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03/25/2006 01:44:18 PM · #1 |
So we think it would make more sense for us to take the phone my wife currently has (with a Cingular rate plan) and replace it with a prepaid phone. It only gets about 20 minutes of usage per month. We're no longer in a contract, so there should be no problem canceling with Cingular.
Anyone want to share their knowledge on this topic? Things to be sure to consider? Good deals on phones, minutes/cards?
I assume there's no way to port the number with Cingular over to a prepaid handset...right?
Thanks in advance for any help.
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03/25/2006 01:54:22 PM · #2 |
My wife and I have been using prepaid phones for the last couple years. The best provider and plan we found was Verizon. BUT: the prepaid plan we had is no longer available to purchase (basically was costing $15 a month in minutes, left overs rolled over), and so when my daughter needed a phone, I've had to look around.
I too have not yet decided, but it seemed to me T-Mobile had the least expensive plan. For $100 you get 1000 minutes for up to 1 year, and it rolls over, as long as you keep your phone active (renew with some plan). You can also get less, but I felt $100 was pretty good for a year, and not having to remember to renew monthly, etc. (At least on Verizon, if you miss your renewal, you lose all your accrued minutes.)
My biggest issue is that you have to buy the phone, and there's no trial period, where you can quit or exchange the phone. And I can't decide which phone I want, since I know T-Mobile doesn't have the best reception here (Verizon is great here), so I want to make sure I get a good phone.
Caveats: Most services have less network coverage for prepaid. And if you buy a phone that can be "unlocked" easily/cheaply, you could pretty easily move between cingular and t-mobile, since they use the same GSM technology.
Also, when I moved from Sprint to Verizon prepaid, despite the big deal (and monthly fees) the companies make about taking your number with you, Verizon would not let me bring my Sprint number over--they said that doesn't apply to prepaid.
One good place to ask questions and research about cellular phones and services is Howard Forums.
Let me know how you make out!
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03/25/2006 01:59:37 PM · #3 |
Make sure to check how quickly the minutes expire - much too soon, in most cases. Because of that expiration, prepaid phones still cost quite a few dollars per month.
When we wanted a spare phone for our teenage daughter, we did all the maths and worked out we were best off (at THAT time) with paying a full $100 to Tmobile because that got us the "gold" - meaning the minutes are good for a whole year. So, spread over a year, we were better off than with the other deals.
Re porting the number: sadly, here in the States we found that that's just not the done thing (unlike other places in the world) - they force you to buy their phone every time you change providers.
Take all that advice with caution since things might have changed since then. |
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03/25/2006 02:06:12 PM · #4 |
Thanks for the replies! I figured porting numbers wouldn't apply to prepaid, (although it worked fine for us at work) since I think the number is already set up with the phone sitting on the shelf at the store.
But I do want to find a minutes-purchasing deal which costs less than $33/month. That much per month for 20 minutes is not good. My wife's phone usage is really minimal, almost for just emergencies.
Message edited by author 2006-03-25 14:10:30.
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03/26/2006 12:29:46 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by dahved:
But I do want to find a minutes-purchasing deal which costs less than $33/month. That much per month for 20 minutes is not good. |
Did you read the bit about $100 for 12 months? 100/12 is considerably less than $33 according to MY maths.
I quite agree that for minimal usage you don't want to pay that much.... we are in exactly the same boat, hence we picked a deal that cost us less than $10 per month. |
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03/26/2006 07:55:27 AM · #6 |
Beetle,
Yes, I did read about the $100 for the year. In fact, that's what we went with yesterday. A TracFone and 250 minutes for a year.
Thanks!
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