Latest cheap emergency cell phone deal

[cute fuzzy bunny]

It means the old cheap plan (on their tdma network) isnt going to be available anymore. They have a newer GSM network that costs more. TDMA and GSM is how the specific phone communicates with the specific network. Different providers use different methods of communication. Beyond rents time on at&t's old tdma network (now cingular) and its an old network...cingular will probably take it out of service. But you can still get beyond wireless's gsm plan for more money. I heard cingulars new pay-as-you-go plan is also improving.

I dropped STI mobile like a hot potato when they added the 10c a day charge right AFTER a ton of people bought their phones. My son uses the phone for a toy now.

I got a t-mobile to go phone (three of them actually) last year. Put $100 on it and that gave me 1000 minutes good for a year. They told me that the $100 put me in their "gold rewards" group, so any minutes added within a year were good for a year, and I got a 15% minute bonus. So I added ten bucks to the phone a month before the 1000 minutes expired and the unused minutes all rolled forward another year.

I dont know if that trick works a second time for ten bucks or if I have to put another hundred on it next year to reattain gold status. And I've read their terms and conditions until my eyes bled without figuring it out. Either way...$55 a year for an emergency cell phone is pretty dang cheap.

 

[Martha]

If you wanted to give an emergency phone with some minutes to someone, can they run up extra minutes over and above what you pay for when you get the phone? Or must any minutes be paid for in advance? I am specifically thinking about an emergency cell phone for a person who may not be responsible as to its use.

Also, I have heard about cell phones for kids that can be programed to only call certain numbers (like home). Anyone know anything about this?

 

[lazyday]

Also, I have heard about cell phones for kids that can be programed to only call certain numbers (like home). Anyone know anything about this?

I saw a "firefly" phone on clearance pretty cheap at Target, that seemed to do this, but I don't know how much service costs, or how stable the company is.

, can they run up extra minutes over and above what you pay for when you get the phone?

I doubt it, but if you're concerned, you can probably pay cash for the minutes and phone, so noone can try to collect from you. Might be flagged as suspicious though and records kept of all calls... :

My answers above are tentative, hopefully someone else knows more.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Prepaid phones are just that. When they run out, you get a message saying you need to buy more. That can be done using the same phone and dialing customer service on it (usually 611 or *611), on the internet, or by buying a card in a store and punching it into the phone.

The firefly is a phone for children. Its tiny and uses prepaid minutes and has a "daddy" and "mommy" button on it. It is possible to program the phone to make other calls and to accept calls from certain numbers. Something I'd consider getting for Gabe when he's a bit older for him to use in the event of an emergency.

 

[VoyT]

  Beyond rents time on at&t's old tdma network (now cingular) and its an old network...cingular will probably take it out of service. 

Last time I talked with gbw, they were expecting Cingular to support the network through the end of next year, though with the AT&T deal, it could be sooner. Sounds like I may need to keep T-mobile in mind for the eventuality. I've also heard good things about Virgin Mobile, too, though I haven't checked out their coverage.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

The coverage maps are key. If your areas of use arent covered, no deal is good.

My recollection was that the cheap phones virgin had were some oddball audiovox or other lower tier maker vs the nokia and motorola phones I could get for the same price as t-mobiles. And I have this weird aversion to short term minute expiration even if they have automatic payments and rollovers...I know exactly whats going to fail to work at some point (the automatic rollover), and who is going to end up holding the bag (me). Thats why I liked the 1 year expiration deal with t-mobile...that I got the minutes to extend another year for ten bucks was a bonus.

Note that our cell phone use is pretty mild. I might call the wife from the car to ask "what the heck was on the shopping list that I didnt bring?"...maybe one or two calls every day or two for a minute or two.

 

[VoyT]

  Well, it would be helpful if VM had a nationwide coverage map instead of making me plug in various cities ... sheesh. T-Mobile does look pretty good right now ...
      It's been very nice not having to worry about buying more air time, so I'm hoping gbw can hold onto that network a while longer.
    Our cell phone use at home isn't much, either. I have to remind DH to keep his in his car.  For us, the real use comes during travel .. nice to avoid those phone fees at the hotels.  So national coverage is crucial.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Yep, beyond wireless was amazing while it lasted. I had an old at&t free2go phone, called them up, they gave me a miami FL number (sort of fun "being in miami" when I used it), and 35 free minutes. No cost.

I plugged the charger into my dads center console power outlet and dropped the phone into the console with instructions on how to make a call, and programmedmy numbers and the number of roadside assistance/towing companies in all the areas he visits. Put an outlook reminder in every 7 weeks to make a "keep alive" call on it. Still has 29 of the 'free' minutes left.

If the tdma network is still available in a couple of years when those free minutes run out (presuming he - god willing - never has to make an emergency call), he can decide if having it made him feel better enough to spend $100 on a t-mobile phone.

Nice to have a 3 year, free beta test...

