Chuck - did you get on the "12/20 plan"? It may still be valid.
Call 611 and ask them to put you on it; if pressed, tell them you got an email about it but cant remember the details.
On the 12/20 plan, they give you 20 minutes free every month for a year, and this automatically rolls your minutes over. You must add a $25 card to the phone by the end of the month of being put on this plan. After that, if you're using less than 20 minutes a month (plus the minutes your $25 got you), you dont have to pay a penny for 15 months in total (12 months for the auto rollover and then the residual minutes dont expire for an additional 3 months).
Best deal after that is to buy the $100 cards on ebay for the lowest price you can get with no tax and no shipping costs (since they just email you the code from the card). Those minutes last a full year.
So far we've used the phone 3-4 times a month, and my cost will be $1.67 a month for 15 months. After the 12/20 program runs out and I go for the $100 per year, its $8.34 a month but I'll use it more.
In fact, since the phones are free and the minutes so cheap, the next time this deal rolls around I'll probably pick up a second one and put one permanently in each of our two cars glove compartments.
However, NOT a good plan if you're spending more than 10-20 minutes a month using it. The best heavier use plan goes to my old regional carrier and their prime competitor; Surewest and MetroPCS. Forget the big name guys, these two offer unlimited incoming and outgoing minutes 24x7, and unlimited long distance nationwide for $40 a month. For two years I didnt even have a landline phone, just this and a cable modem. Call anyone anywhere and talk as long as you want for no additional cost!