Would a pay-as-you-go cell be worth it?

[happypamama]

What is the absolute cheapest pay-as-you-go plan for cells that also has reasonable coverage in rural areas? Something that I could use for just the occasional call -- more than strict emergencies, but not more than 5-10 minutes at a time. I'm trying to figure out whether it's worth ditching our current (very good because we piggyback on a family member's plan) plan when it's up in a few months, or not. Do the pay-as-you-go plans expire, or are they good for as long as you want until you use up the money on them?

 

ETA: Not for surfing/email/tablet, just calls and the occasional text.

[Ann.without.an.e]

DD has a pay as you go phone and the reception is terrible :( Do you have a land line?

[happypamama]

DD has a pay as you go phone and the reception is terrible :( Do you have a land line?

 

I do, but it's pretty lousy. It works fine, but our local calling area is really, really tiny, so even to call the doctor's office, for instance, is a long distance call. The only reason we still have the landline is because our only high speed internet options are DSL (which needs the landline) or satellite (which is insanely expensive). We actually keep the landline's ringer turned off and give people who need a number a cell number (and I check messages on the landline every day or so), but we haven't made calls on it in months, if not years. However, I easily go for days without making or receiving calls at all, except for DH's quick call to let me know he's on his way home from the office. If I could find a decent pay-as-you-go deal, I could turn the ringer back on on the landline and have my mom or MIL call me on it, rather than on their cells.

 

Bottom line: we're not big phone talkers, either of us, and we pay a lot (however reasonable, it's still a lot) for phone usage and want to know how we might cut that down a bit, while still being accessible as needed.

[Brilliant]

We've used Virgin (a prepaid monthly plan) and Tracfone (just buying minutes) and been pretty happy - but we are in a densely populated area. So you might want to ask around locally to see who has good coverage in your area.

 

They are pretty cheap - you can get the phones typically for $20, and then all you have to add is a $20 card every 2 or 3 months...so it can be as cheap as $8/month for the pay-by-the-minute cards. (make sure you get DMFL - double minutes for life - on your Tracfone, and always search for a promo code before loading your next card)

[sgo95]

I think it would depend on the particular carrier's coverage of your area (you can look at the coverage maps on their sites I think). It costs me $100/year for my Tracfone service which includes around 900 minutes a year (I never use the minutes up). Depending on the provider you choose, the minutes or service can expire if you don't buy additional minutes/service time within a certain amount of time. I've also always lived in highly populated areas, so I haven't had to think about cell-phone service coverage for my area.

[happypamama]

I have an AT&T Go Phone that I pay $25 for every 3 mos and it sounds like it would be worth it for you. I have never had any coverage issues with it. With that plan, I pay a $1 for the day is use it and $0.10/per minute. Not sure about text cost. I am considering switching to this plan that was recommended on here last year.

 

Do you pay the $1 for the day whether you receive OR make calls? That would be a deal-breaker for me; DH calls me every day to let me know he's leaving his office, so that would be $20 right there. If it's only if I make calls, that wouldn't be bad.

 

As for rural, we aren't super-super rural, just more like country. I don't have any problems with my current cell getting reception anywhere; I guess I was concerned that smaller carriers might have issues, don't know about that. Everyone I know locally seems to use Verizon for their regular cells. We're close enough to the state capital that people commute from here to there, so we're not completely in the middle of nowhere. It would probably be fine. I'm going to keep checking this thread and will consider trying one for a month or two before ditching my current cell.

[sgo95]

As for rural, we aren't super-super rural, just more like country. I don't have any problems with my current cell getting reception anywhere; I guess I was concerned that smaller carriers might have issues, don't know about that.

 

My understanding is that the smaller carriers have agreements to use the cell towers of bigger carriers (at&t, verizon, sprint), depending on where you are.

[happypamama]

 

 

My understanding is that the smaller carriers have agreements to use the cell towers of bigger carriers (at&t, verizon, sprint), depending on where you are.

 

Oh. That's good to know -- thanks!

[Chocolate Rose]

I have Net10 and pay $30 every other month ($15 per month) for 300 minutes. Very rarely have an issue - usually only if a tower is down for some reason.

[regentrude]

We have tracfone prepaid phones and are very satisfied.

