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Topic Review (Newest First)

  • 02-02-2013, 06:23 PM
    Hildretech
  • 06-28-2006, 01:27 PM
    saintmarys
    Wow! You really know your stuff, Roberts1953! Thanks - I think you may have answered almost all of this newbie's questions... for now ;D
  • 04-09-2006, 04:35 PM
    roberts1953
    With your casual usage prepaid would be perfect. A great place to start looking is here. http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

    By the way, I think verizon prepaid is way overpriced. For your usage there are 2 companies that I really like. Each have pros and cons.

    The first is tmobile to go prepaid. http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/d...plancategory=4
    Chris already pointed out some of the positives. $100 gets 1000 min good for a year. $.10/min is a really good rate, and no fees.

    To get started the easiest way is to get a $40 phone at Walmart or Target. This will get you a nokia 6010 and will come with $15 worth of starter time. This is a basic phone but works really well. They also sell different and more expensive phones at the store.

    If you want to be creative you can save yourself some money. Staples and a few other companies will pricematch their competitors. So you could get the phone at staples pricematched for $40. Then you can turn in a $30 mail in rebate http://www.tmobilerebates.com/PDFs/5026-234-1603-1.pdf and get the phone and time for $10.
    If you want a larger selection of phones you can get one off ebay for a good price. You will then need to get a tmobile SIM card for the phone, which contains your account info and telephone number, and put it in your phone. It is really easy to do. You can get the SIM off ebay as well. You just need to make sure the phone is compatable with tmobile. Any unlocked or tmobile "branded" GSM phone will work. If you want more info or help on this just ask.

    Now for minutes. Your tmobile phone will come with $15 (60 minutes) worth of airtime that will expire after 60 days, and is charged at $.25/min. Here is a little tidbit. Buy a $100 refill card right away and add it to your account immediately. This will give you 1000 minutes good for a year, at a rate of $.10/min. Even better though, it will convert the original $15 over to the $.10/min rate, giving you a total of 1150 minutes (90 bonus minutes). Plus once you hit the $100 mark you reach "gold rewards" status. This increases the amount of minutes on refills. More importantly, any additional refills extend ALL remaining minutes for another year at the time of refill. In a year you could add a $10 card and be good for an entire additional year. When you go to buy your $100 card get if from http://www.cheapphonecards.com/cccar...&cat=54&page=1. When you go to checkout use the promo code "refill5". You will be given a total discount of 8%. The $100 card will cost around $92. This gives you a $.9/min rate. This is about the best rate and best expiration in the PAYG world.

    Now for the bad. Tmobiles prepaid coverage is not as extensive as others. But they also provide the most detailed and honest coverage map available. http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/prepaid.aspx. So if the coverage works for you you have a winner.

    The other company I like is Page Plus. http://pagepluscellular.com/
    They are a little more expensive 12.5-14 cents a minute at your monthly minute usage. The also have a $.50/month fee, which is very reasonable. All cards expire after 120 days, so you will need to refill every 4 months. They use verizon's native coverage. Thier coverage map is old. The best place to see their coverage it by looking at a map of Verizon prepaid. http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/s...PrepayOverview Page Plus coverage is identical. Anything in verizon's native coverage is at the low rate. Anything outside of this will be roaming at $.99/min.
    The bad news is that roaming is expensive. The good news is that at least it roams! Tmobile prepaid doesn't. The rates are reasonable, and the "home" calling area is most of the populated US. And it will roam anywhere you get a CDMA or AMPS signal. Basically Verizon's entire postpaid nationwide coverage.
    You can use any verizon "branded" phone. You can get one on ebay, or buy a verizon prepaid phone, then acivate it on PagePlus. You can call them to activate, or get a cheap starter kit off ebay.

    Where PagePlus really shines as an emergency and casual use phone. It costs as little as $30/yr with truely nationwide coverage.

    If you have any other questions or need more clarification, just ask.
  • 04-09-2006, 12:23 PM
    Bourn Identity
    Anytime, let us know what phone you decide to go with.
  • 04-08-2006, 07:58 PM
    Kimmy.k
    Thank you. That really helps. I'm definately going to go with the $100/1000 minutes prepaid option. You pointing me in the right direction is going to save me so much time and confusion. I hadn' even thought of T-Mobile and maybe wouldn't have looked there. Now I'll just pick a compatible phone... the T-Mobile phones look fine to me.
    Thanks again.
  • 04-08-2006, 03:11 PM
    Bourn Identity
    Quote Originally Posted by Kimmy.k
    Thanks! But do I have to use a phone that comes with a T-mobile "kit"?
    Can I use a different brand of new phone with just the T-Mobile $100 card... like a Moto V265?
    Is there a daily "access" fee, or a call fee each time I use the phone?

    Kimmy.k
    Well any T-Mobile or unlocked GSM phone(uses a sim card) will work. No, T-Mobile doesn't have any access/daily fees.
  • 04-08-2006, 02:40 PM
    Kimmy.k
    Thanks! But do I have to use a phone that comes with a T-mobile "kit"?
    Can I use a different brand of new phone with just the T-Mobile $100 card... like a Moto V265?
    Is there a daily "access" fee, or a call fee each time I use the phone?

    Kimmy.k
  • 04-08-2006, 09:41 AM
    Bourn Identity
    You can go for the T-Mobile To Go plan. A $100 card gets you 1000 minutes and doesn't expire for a year. You can find the To Go kits at local T-Mobile stores or at like Wal-Mart for around $40, which includes the phone and a few minutes to start out with.
  • 04-08-2006, 01:00 AM
    Kimmy.k
    Hi. I'm shopping for a phone. As a work at home artist I rarely have to use a cell phone...would only need 60 minutes a month (or less).
    I heard about calling cards and wish I could get a great phone with a cheap calling card set up... but I'm confused about "activation" and plans.
    For example, Verizon offers a prepaid plan but it has a .99 cents/day "access fee" whether you use the phone or not... that's approx. $30/mo.(in addition to the $/minute user fees) when I may only use the phone very little.

    If I find a phone I like, isn't there a way to simply get a non-expiring, $100. phone card , which I only use when needed and slowly over time the $100 worth of minutes gets used and I buy another card?

    Do I HAVE to be part of some PLAN? (Should I be looking at unlocked phones?)
    And I'm confused about which phones are compatible with which cheap calling card companies. I want to get a good phone (i.e. Verizon) but not be locked into Verizon's only prepaid plan which is not a good deal for my situation.
    Can't I just pick out the phone I like best (apart from any plan) and then find a cheap, non-expire-minutes calling card and somehow?? have that phone activated to that card?

    Can I use any phone I want with any Pay-As-You-Go plan I like best?



    Sorry this post is so long. Any advice greatly appreciated. kimmy.k

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