That sounds like a good plan. I've kept a small TracFone active for the past few years....costs us $7 a month...we just carry it when we are away from the house. If you are like us, and have no use for "Tweeting and Texting", it doesn't make sense to pay more than a few dollars a month to stay in contact.
Have you tried the T-Mobile Pay As You Go plan for just $3 month for 30 minutes and 10 cents a minute after 30 minutes? If so, how did you like it? I am considering getting it because I would just use it if and when I had an emergency. Otherwise, I will use my land line.
AprilSun, I've used this plan for years and I LOVE it. It costs me almost nothing because I use it very little; I am not a big phone talker, I don't text and I don't want/need internet on my phone. Try it -- you'll save a fortune!
AprilSun, I've used this plan for years and I LOVE it. It costs me almost nothing because I use it very little; I am not a big phone talker, I don't text and I don't want/need internet on my phone. Try it -- you'll save a fortune!
Butterfly, I hope you don't mind answering some questions for me. Just how does this plan work? Do you pay per month and if so, how, or do you purchase several months in advance and then each month is deducted when you use it? Does it expire or does it stay activated as long as you have a balance or are using it or do I have to keep buying more months/minutes to keep it activated? I'm trying to stay away from plans that are like the Boost Mobile where I had to keep purchasing more minutes just to keep it activated regardless of how many more minutes I still hadn't used. I have read about it on the T-Mobile site but I like to hear about it from a first hand experienced user.
AprilSun, I buy a certain number of minutes, say $50.00 worth, and then when those run low (takes me forever to use up $50 worth of minutes at 10 cents a minute) I add more minutes by either calling them or online. They deduct the $3.00 per month from your minutes balance. The minutes never expire and it stays activated (I guess it would deactivate if you didn't have enough $ left in minutes to pay the $3/mo fee. They send you a warning message if you are running out of minutes if you lose track, or there's a combination of numbers you can press on your phone so you can find out how many minutes/$ you have left, or you can just call 'em up and ask them. I usually add minutes maybe once or twice a year.
I have been delighted with the service and have had absolutely NO problems with it. I just convinced my sister to get rid of her terribly overpriced Verizon plan and she is very happy with the T-Mobile thing -- she doesn't talk much on her phone, either and was throwing lots of $$ down the drain every month for phone service. She was able to move her old number over to T-mobile, though she did have to buy another phone (reasonably priced flip phone,which is what she wanted) to replace the dinosaur of a phone she already had.
There is no contract or anything like that, so if you don't like it you can just walk away or go to another company.
If you have any more questions, I'm happy to answer them. I'm a BIG fan of this T-Mobile plan and it has been the perfect plan for me. I've had it at about 7 years now, more or less.
AprilSun, I'm not sure what her phone is, but I'll ask her. She bought it from T-Mobile. One caveat, if you are shopping for phones to take to T-Mobile, check first to see that they are compatible.
The T-mobile website says this, "GSM-capable phones that support Band II (1900 MHz) or IV (1700/2100 MHz) are compatible with T-Mobile's network. CDMA phones are not compatible with the T-Mobile network. Additionally, phones may need to be unlocked to operate on T-Mobile's network" which is what we were told when we went to talk to T-mobile. ALSO, Verizon uses CDMA technology and their phones will not work with T-Mobile. I have no idea what CDMA or GSM mean or how they are different.
If you have a T-Mobile store in your area, go in and talk to them about what phones will work before you buy one. When you either buy a phone from them or bring in a compatible device, they will set it all up for you, put in the sim card and even transfer your contacts, etc., be sure your old service is properly cancelled and transport your number. That's what we did when my sister switched. There may be a charge for setup, but if there is, it isn't much, and IMHO well worth it because I'm not a whiz at setting up electronic stuff and when it comes to phones I am dumb as a stump.
I'd go in a store rather than buying online. The store we used here was very friendly and helpful, wasn't pushy about buying, and didn't talk down to old ladies who clearly had very little idea what they were doing and understood none of the technical stuff. We went back there a couple of times to get them to tweak her phone setup and they were friendly and helpful and didn't charge us anything.
I have the T-Mobile plan and I don't pay for calls I don't answer, like telemarketers. I would certainly advise the T-mobile plan over the AT&T plan. The T-mobile plan costs me almost nothing and I've had zero problems with it over the several years (about 5 years) I've had it.
Try it for a while and if you don't like it, you can just stop refilling the minutes. My plan has no contract whatsoever, so you aren't tied to it. I purchased my phone outright, so the price of it wasn't tied to the plan. You can use any unlocked phone (as long as it is compatible with the T-mobile system -- you can check that out online).
I've known people including myself that have experience with many of those plans. I'd say Trac Phone and Tmobile the best. The problem is at the 30 or 90 day mark that service ends, no grace period unless you get a monthly bill. Again be prepared to have service cut on the date it's scheduled to, there is no leeway. But you can go pay 10 days later and get service restored without fees or penalties. I've delayed paying simply to avoid calls for a few days, the landline rings but don't have to worry about the cell for a while.