Virgin Mobile or Tracfone - any advice??

[eeyoreforever]

I have been wanting to get a prepaid cell phone for quite a while now, but an not sure what to get. I would only use it when absolutely necessary, so I can't justify getting a regular cell phone. I had heard good things about Tracfone and was leaning that way, but now seems like I am hearing more about Virgin Mobile. If anyone has either of these, can you offer any pros or cons. I really need to get off the fence and make a decision. Thanks for any help!

 

[DD2Disney]

I have virgin mobile. I too only got it for emergencies (DS and I out alone type situations). I only have to top up every 90 days. I can add as little as $20.00. I tend to use about $30.00 in each 90 day period. They charge me .25 cents for the first 10 minutes of each day and .10 cents all minutes after that. I have taken it on two trips, once to Utah and once to Disney World and never had a single problem with it. Sorry I can't tell you anything about Tracfone.

 

[oogieboogie]

Another Virgin user here. I got this in February, put in $20 and they give you another $10 for buying the phone ($69.99). From February to May, I used up $20 worth of airtime. Coverage is great and we took it this May from Ohio to Orlando on our trip and only once did we not get coverage - in the mountains of West Virginia.

I looked long and hard before I chose Virgin. I did look at the Tracfone, and one thing I didn't like was the fact that their minutes expire. If I bought the cheapest card ($10), the minutes would expire in 15 days. I knew I wasn't going to use $10 in 15 days and the minutes don't rollover, so that was a waste in my view.

With Virgin, my minutes are always there. I'll use part of my $20 every 90 days, that I know, but I don't like being tied down to a specific amount that I had to use before the minutes expired.

So.. it all depends on what you think you'll use it for and how much you think it'll cost you to use.

 

[CindysGusGus]

another Virgin Mobile here... I used to be a Cell-Phone-aholic...having this has stopped that and has saved me quite a bit of money. Id say go for it!