Tired of paying for unused minutes!

[mom2threets]

Thanks for sharing all the great info! Trying to wade thru options on the internet takes valuable reading time away from my DISNEY planning!

Going out today to pick SOMETHING up...hope the TracFone or other works in NJ/NY area ok.

Off to ADR land!!!!!!!!!

I am in NY and it works fine. Was just in RI and it worked there too.

 

[paladin]

I would check out the tmobile prepaid phone. I have no idea how much the actual phone costs. The plan is $100 for 100 minutes which are good for 365 days

Actually, it's even better than than. It is $100 for 1000 minutes (not 100). We have this and love it.

 

[hsmamato2]

T-Mobile is the cheapest prepaid- 10 cents a minute flat rate- buy a card for 100.00,it lasts for one year,you get 1000 minutes. that averages out to 8.---- per month. and leftover minutes roll over.
I tried Net10/tracphone,they have worst customer service on the planet,so I gave up and went back to T-Mobile (be warned,the customer non-service at net10 and tracphone is legendary)

 

[AuroraBeauty]

I got my grandma (DGM) a T-mobile prepaid phone. We used to have T-mobile and she was on our plan as an extra and it was $10/month so it was negligible. Then DH and I switched to AT&T and b/c I didn't want to have to teach her how to use a new phone (she's 88) and deal with the whole VM thing or texting, we switched DGM to T-mobile's prepaid plan. I just watch her minutes online and refill it when it gets low. She likes her phone, it doesn't have VM (I had to call to have it disconnected b/c she doesn't know how to check it) and we had texting disabled on it too. It's actually a nice phone (I've uploaded one picture to it so she always see DGGD (great grand daughter) when she opens it.

Also, if she ever has any questions she goes in to a local T-mobile store and the people are always so helpful. Maybe that's b/c she's 88 and very grandmotherly or it could be that she goes in at least once a month so now when she goes in she bakes them a cake first. She's adorable!

Anyway, we've liked the T-mobile and so does my DGM.

 

[d96j97]

We have had tracfones for at least 3 years now and believe they are the way to go!!! We pay $99 plus tax per year (which breaks down to about $8.50 per month). We have phones that have double minutes and I usually get online and get a promo code which give at least 200 bonus minutes and most of the time I get 250 bonus minutes. Therefore.....for a year, we are getting 400 reg. minutes + 400 bonus minutes (because our phones double minutes) and 250 bonus minutes with a promo code. That works out to be 1050 minutes per year which also carry over when not used.

For us...you can't beat it!!! No contracts and only 1 time per year do you have to deal with a payment. Good luck!

 

[Queen of 3 princess]

Alltel has a really good pay as you go program. You pay for minutes between 15c-25c a minute. But unlike track phone. You DON'T have to put minutes on the phone every three months. You just put minutes on when you are out of minutes. You have to use at least one minute in a month or it charges a slight penalty. On which they just take a couple of minutes off your minutes you have on the phone. But if it takes you a year to use your minutes up thats fine. Just put more on the phone when it is low. My parents both have this and I used to untill my husband had to change due to work reasons.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I checked my bills last year and found that I had used fewer than 800 minutes oin my cell phone the whole year.

I went to T-Mobile and purchased a phone with 10 minutes for about $50. I then bought a 1,000 minute refill for $100, so my first year cost will be $150 for the year and then $100 per year after that.

I have no service contract and if I ever want a new phone all I have to do is buy the phone and get it switched over to my number.

An additional benefit I found was I was able to put my phone directory into My Account on their web site and then press a couple of buttons and the system would synchronize my phone with the site. So if I ever lose the phone or it breaks or I get a new one it will be very easy to load the directory.

 

[wdwfan16]

Anyone have suggestions for PAY AS YOU GO or other inexpensive phone plans? We currently pay about $77 p/mo which is a WASTE of $$$ for us since we get 700 min p/mo & only use about 10 of them!! Besides, we'd would rather give our hard-earned money to DISNEY
I guess I'm even ready for the JITTERBUG but the phones themselves are $149!!! We NEVER use our phones-I know-we're weird! Really only want them for emergencies....How can we save $$$?????

Do you call each other or others who have your plan? If so, then you are using more than 10 minutes per month.

We have 450 minutes and only use about 200 each month. DH and I use hundreds of minutes calling each other, but they do not count. Many of our family members have the same carrier. They do not count either.

If you only want the phone for emergency, then prepaid is the way to go.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Everyone has been so helpful. Tomorrow the search begins.....

 

[erin1715]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but do any of you who have prepaid phones use those as your main phone line? My husband and I are on a family plan and we pay $50 per month for unlimited texting and I don't even know how many minutes, but we both hate talking on the phone so we don't use them that much. However, we also don't have a home phone line and just use our cell phones. I was wondering if the prepaid phones are just as reliable for having them as the main phone line in a household.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

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[fakereadhed]

Check the website for deals. YMMV depending on area code. I just got one for my DD with double minutes for life, and 60 minute card(which doubles to 120 after you activate you DMFL). A 60 min. tracfone card goes for $20. My DD didn't need a new phone, but for $20 for 120min. was too good to pass up. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy another phone than a refill card.

 

[Princess April]

We use Tracfone for ourselves as well as for my grandfather. #1, we hardly ever use our cell phone, but, like you we need one for emergencies as well as the occasional phone call or text. #2 My grandfather is 82, teaching him how to use a cell phone was a chore enough and I have found the Tracfone's to be the most simplistic out there, and the least expensive! (like how we had to replace DH's today b/c he jumped into the pool after DD (long story ) and all we had to do was go down to the local Target and grab one for under $50.00, come home get online, transfer all the minutes and info and within 10 minutes of coming home we were in business, no muss no fuss!). We use the same formula for the entire family. 1 year long card gives us 400+ minutes plus DH and I have double minutes for life on our phones so that gets us 800 minutes plus you can search the web for "promo codes" (just Google Tracfone promo codes and trust me you will find tons of listings) and that usually gets us 200 more mins. 1,000.00 mins and a year of usage for about $100.00, not too shabby!