Tracphone: so for a 10 to 12 year old..

[kiki02]

this seems to be the cheapest. wdyt?

 

[4GoofyCrew]

That is exactly what we will get our daughter in a few years. Basic, no data. Perfect to call/text us for a ride and to teach her phone responsibility.

 

[DawnM]

There are SO MANY options out there right now. Many more than the days when tracphone was the only game in town.

I have spent significant time researching the options in the past month.

It just depends on how many min. and texts she will be using throughout the month.

Here are a few to research, but you can google for more info:

Pageplus
Virgin Mobile
ATT Gophone
T-mobile prepaid
Straight Talk
Verizon pre-paid

 

[indimom]

There are SO MANY options out there right now. Many more than the days when tracphone was the only game in town.

I have spent significant time researching the options in the past month.

It just depends on how many min. and texts she will be using throughout the month.

Here are a few to research, but you can google for more info:

Pageplus
Virgin Mobile
ATT Gophone
T-mobile prepaid
Straight Talk
Verizon pre-paid

DH & I use tracphones. Its the cheapest option we could find that works well in our somewhat rural areas. His phone is older (maybe 3 years now?) and only cost about $10. It gets double minutes, so if you buy 600, you get 1200. My phone is newer and has a decent sized keyboard (touchscreen). I did pay $50 bucks for it, but it gets triple minutes, so for every 600 I buy, I get 1800 on the phone. Dirt Cheap! And, so far, no issues or complaints with either phone.
I agree with the PP though, check prices and what works in your area. You may find a better deal with another provider. We have limitations on towers around here and some do not handle the valleys well. You lose service ever time you go down a hill. We like tracphone because we get good service at a good price.

 

[Pigeon]

It depends on your feelings about texting. We did tracfone for a couple of years while my oldest was in junior high. I'm not a fan of the phone in the hand constantly, 24 hrs/day thing.

Tracfone charges a fraction of a minute (usually a third or half, depending on the phone) per text sent and received. I send about two texts a month, and maybe use 20 minutes of talk on a chatty month, so Tracfone is definitely the cheapest way for me to have a phone.

Texting is how they communicate. They do not call one another, for the most part. We wanted to keep the amount of texting and the costs down, so it meant constantly hounding her about not texting too much. It got very old very fast. She's in high school now, and we've cut some slack on that, and have found that an unlimited texting plan with Virgin Mobile is cheaper than Tracfone for our purposes.

My youngest is just going into jr. high. I decided this time to try Kajeet, which has parental controls such that you decide when the phone works as a way of cutting down the texting. We'll see. They have plans that are fairly inexpensive.

 

[kldmom2000]

This is what we have for our middle-schooler. She has a phone through Net10 and we pay $30 every 2 months ($15 per month). It's 300 minutes for $30 but it rolls over. She barely uses her phone, so she has over 1000 min. on it

 

[ceecee]

That's what DD had for years (we still have them). When she got older and wanted to text more, she upgraded to Virgin and bought her own phone. We pay $10 a month (Tracfone cost) and she pays $15 (we have last's yrs rate for 300 min and unlimiting texts). She didn't even get her own phone until she was 12.

 

[McKelly]

I am in the market for my teen as well. Trying to decide between Kajeet and Tracfone...

 

[Hannathy]

There are 2 other threads already going on this topic, right on the first page. I would go to those and read what everyone has already said.

 

[kiki02]

I am in the market for my teen as well. Trying to decide between Kajeet and Tracfone...

I think the Tracfones are cheaper (to buy one) than the Kajeet though. So much internet info, becoming confusing on this one.

thanks all. YOU are great.

 

[MinnieForMe]

I am extremely happy with the TracPhone we purchased for our 11 year old to take to camp in Alabama. I was concerned because he was flying alone and had a layover in Detroit. My expensive phone does not always get reception in airports, yet this basic, $10.00 phone worked perfectly. He had clear reception everywhere he went. He kept it turned off except for the times the camp allowed them to call home (twice daily). It stayed fully charged for the entire 7 days. Once again, my expensive phone needs to be charged every other day.

I will now pass the phone to my high schooler for after school pick ups. It seems very economical (double minutes for life) and I won't sweat it if the phone gets lost.

We do not text so that's not a consideration!

 

[bjscheel]

That's what we got last year for a 12 year old (and what I have). We started her out with something like 3000 minutes, and with texting only taking .3 minutes, she has PLENTY of minutes. She is not a heavy user (nor am I).

I don't know anymore if it is cheapest, but I know it works for us at a reasonable cost. We have triple minute phones with slide-out full keyboard.

 

[McKelly]

Just confirming (because I seldom text), incoming texts count as a text too, correct? Just debating how long that .3 would last....for me, it would last a long time, but with a teenager,

 

[AllesonWonderland]

I am in the market for my teen as well. Trying to decide between Kajeet and Tracfone...

We went with Kajeet last fall when my DD started Junior High. I liked all the parental controls that come with it. She mainly uses it to text, so we just have the basic $14.99 per month plan that comes with unlimited text and 60 minutes of talk time.

 

[TnTWalter]

It was $100 for a prepaid card + free LG Rumor. It was the cheapest deal I could find cause I'm a cheap-O.

She's had it 6 months and has only used about $50 so far. So that's <$10 per month...

TEXT 2c per sms; TALK 5c per min; DATA 10 c per megabyte

she uses it to text mainly and email.

Except for the older style phone, she loves it. It's owned by Sprint.

Trish

 

[bjscheel]

Just confirming (because I seldom text), incoming texts count as a text too, correct? Just debating how long that .3 would last....for me, it would last a long time, but with a teenager,

Yes, incoming texts take away .3 too. For some teenagers, it's not a good option- some need unlimited. Mine can go days without texting.

 

[Pigeon]

Yes, incoming texts take away .3 too. For some teenagers, it's not a good option- some need unlimited. Mine can go days without texting.

It depends on the phone, but for most of the tracfones, it's .3 minutes both for incoming and outgoing texts.

Mine can go seconds without texting.

 

[DawnM]

Yes, but you must refill. If you will not use those min. then it is a waste. That was my point.

My parents may use 300-500 min. per year....but I still need to be filling the card.

So, if I keep paying and they keep not using it, it is more costly overall. That is what my point was.

DH & I use tracphones. Its the cheapest option we could find that works well in our somewhat rural areas. His phone is older (maybe 3 years now?) and only cost about $10. It gets double minutes, so if you buy 600, you get 1200. My phone is newer and has a decent sized keyboard (touchscreen). I did pay $50 bucks for it, but it gets triple minutes, so for every 600 I buy, I get 1800 on the phone. Dirt Cheap! And, so far, no issues or complaints with either phone.
I agree with the PP though, check prices and what works in your area. You may find a better deal with another provider. We have limitations on towers around here and some do not handle the valleys well. You lose service ever time you go down a hill. We like tracphone because we get good service at a good price.

 

[JB2K]

Absolutely agree -- TFs are perfect starter phones for first-timers!

 

[JB2K]

Here are a few to research, but you can google for more info:

Pageplus
Virgin Mobile
ATT Gophone
T-mobile prepaid
Straight Talk
Verizon pre-paid

Don't forget to add Boost Mobile and Net10 to that list - both are large, national prepaid operators who sell refill cards practically everywhere!