We pay $20 for 3 months, that includes 180 minutes. I never had trouble with service.

[G5052]

Just make sure that the carrier you choose truly has good coverage where you normally go.

 

I left my phone home today in a coat pocket, and tried to call home with my oldest's phone. Zero coverage until we were 5 minutes from home on the way back. I forgot how bad that carrier is for that route. Ironically I bought that phone because it is the only carrier that covers the area where my parents lived, but it isn't much use at all in one direction where we often go. My own phone is perfect for virtually everywhere I am locally, but I left it home and took my oldest's phone when my mom died because mine would have been utterly useless. So we keep pay-as-you-go phones from two different carriers. Both companies told me that the pay-as-you-go networks are not as extensive as the regular networks, so beware!

[creativish]

There are 2 different types of cell phone carriers... GSM (At&t, T-Mo) and CDMA (Verizon).

If most people around you have Verizon phones, make sure you get a CDMA phone.

Tracfone, Straight Talk, & Net 10 all sell both varieties so you have to read the fine print to be sure.

 

I live in Verizon country, and we have a CDMA Tracfone for mostly just quick calls on the go. It is ugly and old but it works for our needs. I have the double minutes option and buying the $20 90-day card is plenty for our use, and any unused minutes rollover. Just know that cdma phones usually aren't as high-end as the gsm models. :(

 

Another option is PagePlus, they work on Verizon and you can bring your own CDMA phone (so much nicer options-- hello ebay/craigslist). Minutes don't rollover but they have $10 100-min cards good for 120 days (w/ a $.50/mo service charge each month-- so really 80 minute cards). So that can be an extremely cheap option if you only make 20 1 minute calls a month. You can always add another card sooner if you run out (but no rollover/stacking). They also have the $80 2000 minute year cards, my husband does this and it works great for him.

 

Also, my girls have unactivated cell phones with texting apps, so they can text for free over wi-fi. So this might even be an option if your husband has wireless at/near his work.

 

I do believe TracFone includes roaming, not likely with the others though.

[Susan C.]

We have Tracfone, Net 10 and Verizon pay-as-you-go phones. The Tracfone and Net 10 do have many dead spots where we live, so I got dd19 a Verizon. Yes, if you make or receive a call, its a $1 plus 10 cents a minute and 10 cents texting each way. If you could get your dh to text you then you can get out of the $1/day. I load $60 on her phone every 90 days, we just upped it because she is at college and needed a little more. I think you can load $30 (check the lowest amount for 90 days).

[Erica in OR]

We use TMobile's pay as you go (not the pay by the day) plan and have been satisfied. It has decent coverage for our area and for when we travel cross-country. If you buy $100 worth of minutes (10 cents a minute for calls when you buy that much), you're made a "Gold Rewards" member. For Gold Rewards the minutes are then good for a year, any additional minutes you buy in the future move your expiration date a year away again, and you receive 15% more minutes than the face value of the refill. You can buy as few minutes as you like to roll over all your minutes for a year, but the smaller the refill you buy, the more each minute costs.

 

Erica in OR

[KrissiK]

We have a pay as yu go plan and love it. This is how ours works. We pay $25 every 3 months. If we want to make a call, it costs $1 and 10cents/minute for out of network calls. But once we pay that dollar, we can make as many calls that day as we want, only paying the per minute cost. Now, we have to pay $25 every three months, whether we use up the $ or not, to keep our phone number. And we can add money of course, of we use up the $25 but we never use it up. I don't make Calls much. And texts are 20cents each, and yu don't pay the dollar if you only text. It works well for us.

[Running the race]

My sons both have ATT GoPhones. We pay $25 every three months. If they make a call, it is 10cents per minute. They hardly ever call. From the $25, they each purchase a $5 per month text package. The package includes 200 texts per month. The amazing thing is that the texts roll over. Since they are boys and hardly every text, now they have over 1,000 texts. Go figure. The monetary balance also rolls over, so they probably have $100 plus on the phone since they never call either. As long as you renew before the expiration date, you don't lose the money or texts. I have auto-renew set up on theirs. The phones themselves are inexpensive online. I paid $25 for one and got $25 free minutes. That was awhile ago though. One of my sons uses an old iPhone 3GS with the data turned off. He can use it as a smartphone on WiFi.

