Pageplus vs Tracfone

Getting tired of overpaying Verizon.

Why should I switch to Tracfone?
Why should I switch to Pageplus?

Our use of cellular phones is minimal. We have 2 simple phones on a
non-data family plan where we have never reached the number of minutes
we are paying for. Verizon isn't interested in putting us on a
lower-minute plan at a lower cost. We average about 120 minutes each
and most of those are the free mobile to mobile minutes between the two
phones. We do not text. We do not have smart phones or any data plans.
Eventually we might consider getting at least one smart phone with a
minimal data plan, but not right now.

We also travel a fair amount and want the best connectivity without the
roaming charges. Customer service is important.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion.

---

› See More: Pageplus vs Tracfone

On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:21:23 -0600, "R. F. Duffer"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Getting tired of overpaying Verizon.
>
>Why should I switch to Tracfone?
>Why should I switch to Pageplus?
>
>Our use of cellular phones is minimal. We have 2 simple phones on a
>non-data family plan where we have never reached the number of minutes
>we are paying for. Verizon isn't interested in putting us on a
>lower-minute plan at a lower cost. We average about 120 minutes each
>and most of those are the free mobile to mobile minutes between the two
>phones. We do not text. We do not have smart phones or any data plans.
> Eventually we might consider getting at least one smart phone with a
>minimal data plan, but not right now.
>
>We also travel a fair amount and want the best connectivity without the
>roaming charges. Customer service is important.
>
>Thanks in advance for any suggestion.
>
>
>
>
I looked into thsi recently and Page Plus seems better to me. With
your usage the $12 plan x2 would more than cover your needs. If you
use the $25 prepaid cards for each phone, you are at $150 a year.

Page Plus has better coverage with the Verizon Prepaid network.
>
>

"R. F. Duffer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Getting tired of overpaying Verizon.
>
> Why should I switch to Tracfone?
> Why should I switch to Pageplus?
>
> Our use of cellular phones is minimal. We have 2 simple phones on a
> non-data family plan where we have never reached the number of minutes we
> are paying for. Verizon isn't interested in putting us on a lower-minute
> plan at a lower cost. We average about 120 minutes each and most of those
> are the free mobile to mobile minutes between the two phones. We do not
> text. We do not have smart phones or any data plans. Eventually we might
> consider getting at least one smart phone with a minimal data plan, but
> not right now.
>
> We also travel a fair amount and want the best connectivity without the
> roaming charges. Customer service is important.
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestion.
>

I believe T-Mobile has a $100 per year cell plan. IIRC, it includes 1000
minutes and you can add minues as needed. No doubt T-Mobile network is not
as extensive as Verizon's.

"R. F. Duffer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Getting tired of overpaying Verizon.
>
> Why should I switch to Tracfone?
> Why should I switch to Pageplus?
>
> Our use of cellular phones is minimal. We have 2 simple phones on a
> non-data family plan where we have never reached the number of minutes we
> are paying for. Verizon isn't interested in putting us on a lower-minute
> plan at a lower cost. We average about 120 minutes each and most of those
> are the free mobile to mobile minutes between the two phones. We do not
> text. We do not have smart phones or any data plans. Eventually we might
> consider getting at least one smart phone with a minimal data plan, but
> not right now.
>
> We also travel a fair amount and want the best connectivity without the
> roaming charges. Customer service is important.
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestion.
>

You average 120 minutes a month or 1440 minutes a year.

PagePlus has an $80 card that gets you 2000 minutes and is good for one
year. The $80 card must be purchased from a PagePlus dealer. The $10, $25
and $50 airtime cards are only good for 120 days.

You can get cheap PagePlus activations on Ebay.

Roaming calls are billed at $0.29 a minute and will just eat up your minutes
faster than an on network call.

You have to keep track of you remaining dollar balance and renew on time (1
year or every 120 days) or lose your existing balance. Read all the terms of
any plan you purchase.

PagePlus customer service is uneven. I have talked to them only 3 times over
5 years without a problem, but some customers do report problems.

At these low rates you get what you get and it works on the Verizon network

On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:55:59 -0500, "terrable" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>PagePlus has an $80 card that gets you 2000 minutes and is good for one
>year. The $80 card must be purchased from a PagePlus dealer. The $10, $25
>and $50 airtime cards are only good for 120 days.
>
>You can get cheap PagePlus activations on Ebay.
>
>Roaming calls are billed at $0.29 a minute and will just eat up your minutes
>faster than an on network call.
>
>You have to keep track of you remaining dollar balance and renew on time (1
>year or every 120 days) or lose your existing balance. Read all the terms of
>any plan you purchase.

