I used to use the cheap pay as you go phones, but they would fail or be unreliable. I signed up for CC and bought a Samsung phone for $200. Everything works great with them. They are on AT&T Towers.
I used tracfones for 5 years and never had a problem with them. I finally changed when I needed to have a smartphone. I have been using the same phone now for 6 years and will continue to do so till it dies.
I think people that change phones every six months are idiots but it’s their money...
We use 2 Samsung phones on tracfone. They are on Verizon. The phones were $150.00 each