Wireless, pay as you go, phones

[Tstormwatcher]

My wife and I don't use our cell phones that much so instead of paying $77 a month for cell service, I am thinking about going with a pay as you go plan from something like trac phone. Does anyone have any experience with these?

[chadtm80]

Yes Trac phone ok, but more expensive.. Do you have cingular in NC? There go phone is the best rate for pay as you go out there from what I have seen

[george_r_1961]

Alltel has a great prepay plan. You get a discount on the phone as well, not typical with most prepaid plans. Rates are good too.

[Tstormwatcher]

I currently have Alltel nationwide.

[SouthFloridawx]

What service do you currently have?

[Tstormwatcher]

see above

[beachbum_al]

I have cingular pay as you go prepaid plan. It is by the month and there is no contract. They have different plans. I have the $43.55 (with tax) and have 300 minutes during the week days and 1000 minutes during the nights and weekend. My nights start at 9pm.

[SouthFloridawx]

see above

LOL,

well you could try to find out what other services are in your area that could be cheaper for you. You can transfer your current number to another carrier.

[HurriCat]

Virgin Mobility, with their basic little "Vox" phone. It's a folder, not big and bulky like some, and the keypad and screen are protected, too. Had it over a year - never any problems with calls. They have it for about $40 now. There is a car charger and leather case made for it. There is a slightly flashier version - with a camera I think - for about $80. No contract, etc, OR credit/debit card required, either. Just buy the "Top Up" cards. I treat it like a pay phone, but have you tried to find a REAL pay phone recently? Ours are usually vandalized or the coin slot is closed off. There are a lot of little phone stands where you walk or drive to it, only to find no phone at all. Anyways, you pay like .25 a minute for the first ten minutes each day, then .10 a minute after that. You have to "top up" your account $20 every ninety days. You do not lose your earlier/remaining paid time. I tried a plan they had where you pay a small amount daily automatically, but the minutes are all ten cents all of the time. That daily charge eats the account quicker than you'd think! We might get another of these. My wife keeps it most of the time, and that's a big comfort - knowing she has it when she's driving home at night.

[O Town]

I have a boost pay as you go mobile phone that allows you to walkie talkie with other boost or nextel customers as well as make regular phone calls. It is basically like a Nextel pay as you go. I love it, its .20 a minute during the daytime in the week, and .10 a minute on the weekends and evenings. No roming, and you can get cards for as low as $20 bucks, which is great if you don't use it often. Also the minutes you buy last 3 months, unlike with some they only last 30 days and then you have to add more money. I have had no droped calls at all with my phone and have had it now for 7 mths.

This is the one I have, its the cheapest of the flip phones, they do have cheaper ones the are not the flip. I just know others without the flip who have had problems with buttons getting hit when its in their pocket or purse which is why I chose the flip.
http://tinyurl.com/zsu3q

[Tstormwatcher]

That Boost looks pretty decent.

[TexasStooge]

T-Mobile has a To-Go plan.

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/defa ... category=4

[Tstormwatcher]

No coverage in my area for T-Mobile

[TexasStooge]

Darn. LOL!

[coriolis]

We have Tracfones. I got one for me, my wife, and each of our kids. Prepaid is the way to go for us. It really provides control over the spending. Used up your minutes? Oh well, wait until I can afford to buy more. No nasty surprises in the mail for me.

Yes, Tracfone is more expensive per minute. I buy 60 minute cards for $20. So that works out to $0.33 per minute. It charges a minimum of one minute, regardless of how short the call is. Roaming outside of our county costs double.

For infrequent short calls, this works out for us. Everyone has learned the hard way not to chat for hours.

The phones are only $20, so if it gets lost or damaged, it's not the end of the world either. It is a big comfort having one when traveling or when I'm out on a bike ride.

[O Town]

That Boost looks pretty decent.

My sister in-law sells cells for a living and has for quite a while. She is the one who recommended the Boost for a pay as you go phone. Me and my mom both have one now. No complaints thus far. Everything about it is just easy, so hassle free, and it does not break the bank. A 20 dollar card last me about a month. I don't use it alot but often. The walkie talkies come in handy when hubby and I are out and about with the kids too, he has a nextel and it makes communication easy.

[WindRunner]

Virgin Mobility, with their basic little "Vox" phone. It's a folder, not big and bulky like some, and the keypad and screen are protected, too. Had it over a year - never any problems with calls. They have it for about $40 now. There is a car charger and leather case made for it. There is a slightly flashier version - with a camera I think - for about $80. No contract, etc, OR credit/debit card required, either. Just buy the "Top Up" cards. I treat it like a pay phone, but have you tried to find a REAL pay phone recently? Ours are usually vandalized or the coin slot is closed off. There are a lot of little phone stands where you walk or drive to it, only to find no phone at all. Anyways, you pay like .25 a minute for the first ten minutes each day, then .10 a minute after that. You have to "top up" your account $20 every ninety days. You do not lose your earlier/remaining paid time. I tried a plan they had where you pay a small amount daily automatically, but the minutes are all ten cents all of the time. That daily charge eats the account quicker than you'd think! We might get another of these. My wife keeps it most of the time, and that's a big comfort - knowing she has it when she's driving home at night.

This is what me and my whole family has - we love it! You can also set the top-ups to automatically occur whenever your account drops to a certain level, like $3 or whatever you want, and it will automatically top up your account. The automatic top-up also has a $15 every 90 days option, for those of us who talk the least

[weathermom]

We have virgin mobile for my kids. No nasty bills for hundreds of dollars in text messages that I hear about from other parents. If they use up their allotted money, they are done until next top up, or they pay for more time themselves. They are not permitted to use it all up though, they have to have minutes left on the phone so I can reach them if necessary (that is the real reason they have them!). They also have a deal where you top up something like $90-100 at once and you don't have to top up again for a year unless you use up your balance.

This was by far the best priced deal we found in our area for phones that won't be used a lot. It also keeps my kids from turning into the ones you see that constantly have a phone at their ear.

[nholley]

I have T Mobile and Cingular Pay As You Go and have no trouble with either.