[happypamama]

My sons both have ATT GoPhones. We pay $25 every three months. If they make a call, it is 10cents per minute. They hardly ever call. From the $25, they each purchase a $5 per month text package. The package includes 200 texts per month. The amazing thing is that the texts roll over. Since they are boys and hardly every text, now they have over 1,000 texts. Go figure. The monetary balance also rolls over, so they probably have $100 plus on the phone since they never call either. As long as you renew before the expiration date, you don't lose the money or texts. I have auto-renew set up on theirs. The phones themselves are inexpensive online. I paid $25 for one and got $25 free minutes. That was awhile ago though. One of my sons uses an old iPhone 3GS with the data turned off. He can use it as a smartphone on WiFi.

 

 

So far, that is sounding like a really good deal (though I'm still reading through the other suggestions). That would only be $8 a month. Is there a $1 "per day if you use it" fee?

 

I looked today and found that there may be some new options for my DSL/landline package that might save me money and include long distance, so that makes a cell a lot less necessary.

[ksr5377]

We do Verizon's pay as you go. There are 3 different options to choose in terms of price. If you buy $100 in minutes they don't expire for a year.

[sparrow]

There are 2 different types of cell phone carriers... GSM (At&t, T-Mo) and CDMA (Verizon).

If most people around you have Verizon phones, make sure you get a CDMA phone.

Tracfone, Straight Talk, & Net 10 all sell both varieties so you have to read the fine print to be sure.

 

I live in Verizon country, and we have a CDMA Tracfone for mostly just quick calls on the go. It is ugly and old but it works for our needs. I have the double minutes option and buying the $20 90-day card is plenty for our use, and any unused minutes rollover. Just know that cdma phones usually aren't as high-end as the gsm models. :(

 

Another option is PagePlus, they work on Verizon and you can bring your own CDMA phone (so much nicer options-- hello ebay/craigslist). Minutes don't rollover but they have $10 100-min cards good for 120 days (w/ a $.50/mo service charge each month-- so really 80 minute cards). So that can be an extremely cheap option if you only make 20 1 minute calls a month. You can always add another card sooner if you run out (but no rollover/stacking). They also have the $80 2000 minute year cards, my husband does this and it works great for him.

 

Also, my girls have unactivated cell phones with texting apps, so they can text for free over wi-fi. So this might even be an option if your husband has wireless at/near his work.

 

I do believe TracFone includes roaming, not likely with the others though.

 

 

:iagree: You just need to look for a pay-as-you-go phone that that has a model number ending in "C" (for CDMA).

[TarynB]

I looked today and found that there may be some new options for my DSL/landline package that might save me money and include long distance, so that makes a cell a lot less necessary.

 

You might also confirm with your carrier that you are required to have landline phone service in order to keep your DSL. We recently dropped our landline phone (use cell for calls) and switched to DSL only with the same carrier. It was a significant savings.

 

Some carriers don't advertise their DSL-only plans - you have to ask about it.

[Brilliant]

 

My understanding is that the smaller carriers have agreements to use the cell towers of bigger carriers (at&t, verizon, sprint), depending on where you are.

 

Yes, but it might not be the same level of service. My dd's Virgin Mobile phone uses the Spring network, but it's not the whole network...I don't know how they figure it out, but her coverage is only OK, and I think actual Sprint coverage is better.

[happypamama]

 

 

You might also confirm with your carrier that you are required to have landline phone service in order to keep your DSL. We recently dropped our landline phone (use cell for calls) and switched to DSL only with the same carrier. It was a significant savings.

 

Some carriers don't advertise their DSL-only plans - you have to ask about it.

 

Thank you for that heads-up; I have asked them about that periodically, but alas, in my area, the landline is still necessary. When I call them to ask about the current promotions, I will inquire about the necessity of the landline again. Right now, they're running a deal where internet-only would be $20 a month for a year, and then $40 a month after that, which is still cheaper than what we pay for phone+internet now. (If that works, I'll keep the cell as is, since it's a very generous plan.)

[OrganicAnn]

We have the Verizon pay as you go. $100 per year and we don't usually use all the minutes as we aren't big cell phone talkers. We've never had problems with the coverage.