Tell me about prepaid cell phones

[NotUrsula]

It's true that prepaids are not for everyone. If you're a chatterbox type of person or someone who constantly accesses social networking sites or things like Twitter, then you probably get more bang for your buck with a contract phone.

I just always try to let people know that if you are not a big phone user, or if you have reason not to trust a certain person in your family with an unlimited-cost account, they can be an excellent alternative, and often are. I think that it is important to get out the word that they are not just for poor people who have bad credit ratings, which is what most of the contract-plan sales people would like for you to think.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

Thanks to everyone for all of the information and suggestions. However, last night I did a little research and I can actually add DD to our Verizon....and save money! DH currently has an unlimited plan for $99 a month and he pays $5 a month for 250 texts. This is a work and personal phone as he works from home and away. I have a basic plan for $39.99.....450 minutes/ no texting. We get a 20% discount from DH employer. I did research last night and dh averages between 1500 and 2000 minutes a month. I can change us all to a family share with 3 lines and 3000 minutes for about $5 less than we currently pay. I think we may go to a $160 dollar plan which will have 3000 shared minutes, unlimited texting for all, and a usage control feature to monitor dd's minutes and usage.....and Santa will bring her the super cool phone of her dreams.

 

[robinb]

Thanks to the folks on this thread, my DD is the proud new owner of a phone on the Page Plus Cellular network .

I bought her a Verizon VX5500 from Wal*Mart for only $23 and I activated it on the PP network. The VX5500 is a very basic flip phone with a camera ... perfect for a 10-year old. I have not downloaded photos from it yet, but I think I will be able to do it following the advise on the Howard Forums linked earlier in the thread.

Activation was quite easy. I signed up for a Page Plus account and then added the phone to the account for $10. I received a phone number (and 60 minutes of talk time) and then I was able to active the phone over the air (OTA) as a PP phone instead of a Verizon phone.

The reason why I chose Page Plus are:

(1) Minutes are at most 10-cents each after the initial set-up.
(2) Page Plus runs on the Verizon network.
(3) You only need to "Top Up" every 120 days. That's 1-2 months less frequently than Net10 and Tracfone. I don't expect my DD to use all that many minutes I I did not want to be forced to Top Up too frequently with lots of unused minutes on my account.

The plan is for her to have this phone until it is time for my contract to be up and then I will reconsider adding her to my account. It turned out that it would have been $20 more per month to add her and I didn't think that she would use that many minutes per month.

 

[CRdisMom]

congrats! I hope it goes well

 

[mommycrawford]

I have a Virgin Mobile pay by the minute plan for my DD....$20 keeps the line alive for 90 days, and it is set up to charge my CC when she has a balance below $5 so she'll never be w/o. She rarely needs it, but calls me to tell me she's going back into school on days she does out for lunch.

The phone was $10 dollars at Rite aid, so if anyone wants to take it from her, or she loses it, it's not a material issue. It is not there to be cool, but to serve a safety need.

BTW...I was with TMobile, and DD had better coverage with her $10 phone than I did with my $100 one, so I switched, and I don't need to pay for insurance in case of loss or deductables.