phone is pretty much my work phone. (Luckily this means I expense my bill) but my current plan I have two phones (one for DH) sharing 2000 anytime minutes, unlimited nights and weekends, unlimited PCS to PCS, also unlimited wireless web access and unlimited roaming for $110 a month with Sprint. I use my phone a lot, average 800-1000 "anytime" minutes per month.

 

[netnurse31]

I believe Verizon has a plan with 400 minutes as well but if I remember correctly they were having a bonus the month I signed contract with them that gave us the extra 100 anytime minutes a month. So if I am correct, 400 minutes would cost about the same but you would still get the mobile to mobile minutes and unlimited nights and weekends.

We used the phones last March in Disney and never had a problem. In fact, I kept seeing my roaming icon pop up on the phone so I called verizon from there to confirm I wouldnt be charged for roaming. They said Orlando was in the covered area and not to worry. I got their name just in case. When the bill arrived it was only for the normal service and no roaming charges so I was relieved.

We will be using our phones when we visit next month as well!

 

[Evil Princess]

I just got T Mobile last week. Free brand new Motorola Ti722i with attachable camera, 600 anytime minutes and free nights and weekends.

Its okay, but I think I got more service with AT&T. I loved AT&T, but wanted a new phone and didn't feel like paying a million dollars.

My service with T Mobile is good though. Plus theres no long distance, and since I'll be in Boston next year that is pretty good. I don't really have any dead zones, and I find that when I only have one or two bars for service, reception is better than one or two bars with AT&T, but maybe thats just the phone.

IMHO, Nextels are obnoxious.

 

[Dan Murphy]

One thing to remember, Sue, is that the same carrier can have significantly different programs in different parts of the country. A good ATT plan in Chicago may not be available in Buffalo, and a good Sprint in LA likewise may not be available in Buffalo. Make sure to check locally, not depending on the prices and plans mentioned here. And same for quality of service also.

Good luck.