[k2blader]

Any suggestions/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.. :o)

[speed_addiction]

I use a Tracfone. The phone was $100, it came with 20 minutes. I use less than a hundred minutes a month. 200 minutes cost about $39.

You have to buy time every three months or you lose service. I have no problems, it works anywhere. Have been using this for 2 years and I pretty much like it.


What We Are About To Do Here Is What The Good Lord Would Call A Cleansing of the Wicked. I Call It A Good Old Fashioned Texas Ass Kicking.

[ZGuy]

My sister in law uses TracPhone. We're switching over to T-Mobile in a week or two. You may have a problem with either system though, because I believe the covered areas for the prepaid phones are nowhere's near as comprehensive as for regular cellular phones.

We live in a major metropolitan area so the coverage for us will be fine for how we'll use it, but when we travel we take my regular work cell phone which has full coverage.

For how we'll use the prepaid phone, our bill should be around $5/month instead of the $24/month we're now paying.

[Maximus of Texas]

[FateAmenableToChange]

I use verizon prepay. $15 bucks per month gets you about 2 hours of talk time.

[Roses0508]

I have one of those unlimited minutes, unlimited long distance LOCAL cell phones. So when I travel I use a Tracfone.

I bought a years time coverage which came with 400 minutes or something and then doubles your minutes each time you add minutes. So you get 12 months time plus the minutes. Then when you add minutes, you get additional time, plus double the minutes.

Coverage almost everywhere but poor in the mountains of NC around Ashville and Black Mountain, but then fancier systems drop their coverage there also. So far I'm pleased with it. Its certainly inexpensive and in the South you can buy additional minutes at Wal-Mart, gas stations, grocery stores, drugs stores - practically anywhere.

You can conserve minutes by text messaging - you know arrival times, flight times, I'm stuck in traffic, etc to make it really economical.

[politicalwit]

take a look at http://www.net10.com

pre-paid phone...division of Tracfone

[not_apathetic_anymore]

I'm in the same situation as you...I don't use my minutes and am sick of a 50.00 a month wireless bill after all the fees etc are added.

I've been looking at Virgin wireless. (Sprint network leased to Virgin) What looks good to me is you can sign up for an auto plan where it'll add 15.00 a a crack to your bill and you work against that, once you get down to 5.00 - whether a day later or a month later it'll add another 15.00.

They will 15.00 at least once every 3 months whether you use the minutes or not, but I figure that's 5.00 a month (it's billed at .25 a min for the first 10 minutes a day) so my 20 minutes a month just about equals that 5.00.

I like that you don't have to keep track of how many minutes are left, and if you have a busy month and use all 15 minutes it keeps up with usage.

My hesitation...around here sprint apparently has a more dropped calls etc. and 2) you can't roam. So if you leave sprint area, you're out of luck.

I'll look at some of the other suggestions that have been made though

[wjersey]

Tracfone has a deal in my area - Free phone, one year service, 250 minutes - $94.98

http://www.tracfone-orders.com/direct/tr/itemdetl.jsp?prod=2611&tech=TOGSM4&techzip=08097

[SaintDismas]

Its too bad that Cricket isn't nationwide. I think thats true anyway. Not sure. But for $50/mo you can get 500 long distance minutes and unlimited local calls. And now they have added a deal where you can get a "Flex Bucket", which is an extra 5/mo, and you prepay for your calls you make outside the coverage area while traveling. I was going to switch until they added that because your Cricket phone is completely worthless after you leave the area (Wichita area)

[Kevin OMalley]

Sign up as a 2nd phone under a friend's or family member's plan. We signed up my sister at $10/month, and she can use 120 minutes (she rarely uses more than 15).