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Old 01-01-2014, 06:40 PM   #61
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I bought the same number of annual Tracfone minutes a few days ago, but I paid $109.79. Hey, you saved $2.00!
I just top off every 3 months for 60 minutes at $20. $80 annual. We get the bonus minutes which makes it 2x minutes. DW has 1000+ minutes, she needs to talk more. I have a lot too. Mostly use it on vacations.
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Old 01-01-2014, 06:51 PM   #62
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Originally Posted by Lsbcal View Post
I just top off every 3 months for 60 minutes at $20. $80 annual. We get the bonus minutes which makes it 2x minutes. DW has 1000+ minutes, she needs to talk more. I have a lot too. Mostly use it on vacations.
If you don't need the minutes, buy a 30 min card then at check out it gives an option to buy 1 year of time only for $50. It saves a few $$ if you don't need minutes.
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Old 01-01-2014, 07:15 PM   #63
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I need to remember these great hints for buying the Tracfone time next year, but I will probably forget!
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Old 01-01-2014, 07:50 PM   #64
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If you don't need the minutes, buy a 30 min card then at check out it gives an option to buy 1 year of time only for $50. It saves a few $$ if you don't need minutes.
Sounds like a convenient way to go, thanks.
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Old 01-01-2014, 09:11 PM   #65
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I just top off every 3 months for 60 minutes at $20. $80 annual. We get the bonus minutes which makes it 2x minutes. DW has 1000+ minutes, she needs to talk more. I have a lot too. Mostly use it on vacations.
I used to do the $20 every 90 days, but a couple of times I almost forgot, and if you miss the date, apparently you lose your phone number and have to get a new one. So this year, to be on the safe side, I bought time for the entire year. The memory isn't what it used to be sometimes.
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Old 01-01-2014, 09:34 PM   #66
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Here in Thailand dumbphone service can be very cheap if you buy cards instead of having a contract. Last year I spent a total of about $6.
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Old 01-08-2014, 11:56 AM   #67
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We are switching to Republic Wireless. They have 4 plans to choose from $5 - $40 a month. They only offer one phone but it is a pretty good one. The phone uses WiFi for everything when it's available and if not then it uses sprint network. If there is no sprint signal then it roams to Verizon's network. We just made a trip to northern New Hampshire and the service was just as good on the $10 month plan as it was on my Verizon phone that I am paying $200 a month for three phones! Check them out if you don't need the latest and greatest iPhone😀

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I've been keeping an eye on them just to see how well their model works. (For us, it's a non-issue since, as I said above, we only have AT&T here.) But for me personally, the beef I have with Republic is that you have little choice in phones, AND (worse, IMO) that phone is hopelessly and forever locked into Republic. That's not a problem if you love the service and use it for years, but if it doesn't work for you, that phone becomes a brick.

Circumstances are different for different people, of course, but just as I no longer ever want a contract, I never want to use a locked phone ever again. I bought a Nexus 4 shortly before they were discontinued and after their last $100 price cut, for $199 and totally unlocked.
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Yep that is the only catch but if you just want unlimited voice and text and data for a really good price it is a great option. And the phone is a pretty good one too. I figure in 4 months I will break even and then I will be saving at least $100 a month with no difference in the service I have.

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Let us know more about your experience with Republic Wireless. I'm looking into it for a relative who is trying to update everything and lower costs (computer, internet, phone, TV).

I agree with ziggy, I prefer unlocked GSM, but as you say, if you can stick to the $10 plan most months, the payback likely makes it a non-issue in about a year. And I would think you could sell it on ebay to others looking to sign up for RW?

-ERD50
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Old 01-08-2014, 12:14 PM   #68
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I got a cell phone after having a flat in the middle of nowhere. But its not a smart phone, because I am retired and have internet service at home. Don't carry the cell phone unless I am travelling because the car has On-Star so if it breaks down I use it. (if you subscribe to on-star you get towing). I have had to change the cell phone twice, the first because the old model was no longer being supported by the carrier, and the second because the battery swelled up. Last year I still managed to find a non smart phone, but it has a camera, but I don't use it.
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Old 01-08-2014, 12:35 PM   #69
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My solution to avoid dependency (*) is to run a decidedly non-smart old Nokia phone, and then have a tablet (Google Nexus 7) for travelling. The Nexus has WiFi but no phone-based data connection. So when on the road, I regularly find myself obliged to read books (or PDFs - a nice feature!) on the Kindle app, or (shock!) talk to people. But I can also get my e-mails fairly quickly at any SBUX, McD, etc if I want. Plus, smartphone screens are so *small*, unless you have one of those "phablets" (5.8-inch screen), which then look ridiculous when you have to actually make a phone call.


(*) That said, I spend a lot of time at home where there are two proper computers...
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Old 02-08-2014, 01:52 PM   #70
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If you have ATT, definitely check out their new pricing on shared mobile plans. Four smartphones sharing 10 GB of data, with unlimited calling and texting = $160 per month. We used to pay $185, and each person was limited to 200 MB per month. Decent $$ savings, but access to 12+ times more data.
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