Grandfathering old plans - for how long?

I have an old prepay plan that costs $15/month. They've continued it as I've kept my account charged continuously. Is there any word on whether this will continue indefinitely? I can't afford the $40 regular plans. I'm ready to pull the trigger on a new phone but before I make the investment w/ Verizon I was wondering if anybody knew anything.

As long as you continue to keep the account active...I really don't think they can take it away from you.

As for buying a new phone....that may just be the excuse they need to terminate the old contract, so you may want to ask before doing so.

It's a prepay account, not a contract. I've changed phones before and kept it. I called fairly recently and they said they'd do it again. I just don't want to call too many times and give them ideas about changing things, you know? I had half a mind to not even start this thread in case it's some secret I shouldn't spoil.

You can buy a new phone anytime you want for your existing prepay account. You will simply pay the 1 year promotional pricing. Verizon will most likely not ever make you get rid of your old prepay account as prepay is pretty much a "cash cow" for the company.

It seems there's one problem. I just emailed Verizon asking about the GPS Navigator feature. They say it won't work with my Freeup plan, only the new expensive prepay plans. This is a disappointment.

Now I'm wondering if the cameras will even work with the Freeup plan.

I'll probably go with the basic Motorola W315 since it has better buttons and I can't use the Navigator on the others. (though there aren't many comments one the quality of the W315 here.) I don't think I can afford the new plans, and if I ever switch I could get a cameraphone for real cheap.

Remember that the camera is not a feature of the account, but a feature of the phone. You can take as many pictures as you want (or your phone memory can hold), you just won't be able to send picture messages.

Yeah, but will I be able to even get them off the camera and on to my computer? I thought that function was controlled by Verizon and charged for.

If you get a phone that uses an expandable memory card, you will be able to save all of your pictures to that card and copy them over to your PC with a card reader.

The phones I'm looking at don't have cards. I emailed Verizon and they say that "picture messaging" doesn't work with the old plans.

What phones are you looking at? Did you get one yet?

No, I'm STILL undecided, wanking about it in forums. (and sorta broke). The Motorola W315 and V325i, and maybe the LG VX5300. The 325 is supposed to have the best reception, and it's built the best, but the buttons are bad. The W315 has good buttons and interface but I don't know if the quality is as good as the V325i. (and no camera but that might be good to have one of) The VX5300 is smaller and sleeker than the others.