Re: OT - cell phone advice

Stormin Mormon wrote:
My parents are still able to drive, go shopping, eat out, and so on. But, there have been a couple moments when the car broke down. Or, one was out, and the other didn't know why it was taking so long. I suggested they get a cell phone. The reply was that we don't have the money to support another monthly bill.

I've heard of phones where you buy the minutes in advance. Has anyone used such a phone, and which brand, where bought, etc? If it was twenty bucks or so, I'd buy the phone outright, and give it to them as a gift.

The best quality and least expensive prepaid service is PagePlus. As low as $2.50/month, and the minutes cost from 6 cents to 12 cents (actually a bit less since refills are sold at a discount). You need to add a minimum of $10 every four months.

PagePlus uses Verizon's network which means it has excellent coverage. If you have Verizon service in your area, it's great. You can roam onto non-Verizon networks for an extra charge so it works almost everywhere (this is _not_ the case with some prepaid services such as Virgin, which do not allow roaming off their native network (Sprint for Virgin)). Most people wanting an emergency phone would like it to work outside urban areas.

If you buy from PagePlus directly, they offer a few refurbished phones for low prices. Or you can use any phone that was previously used on Verizon, so you should be able to pick one up on craigslist for a low price, or for free from friends or relatives.

The best web site for information is "http://prepaiduswireless.com";.

When selecting a prepaid plan pay careful attention to the minimum monthly cost (how often you must add money, and how much you need to add). Avoid Tracfone, Virgin, Verizon InPulse, AT&T GoPhone, Boost, Jitterbug, Net10, and Only1 Mobile. Basically, for an emergency phone, look for plans where you're on the Verizon or AT&T network, and the minimum cost is under $3/month.

T-Mobile can be a really good deal, _if_ you have decent T-Mobile coverage in your area. Order a phone and $100 of airtime, and subsequent airtime purchases are good for 365 days. So you could add $10 and it would keep the phone on for a year, at a net cost of $0.83/month (less because you can get airtime at a discount).

Last week PagePlus also started offering unlimited voice, unlimited texts, and 20MB/data per month for $39.95 (actual discounted cost is about $34 a month). This is an amazingly good deal.

Remember that with prepaid there are no free phones. You buy phones on your own. But the savings can more than make up for it.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT - cell phone advice
    ... PagePlus uses Verizon's network which means it has excellent coverage. ... You can roam onto non-Verizon networks for an extra charge so it works almost everywhere ). ... Or you can use any phone that was previously used on Verizon, so you should be able to pick one up on craigslist for a low price, or for free from friends or relatives. ... When selecting a prepaid plan pay careful attention to the minimum monthly cost. ...
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  • Re: Verizon vs. PagePlus
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  • Re: Verizon vs. PagePlus
    ... This is a list of the pros and cons of PagePlus, though not strictly PagePlus versus Verizon, more PagePlus versus all contract and prepay services. ... Minimum monthly cost, for low volume users, is as low as $2.30 per month. ... On the other hand, at least you have coverage, unlike many prepaid carriers that don't allow roaming at all. ...
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