The OFFICIAL PREPAID CELLPHONE DEAL THREAD

[destinyschild]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to start a thread on prepaid phone deals.

Here's a list of some prepaid carriers. Tracfone is currently running a special for 1 year with 400 minutes and 50 bonus minutes. Seems like a good deal.

Tracfone
Virgin Mobile
T Mobile
Go Phone (ATT)
Net10
STi Mobile

Any thoughts on which is the best and cheapest? I currently have Tracfone. It's getting to be quite expensive. I make about 300 mintues of calls a month. Looking for the cheapest.

If you want to post prepaid phone deals with prices, fine, but a thread listing carriers isn't a deal and asking for thoughts on the best carriers isn't a deal. That kind of discussion goes in Gadgets, Gear and Phones.

Moderator allisolm

 

[SuPrEIVIE]

T-mobile seems like the best been using it for 3 years, it gives more freedom of minute usage when you become a gold member by spending i thikn 100$ on this service, then your mintues dont expire for awhole year what ever the balance, and you can apply air time whenever you want, so i think T-mobile is the least strict

 

[marvdmartian]

I've used an AT&T gophone for a little over a year now. I wasn't looking for much, just something to make & receive phone calls while I was temporarily without a landline phone. Been good for the times I travel too, and much cheaper than doing credit card calls or collect calls from airports!

They have two plans for callers (your choice). The one I have is $1 for any day I use the phone, plus $0.10/minute. The other one is a straight $0.25/minute, no extra charges. Since I don't make calls every day, it works out pretty well, and I sometimes find myself having to use up minutes, just so the balance doesn't get too high.

They allow you to add minutes either by prepaid cards, online, or (I believe) over the phone with a credit card. Depending on the amount you put on the account, depends on how long it lasts without expiring. Like so:
$15 = 30 days
$25, $50 or $75 = 90 days
$100 = one year

Don't remember for sure, but if you let it lapse, they'll let you hold the phone number for that phone for (I think) 30 days, then you surrender it. Not sure how you'd get a new number after that.

The phone itself was ~$16 at Walmart, and it's a cheap Motorola. Darn belt case for it cost me more than the phone did!! LOL