 

[d]

haven't seen it mentioned, so I'll give it a plug: Tracfone.  I got a phone and 450 minutes, 15 months service, for about $120.  They use the Cingular system, which is clearly the best for my needs, and my usage is absolutely minimal.  (annual service can be purchased so there's no need for a montly charge.)

If you don't use the phone much, this is the best deal I could find. (my previous service was $11/mo + time used, but on the old network ... couldn't get a replacement phone which was needed.)

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Whatcha paying? Last time I checked tracfone you had to either keep plugging in new cards every 90 days or buy a "1 year service with double minutes" for about $140, and the total minutes was somewhere around the 300-500. Didnt tempt me from the t-mobile togo 1000 minutes for a year for $100.

Nice that the phone tells you right on the display how many minutes are left and when they expire though. Seems to need to be kept a secret by a lot of these outfits.

 

[d]

Whatcha paying?

as stated: I got a phone and 450 minutes, 15 months service, for about $120.  They run "deals" periodically, but their current prices for 1yr service is $99 (250 minutes) or $130 (400 minutes).  My usage is quite limited (have likely never exceeded 10 minutes per month, usually <5), and the area coverage suits my needs.  Granted, if you use more time, this might not be the way to go.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Whoops, you did say and I missed it. Fooey.

Seems like a good deal for lower usage. Although I dont use all of my t-mobile minutes, so far i've been able to roll them forward.

We do have sporadic periods of high use. Like when my wife was going to deliver a baby anyminitnow and I was over at her old house trying to finish the remodel before it happened. Its nice to have the extra time when stuff like that happens.

 

[justin]

I'll second the tracfone recommendation for low cost. We get ~450/minutes with the 1 year card for $100.

Or buy a new phone every 4 months for ~$25. It'll come with 2 months free service and 20 minutes of time, plus a 2 month add on card with 60-80 minutes of time.

Tracfone constantly has special deals and promotions on their website and you can google "tracfone coupons" for more discounts.

I prefer the easier $90/yr and you get to keep your phone number. Call quality, roaming and coverage area is great.

Customer service sucks pretty bad for tracfone. Their "bilingual" customer service reps frequently have trouble with English. And anything out of the ordinary is usually met with a lie like "that is an unsupported feature that Tracfone can't help you with" which really means "I don't know what I'm talking about and can't call up the local cellular company that we rebrand your service from".

You can also get a free 120 minutes (and 2 months of service) when you are referred to tracfone through their "refer a friend" offer. The referrer also gets the 120 minutes and 2 months of service, so you can use this to get free airtime and minutes if you and your spouse/kid both use tracfone. Just keep getting new phones every few months and take advantage of the referral bonuses.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'd have to disagree with the tracfone recommendation.

If you go with STImobile they'll charge you 10 cents a day (or $36.50/year). 450 minutes purchased at cheapphonecards.com would cost between (under plan I - $45 and $54 depending on what time of day you make calls). Therefore the total would be less than $90.50 per year. Any minutes that you didn't use would roll over to the next year. Extra minutes beyond 450/year cost a fourth of what they do under Trackfone's plan.

If you are like me and only use maybe 10 minutes per month then your cost would drop to only $50.90 per year.

I got a free phone with rebate from STImobile. And their flip-phone is quite a bit better than the disposable phone that Tracfone gives you.

Stimobile also allows very cheap international rates. Stimobile uses the Sprint network so call clarity and access are great.

 

[justin]

I like the convenience of adding a 1 yr card once per year w/ my tracfone (my wife actually uses it).

How does the stimobile $0.10 charge per day get paid? Does it come out of your prepaid balance? In other words, does a $100 card buy you 1000 days of service (assuming you never make a call)? I might be tempted into switching to STImobile if that is the case. Only adding a prepaid card every 2-3 years sounds pretty good!

Looks like STImobile charges an extra $0.10 per minute for voicemail retrieval and a $5 setup/activation fee as well.

 

[MasterBlaster]

yes the Stimobile daily charge (10 cents) comes out of your prepaid balance.

Your comments are indeed true about voicemail and the activation fee.

However when I received my phone I got a free $10 card that allowed activation and a few very short calls. I don't know what they do nowadays.

One other little zinger. You need to make at least one 1-minute call every 60 days or your account goes inactive and you'll need to pay the activation fee again.

 

[d]

it does sound good (vs tracfone) but the tracfone area/coverage better suit my needs

 

[Texas Proud]

The cheapest right now is Virgin... but only for a short time.. buy a $50 phone and get $40 talk time or about 160 minutes...

if you do auto reload, then only $15 every three months

 

[Papi]

I finally bought the emergency cell phone this weekend.  I decided upon the Virgin deal : $60/year ($15 auto-reload every 3 months) and a cheap $29 phone.  Because we rarely plan on using it, I could really care less about minutes or surfing the web, etc.   And it works where I need it to work.

And we are the last folks on our street to get a cell phone