Shopping for Basic Phone and Prepaid Plan (Voice and Moderate Texting)

[eacalhoun]

While my wife and son have embraced the Smartphone world, I have not nor do I anticipate doing so. I "fat finger" the keys on those touch screens and I'm simply happier with my "old man's" flip phone - I'm 45 years old. I am finding that flip phones seem to be getting harder to find. I can even text pretty swiftly using the T9 text entry method. I am looking for something in the vicinity of 120 - 200 minutes per month, and cheap or free texting. Plus, I want keep it at or under $20/monthly. I am primarily looking for feedback from any of you who have used or are currently using plans from the providers I'm considering: PureTalkUSA, Affinity Cellular(for AAA members), Net10, and Tracfone. I really like Net10 and Tracfone, however the way they calculate text charges is confusing. To add further confusion, the text charge differs whether using Pay As You Go or a Monthly Value Plan. So, any feedback would be great - and if there's a provider I've listed, give me your thoughts on them, too. Thanks so much!

Eric

 

[Hall]

It's been 10+ years since we had a pre-paid wireless service, but I've casually looked at them recently a time or two and a couple things STILL seem to apply.... 1) Check the coverage areas they offer. Most piggy-back on the larger carrier's networks so if you know who has good coverage in your area, i.e. VZW, ATT, T-Mo, etc, look for a pre-paid company that uses the same. 2) Text messages still seem to be charged per text, both sent and rec'd ! Well, at least on the lower-end plans. Many do offer plans that include "unlimited", but definitely not in the price range you mentioned.

 

[mike123abc]

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phone-plans/paylo-plans/overview/

Virgin Mobile uses the Sprint network (it is owned by Sprint in the US). They have a $20 plan with 400 minutes but 15cents a text. The $30 plan is 1500 minutes/1500 texts