Can anyone recommend a reasonable priced cell phone provider? I want it mainly for on the road emergencies. I don't get hardly any incoming calls and only make a few outgoing calls a month.
I use t-mobile, PREPAID. For $100 per YEAR plus a phone, which usually has rebates when you purchase it, I have 1000 minutes of cell phone useage. You can pay less for less minutes and months, but generally it won't be less than $9.00 per month, by my calculations. Still, I control when and how I "spend" my minutes, and it's way less than any monthly contract program. YOu can buy phones and minutes direct, Sam's Club also has good deals on them, better than some other retail stores.
Try one of the pre-paid services. I use Virgin Mobile, but any of them should give you what you need. It costs $15.00 for every 90 days, 25 cents for the first 10 calls each day then 10 cents after that. You can buy cards almost anywhere or set up for automatic renewal.
cingular and trac fone are good ones also.You can buy them at Wal-mart or any discount store or radio shack or some Dollar Generals and buy more minutes as needed.
I use US Cellular. They are great. I started it when it was Primco. 19.95 a month for 100 minutes. No charge for incoming calls. I never go over my minutes. Use only for emergency and once and awhile when I want. Also can call long distance any time day or night as long as you don't go over 100 minutes .You can go over you just get charged more.
Net10 is the best deal for you. It's a prepaid service that costs 10 cents per minute. We did research for a cell phone for my husband about 6 months ago and we have the same needs as yours. Net10 was the cheapest, including the phone. Some other plans eventually get down to 10 cents per minute, but you usually have to pay 25 cents per minute for a certain number of minutes first. The phone is very basic, so that's what makes it inexpensive. Other services have fancier phones, but they cost more.
We paid about $30 for a phone and 300 minutes good for 60 days. We didn't use up the 300 minutes, so they rolled over when we signed up for one year of service and 1500 minutes for $150. We aren't even close to using those up yet, so we know they are going to last all year.
So, for 17 months of service (60 days + 1 year), we paid $180 (30 + 150). That's $10.59 a month for the first year for cell phone service. It will go up a little next time-- $150 for one year is $12.50 per month. But that's still a bargain.
My whole family now has STI phones. Check online for the best offer, and they also have some at Staples. Ours had a total-rebate phone, then you buy minutes. The service costs .10 a day + .12 a minute days and .10 a minute nights and weekends. (All of this comes off the card you buy.) So if you only use it for emergencies it costs a little over $3 a month. Mine has never been more than $5 a month even when travelling.
I have used Tracfone for the past 5 years. For anyone that uses it only occasionally I recommend it. You can check out their web site or your local department stores.
go with a "To Go" or pay as you go service. that's what we use. you're not stuck with a one year or 2 year plan. you purchase minutes as you use them, in increments as small as $10 dollar amounts, plus the cost of a phone.
I think you should find the provider that has the best reception for your area. No matter how much or how little you pay for service, if you don't have good reception when you get ready to use your phone, it doesn't do you any good.
I have a TracFone. For less then a hundred dollars a year you can have great service (even in the U.P.)and a good phone. You can get it at Rite Aid or Wal Mart. But purchasing online sometime gets you a better deals. Good Luck
I have used TracFone for the last 2-3 years. I have no complaints except the phone is kind of heavy, but I can deal with that. They have a deal right now where you get 500 minutes and 1 year of service for $100.
I want to thank everyone who responded to my cell phone provider request. The response has been tremendous. I am going to start looking at the ones that you recommended. Thank you so much, Rose Mary
umm i have a question if you have a tracfone can your parents check you text messaging online or get a copy of it?? thnx..
I would think your better off with a pay as you go. Try your local phone company. A lot of them have this. Why pay a monthly bill, taxes, etc for something you never use. The cheapest I have seen is 29.99, by the time they hit you in all the extra charges your looking at 40.00 . Go with a prepaid.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
What is the most reliable (best coverage, good customer service), inexpensive cell phone carrier for someone who wants unlimited texting and few talking minutes?
By Lisa from Seattle, WA
I have a Tracfone, coverage is very good. No contracts to sign.
At one time I had a Verizon cell phone. I had the pay as you go plan, but it was much more expensive than a Tracfone.
Here is their website: http://www.tracfone.com
I just recently switched from AT&T to a Tracphone (saving eighty bucks per month!), they have coverage, literally, just about everywhere and you get three texts per minute. If you get the "double minutes" card or buy a phone that comes with double minutes, every time you buy minutes, they'll be doubled! A 60 minute card is $20, but with the double minutes, you'd get 120, which translates to 360 texts (3 texts per minute) for 20 bucks! The variety of phones are limited, but they are inexpensive and do the job. My husband has only ever had a Tracphone and he can go into the deepest , darkest woods with his hunting buddies and he's always the only one who has cell service.
I bought a $45 card with straight talk from Walmart and Tracphone. It is unlimited everything for 30 days. It can also reload automatically every month. Good deal. I bought their phone with the Querty keyboard too. I love it.
