Tracfone or prepaid cellular?

[Susan Unger]

I am considering giving a friend a gift of a cellphone but need to have it fit in a small budget. Which would provide the most minutes with the least amount of money? It looks like a tracfone is cheap but only if you use it sparingly. While a prepaid cellular would allow more conversation but one place said one is charged extra for just turning it on that day. As this is a new area for me [I have a regular cellphone] what advice would y'all have?

[Matt Thompson]

The two that I am familiar with are Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile.

Boost has a $50/mo unlimited everything plan (Voice, data and text messaging) OR a you pay flat rate of 10 cents per min / 10 cents per text message.

Virgin has monthly voice plans that range from $29 to $49, while data and text messaging add $5-$10 per month each depending on which package you get.

Virgin runs off the Sprint CDMA network, whild Boost runs of off the Sprint IDEN (legacy Nextel) network. (This means BOOST phones cannot roam.)

To see the various plans:

Click here for BOOST (http://plans.boostmobile.com/planhub.aspx)

Click here for Virgin Mobile (http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phone-plans/#/detail-plan/pm)

[Mike Wooldridge]

Good job, Matt. You must work at the Nextel Temple call center. :)

[Matt Thompson]

Good job, Matt. You must work at the Nextel Temple call center. :)5 years now. Started in Legacy Nextel tech support, have been in Public Safety for 3 years. Just moved to the PS CSI team about 6 months ago. (Internal Helpdesk for Public Safety dept.) It's what allows me to be unpaid staff at our church.

[Susan Unger]

Thank you for the information, Matt. Although, I was thinking something cheaper.

[Daniel Hamlin]

I've been using Tracfone for about 6 years now (using the same Nokia phone) and really like it. There is no monthly bill which makes budgeting easier. I did get tired of buying minutes every 3 months, so now I buy a year of service and 800 minutes at a time. The last time I bought minutes for my phone I bought the "Lifetime Double Minutes" which doubles the minutes I buy. I occassionaly have to buy additional minutes throughout the year depending on how much I use my cell phone. Based on my usage (averaging less than 10 text messages and 60 minutes per month), I budget $10/month which I set aside to buy my yearly service. Coverage has been fine. I'm planning on buying a newer Tracfone this fall. If you just need basic cellphone features and basic service then Tracfone (or Net10) is probably the way to go.

[Susan Unger]

I've been using Tracfone for about 6 years now (using the same Nokia phone) and really like it. There is no monthly bill which makes budgeting easier. I did get tired of buying minutes every 3 months, so now I buy a year of service and 800 minutes at a time. The last time I bought minutes for my phone I bought the "Lifetime Double Minutes" which doubles the minutes I buy. I occassionaly have to buy additional minutes throughout the year depending on how much I use my cell phone. Based on my usage (averaging less than 10 text messages and 60 minutes per month), I budget $10/month which I set aside to buy my yearly service. Coverage has been fine. I'm planning on buying a newer Tracfone this fall. If you just need basic cellphone features and basic service then Tracfone (or Net10) is probably the way to go.

So when you buy a year's service then do you have to buy the mintures along with that or does the phrase "year's service" mean you automatically get minutes updated every so often? In other words, how does that work? I am thinking that tracfone might be what I'll get.

[Daniel Hamlin]

I just checked Tracfone's site and for $119 you get one year of service and 800 minutes of time to use during the course of the year, in addition you get "Double-The-Minutes" for the life of your phone. If you start to run low on minutes, you can purchase more. Airtime cards are available at Walmart or you can purchase airtime online at Tracfone's site. On vacation last year I needed some more time and didn't have easy access to the Internet so I just stopped by Walmart and bought card with 400 minutes on it. There are instructions on the back on how to add the minutes to your phone, it's very easy.

https://www.tracfone.com/direct/Purchase?app=TRACFONE&lang=en&fromPopup=yes&payGo=true&promoId=48303&cardType=TSAPP4001Y

[Susan Unger]

I just checked Tracfone's site and for $119 you get one year of service and 800 minutes of time to use during the course of the year, in addition you get "Double-The-Minutes" for the life of your phone. If you start to run low on minutes, you can purchase more. Airtime cards are available at Walmart or you can purchase airtime online at Tracfone's site. On vacation last year I needed some more time and didn't have easy access to the Internet so I just stopped by Walmart and bought card with 400 minutes on it. There are instructions on the back on how to add the minutes to your phone, it's very easy.

https://www.tracfone.com/direct/Purchase?app=TRACFONE&lang=en&fromPopup=yes&payGo=true&promoId=48303&cardType=TSAPP4001YThe part I don't understand is "year of service". Does that mean if it breaks my friend gets a new one as a part of a 'plan'?

[Daniel Hamlin]

The part I don't understand is "year of service". Does that mean if it breaks my friend gets a new one as a part of a 'plan'?

No, you'd have to buy a new phone (they are dirt cheap at Walmart...seems like I saw them for $20) but the minutes can be transferred from one phone to another. A year of service is the guarantee that the phone and phone number will be active for one year. When you purchase additional minutes your length of service is extended. For example, I purchased my phone in October of 2005 (?). The phone number they gave me was good until October 2006. In October 2006 I purchased another year of service and 800 minutes, which kept my phone number active until October 2007. October 2007 I purchased another year and several hundred minutes...... Last summer I was running low on minutes while on vacation and bought some more, the airtime card at Walmart was 200 minutes and 6 months of service, so my new renewal data became February 2010. In February, I purchased another year of service and 800 minutes, which makes my next renewal due by February 2011. During this whole time, though, I've had the same phone number.

It's really not as complicated as it sounds. My phone always shows how many minutes are left and when it's due for renewal. If I'm running low on minutes, I just buy more. Again, for my usage it works out to about $10/month.

[Susan Unger]

No, you'd have to buy a new phone (they are dirt cheap at Walmart...seems like I saw them for $20) but the minutes can be transferred from one phone to another. A year of service is the guarantee that the phone and phone number will be active for one year. When you purchase additional minutes your length of service is extended. For example, I purchased my phone in October of 2005 (?). The phone number they gave me was good until October 2006. In October 2006 I purchased another year of service and 800 minutes, which kept my phone number active until October 2007. October 2007 I purchased another year and several hundred minutes...... Last summer I was running low on minutes while on vacation and bought some more, the airtime card at Walmart was 200 minutes and 6 months of service, so my new renewal data became February 2010. In February, I purchased another year of service and 800 minutes, which makes my next renewal due by February 2011. During this whole time, though, I've had the same phone number.

It's really not as complicated as it sounds. My phone always shows how many minutes are left and when it's due for renewal. If I'm running low on minutes, I just buy more. Again, for my usage it works out to about $10/month.Thanks for your help, Daniel. :)