What about choice of handsets? Will PP activate pretty much any
Verizon CDMA device?

--
Paul Miner

On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:32:58 -0600, Paul Miner wrote:

> What about choice of handsets? Will PP activate pretty much any
> Verizon CDMA device?

Well, the ESN must come up as "clean" in some lost/stolen/defaulted DB.
And maybe there are a few super-duper data-crazy devices that are banned.

The site http://www.checkesnfree.com/ will tell you whether you're clean.
Or call VZW CS directly (is that 800-922-0204, perhaps?) and ask them.

HTH. Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

On Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:38:45 -0500, tlvp <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:32:58 -0600, Paul Miner wrote:
>
>> What about choice of handsets? Will PP activate pretty much any
>> Verizon CDMA device?
>
>Well, the ESN must come up as "clean" in some lost/stolen/defaulted DB.
>And maybe there are a few super-duper data-crazy devices that are banned.
>
>The site http://www.checkesnfree.com/ will tell you whether you're clean.
>Or call VZW CS directly (is that 800-922-0204, perhaps?) and ask them.

Thanks, that helps. I've visited the PP website a handful of times in
the past 3 years or so, but they do a terrible job of selling their
service so I always click away without buying. Maybe one of these days
things will click.

--
Paul Miner

On 1/28/2012 5:29 AM, Paul Miner wrote:
> On Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:38:45 -0500, tlvp<[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:32:58 -0600, Paul Miner wrote:
>>
>>> What about choice of handsets? Will PP activate pretty much any
>>> Verizon CDMA device?
>>
>> Well, the ESN must come up as "clean" in some lost/stolen/defaulted DB.
>> And maybe there are a few super-duper data-crazy devices that are banned.
>>
>> The site http://www.checkesnfree.com/ will tell you whether you're clean.
>> Or call VZW CS directly (is that 800-922-0204, perhaps?) and ask them.
>
> Thanks, that helps. I've visited the PP website a handful of times in
> the past 3 years or so, but they do a terrible job of selling their
> service so I always click away without buying. Maybe one of these days
> things will click.
>

If they do a terrible job of selling their service, shouldn't you look
VERY CAREFULLY at everything else they may do terribly????? Once you
sign, you're stuck with them!

On 1/27/2012 8:21 AM, R. F. Duffer wrote:

> We also travel a fair amount and want the best connectivity without the
> roaming charges. Customer service is important.
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestion.

I'd get Pageplus with the $80/2000 minutes/1 year plan. No worries about
renewing every 120 days. You can always take your balance and convert it
to a Pageplus monthly plan if you find a need for texting or data. At
the end of the first year you can do a couple of 120 day $10 renewals
until your balance falls to near 0, then do another one year card. Note
that you have to buy the $80/1 year card from a dealer (or
callingmart.com), Pageplus doesn't sell them directly, for whatever reason.

Roaming is an issue if you often travel into rural areas where Verizon
is not the CDMA carrier. Alaska is one such place. Parts of southern
Oregon and central California (gold country) are others. Occasionally
paying roaming charges is far offset by the lower rates unless the bulk
of your time is spent in non-Verizon areas.

Customer service on Pageplus is a mixed bag. I've had pretty good
service, but sometimes there are problems. They have little forgiveness
for missing a renewal date and restoring lost minutes.

On 1/27/2012 11:38 PM, tlvp wrote:
> On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:32:58 -0600, Paul Miner wrote:
>
>> What about choice of handsets? Will PP activate pretty much any
>> Verizon CDMA device?
>
> Well, the ESN must come up as "clean" in some lost/stolen/defaulted DB.
> And maybe there are a few super-duper data-crazy devices that are banned.
>
> The site http://www.checkesnfree.com/ will tell you whether you're clean.
> Or call VZW CS directly (is that 800-922-0204, perhaps?) and ask them.
>
> HTH. Cheers, -- tlvp

I've purchased two Android phones from Craigslist. We meet at a Verizon
store and Verizon verifies that the ESN is clean.