Cricket or boost. Cricket is 35.00 a month for text and phone unlimited. Around Christmas it is offered for 25.00 a month. And boost everything for 50.00 per month. Cricket gives you the phone for as little as 30 dollars plus the first month free and boost charges a arm and a leg for their phones.
I recommend Straight Talk cellphone because I have it and have had no problems with it, no dropped calls and no contracts to sign. The savings are seen on the first month comparing to your old cellphone company. I have the $30 a month plan w/1000 min. of talk, text, free 411 calls and 30mb of data and for me is more than enough per month. I am pleased I switched to Straight Talk.
I recommend Straight Talk cellphone for Heavy Texting usage and for your regular use as your provider. No contract to sign, and no hidden surprises like I had with the cell company with contract. I text a lot because of my home base business to know all, plus texting my son to check where he is at, his pretty good at answering back. But with my $45 a month all texting, talking, and everything is unlimited. Wal-mart has Straight Talk for you to check it out.
Heavy texting usage is great with Straight Talk cellphone. It is unlimited $45 a month. The best plan I've had, no contract to sign, no bills and just lots of time and unlimited minutes to call your friends and family. I switched to ST for it's reputation of been great, and also for the savings. IF you need more information (I like to find out every little detail) log in to Wal-mart and search for information, or directly to Straight Talk site. Good luck.
I totally agree with Karilu. Straight Talk is the way to go. The $45 a month deal with unlimited messaging is probably just what you need. It's the package I have and I really looked around a lot before getting it, to discover that is is really the best out there right now. So impressed :)
I thought it was the most simple thing to do when selecting a cell phone provider. I discovered I was totally wrong, A) do not select a contract as you will never pay what you agreed to originally, B) you struggle with overages, C) struggle with bad connectivity and cannot just changed because you signed a contract, D) if you want to get out of the contract early you will be required to pay a penalty. I learnt the hard way! I opted for Straight Talk $45 unlimited plan and held my breath as I did not know what to expect. I am exceptionally happy with ST and cannot believe that I had to go through a contract hell before I discovered what I was looking for.
Does anyone have Jitterbug phone service? What are the pros or cons?
By Keeper from Blue Ridge Mts., NC
Costs to much. Have to sign a contract, Not enough minutes, try net10. No contract, go to their web site, www.net10.com. Good luck
I am I the only one that has had a bad experience with Virgin Mobile. I signed up for a service that was supposed to be unlimited nights, well imagine how mad I was when I found out that the plan had changed and I was not notified. I was told that they did not have to notify me of changes. Post feedback if you have had the same experience. I am switching to Verizon for my prepaid plan for my daughter.
How about a Better Business Bureau complaint!
The nerve!
Also, call your Attorney General's office and see if this breaks any rules. This doesn't sound legal.
Long story short, Last saturday was the day for my monthly renewal. I had the $44 a month (free nite/weekends) plan.
I "topped up" and used my phone as usual. Today is wednesday and my phone cut off. I call to see whats wrong, they tell me that while my phone said saturday is the renewal day.. Thee actual payment wont go through until 8pm
Now I been a virgin mobile customer for about a year now, this has never been the case. The customer service rep (Blane from Colorado Springs Call Center) then tells me they started doing this in Feburary because before it would just do it randomly during the day.
Thats not my problem, thats something internal.
So to fix this problem, they decided to make it so you are told to pay on a due date, but your payment wont go through until 8pm that day, AND YOUR MINUTES WONT BE ADDED UNTIL 12AM aka THE NEXT DAY!
Oh, but thats there little secret?
And if you read the terms of service, you would see that we didnt have to tell you that
- Blane from Colardo
Thats basically what they been telling me. So I spent $50 from saturday until today... 4days.
Blane was the third person I talked to, the other two people said the exact same lines over and over again. They have been brief'd very well, and will not talk about anything. If you mention better business burea, they will get "weird" on you and say "we have to terminate this conversation"
Cory from Va. -$50
Here's one for you: I got my dad a Virgin Mobile phone for Christmas, because I worry about him out and about alone. No problem with the phone, really, but get this: Someone got a number, on MY VIRGIN MOBILE ACCOUNT, for their phone. I had no idea until I got notification that my minutes were about to expire for that other number. I called and told them I did not request that other number, THEY WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, even after I spoke with the "manager", because I DIDN'T HAVE THE PASSWORD FOR THAT NUMBER!
How can I have the password if someone illegally obtained the number? They were rather flippant as well, as though they were amused at my situation, which infuriated me. After getting the run around on the issue for about an hour, I finally told them I didn't care how they got it off my account but they better do it. They never did, the number expired due to non-use. I did not store any payment information at the website or sign up for automatic top-up, because I would be ready to go speak to them in person if someone started topping up their phone with my information.
Dad doesn't use it much, it may be cheaper for me to get one of my old phones activated for him on my regular cell service. One thing for certain, I will never get another line of service from them. If they were to become the only prepaid, I would sooner use cups and string.
I am looking for information about which of these cellphone services is better, Boost or MetroPcs?
Tina from OC, CA
