Tabrett Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I am looking at the prepaid phones and they say you have unlimited talk, text and data for $45-$50 a month??? Is there a catch? I can't find a contractual cell phone service that offers a deal as good as the prepaid. Most of them are based on minutes. I don't need or care about having a smart phone, I just want a qwerty keyboard with unlimited text and talk. I don't even care about data. It would be nice, but just an extra. Are the prepaids really unlimited for $50 a month or are there hidden fees and charges that make it more expensive than regular cell service? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I have StraightTalk from Walmart. I bought my phone for $80 and pay $30 a month for 400 min, 400 texts. I get limited internet access also - cnn, weather, espn. There is no catch and no hidden fees. You cannot go over on mins, texts, or data. When dh's cell phone contract is up we plan to switch him too, except he'll have the unlimited package for $45 a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 I have StraightTalk from Walmart. I bought my phone for $80 and pay $30 a month for 400 min, 400 texts. I get limited internet access also - cnn, weather, espn. There is no catch and no hidden fees. You cannot go over on mins, texts, or data. When dh's cell phone contract is up we plan to switch him too, except he'll have the unlimited package for $45 a month. Really! Wow, I thought there would be a catch! How big is your coverage area? What happens when you are out of area? Do you get charged a roaming fee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I don't know if this varies by region, but my coverage area is Verizon's coverage area if that makes sense. There is no roaming. AFAIK, you will never get charged a fee for anything. I used up all my data one month and I just couldn't get online anymore, same with minutes. This would not be an issue if you had an unlimited plan. I have had mine for about 8 months and couldn't be happier. Ok, one issue is that the phone selection wasn't the greatest. Not a biggie for me. My phone has a camera and qwerty keyboard on a slideout. Unless you are hung up on getting a certain phone, I doubt the selection would be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Check out Kitty Wireless. My sister just switched to them, with great service and results, and she pays under $16/mo. It's for if you will text more than you talk; data would be a little bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 Ok....is there any benefit to having a contractual cell phone service? I am so shocked how inexpensive prepaid unlimited is compared to a contractual service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom23 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Probably not much benefit. The benefit comes if you are getting a really expensive phone for free when you resign your contact every 18 months or so, the upfront cost is more. But I imagine you would make it up easily in the course of a year or so. Also, IDK how it works if your phone quits after say 9 months, my husband has always been able to get Verizon to replace his phone if he had troubles with it before the renewal period. It may add up if you got a dud after only a few months of service and had to replace it, but at least you are not tied in to the deal, you could just decide it isnt worth it. Over all we would consider switching over to the prepaid if we didnt have our only source of internet through Verizon also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in KS Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I have a smartphone tracphone. It has a one time fee and comes with 1200 minutes (to be used talking, text, whatever) and the minutes are good for a year. It works great. I'm sure the smartphone part of it isn't fabulous, but I don't really use it for surfing the web, etc. It works great as a phone! I won't be using all of those minutes by the end of the year. I think it was $100 and I don't have a monthly bill. Gotta love that!!!:001_smile: This is the one I have: http://www.amazon.com/Tracfone-LG-LG800G-Minutes-Triple/dp/B0057GUFEI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancypantsgirl Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 We both have Virgin Android smart phones. When we signed up the deal was $25 a month for 300 talking minutes and unlimited text and data. This is perfect for us since we are more likely to text each other and just don't talk on the phone that much at all. A few months later they upped their price to $30 (or was it $35?!) a month but even without a contract they have honored the fact that we went in under the $25 plan. Amazing! We are very happy both with the phones themselves and the service. We just make sure that we have our account set to automatic top-up so we don't end up without coverage. It's a fabulous deal and I seriously cannot imagine paying $60-$90 a month for unlimited text/data. Their higher minutes talk plans are still very reasonably priced compared to other companies. Been with them for over 6 months now and no catches. Great phones, great service, great price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicCole Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 We use MetroPCS and get unlimited everything for $35 a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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