On 1/28/2012 8:32 AM, Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article<[email protected]>,
> Todd Allcock<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>> If you have a GSM tracfone, it may have signal or not be roaming where
>>> the PP unit doesn't have signal or is roaming.
>>>
>>> That is all.
>>
>> Yeah, I get that. I'm just saying those instances are rare enough that
>> it probably doesn't justify a second service.
>
> I don't disagree, but you know how people are. He seemed stuck on the
> whole "I don't want any roaming fees!" thing to the point where I
> thought I'd mention the multiple phone thing.

Some people are also stuck with "I _must_ get a free phone." It doesn't
matter that they end up paying far more overall, they believe that the
free phone saves them a lot of money.

It's the same with data. Even though most users use less than 500MB of
data per month, they are just sure that they must have 2GB of data,
"just in case."

"It's best not to argue with people who are determined to lose. Once
you've told them about a superior alternative, your responsibility is
fulfilled and you can allow them to lose in peace." Mark Crispin

On 1/28/2012 8:54 AM, Todd Allcock wrote:

> To be fair, that prejudice comes from the early days of cellular and $1-
> 3/minute roaming, and bolstered by horror stories of present-day
> international roaming rates. Education can overcome prejudice.

Amusingly, a lot of the "no roaming fees" was achieved by simply not
allowing roaming, rather than not charging for it.

I recall when Verizon had two sets of coverage maps based on when you
signed up. I was on a plan that used the old maps, and I had far more
coverage than those on the plans that used the new maps. However much of
the roaming coverage I had, that the newer plans didn't, was paid
roaming (in theory, in practice I was never charged for that roaming and
I did use it).

> True. Penn Jillette, of the magician-comedy duo Penn and Teller, quips in
> their show at the Rio, "the lights of Las Vegas are powered by Hoover Dam
> and bad math."

I expect that most of the people that gamble in Las Vegas are well aware
that the chances of winning are very small. It's their form of
entertainment.

On Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:50:11 -0500, "Richard B. Gilbert"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On 1/28/2012 5:29 AM, Paul Miner wrote:
>> On Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:38:45 -0500, tlvp<[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:32:58 -0600, Paul Miner wrote:
>>>
>>>> What about choice of handsets? Will PP activate pretty much any
>>>> Verizon CDMA device?
>>>
>>> Well, the ESN must come up as "clean" in some lost/stolen/defaulted DB.
>>> And maybe there are a few super-duper data-crazy devices that are banned.
>>>
>>> The site http://www.checkesnfree.com/ will tell you whether you're clean.
>>> Or call VZW CS directly (is that 800-922-0204, perhaps?) and ask them.
>>
>> Thanks, that helps. I've visited the PP website a handful of times in
>> the past 3 years or so, but they do a terrible job of selling their
>> service so I always click away without buying. Maybe one of these days
>> things will click.
>>
>
>If they do a terrible job of selling their service, shouldn't you look
>VERY CAREFULLY at everything else they may do terribly????? Once you
>sign, you're stuck with them!

The PP web site is as usable as the ones from verizon and T-Mobile,
but simpler What evidence do you have that PP does anything
"terribly"?

And to reveal your level of "expertise" about PP, "Once you
sign, you're stuck with them!" is simply stupid. There's nothing to
sign or any long term agreement of any kind.

On 1/28/2012 2:29 AM, Paul Miner wrote:

> Thanks, that helps. I've visited the PP website a handful of times in
> the past 3 years or so, but they do a terrible job of selling their
> service so I always click away without buying. Maybe one of these days
> things will click.

They definitely have a marketing problem. I don't know why they don't
come out and just state which phones will work on their service,
especially smart phones.

That said, for those that know what works, they represent a very
inexpensive way to get service on Verizon's network, provided you fall
into the 90+ percent of users that don't use more than 500MB per month.

Perhaps they have an agreement with Verizon to not advertise certain
aspects of their service.

On Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:03:27 -0800, SMS <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Even though most users use less than 500MB of
>data per month, they are just sure that they must have 2GB of data,
>"just in case."

That would be me. For the pennies a day difference between data plans
on most carriers *for me* it would not be worth the hassle of keeping
track of how much data you use, and being worried of overages if you
did happen to have a busy month.

But in my case it appears that the Verizon plans jump from 75MB/$10 to
2GB/$30 so most of those you disparage on Verizon would want the 2GB
plan anyway.

I'm still on the grandfathered Verizon Unlimited plan and even though
I generally use less than 200GB/mo, I plan to keep it as long as I
can...just in case.