Call phone providers that sell minutes/data that doesn't expire for a year?

I used to buy yearly Tracfone cards and load my phone once a year.

But now I'm no longer on tracfone and happy going month to month (no contract) with Consumer Cellular.
 
Tracfone is probably most convenient...once you've setup an online account you can add the cheapest refill card to your cart, then add the "additional 365 days" option for $50.

If you already have the minute balance you want you can delete the refill card and just pay for the add'l 365 days for $50...plus taxes/fees, of course.

For DW's Tracfone I pick the cheapest refill card with 90 day expiration then add the add'l 365 day option for a total price of under $80 even after taxes/fees.
 
We were on Pageplus but are able to save more on Redpocket.
$5/month plan
 
Google Fi has a monthly charge, but since you postpay for only the data you use, there is no concept of expiration. Our data bill runs around a buck a month/100MB, more when we are traveling.
 
I'm assuming you're a low user so here is my suggestions.
This RED Pocket is great for a low user, comes out to $2.50 a month. The minutes/data/text renews every month for 12 months for a total cost of $30 for the year using T-Mobile GSM or if you are already a Sprint CDMA customer you may be able to jump on that however it is going away probably by the end of the year.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-50-Mo-Re...customid=5b3c60a293f311ebbd3aee446ae44d1d0INT

Tello does not offer a yearly plan, month to month only BUT if you manually renew before they auto renew you get to rollover your unused data and/or minutes to your new month as long as the new monthly plan includes data and/or minutes. Free unlimited text with any plan. Plans start at $5 a month for 500MB data or 100 minutes w/free unlimited texts. Now using T-Mobile GSM. I have the $5 data plan and use my Google voice app on my phone for any calls and I also have a small pay as you go balance from $20 I added over 2 years ago. I also have 7.5GB of data from manually renewing each month and can also make T-mobile WIFI calls using that data. I've been with them for almost 4 years now, used to be Sprint CDMA and then they merged with T-Mobile and changed to GSM service. If interested PM me for a referral code, we both get $10. This link defaults to $14 a month plan but just click on the arrows to adjust the numbers to what you might be interested in to get a cost. https://tello.com/buy/custom_plans
The only problem with Tello right now is IPHONES do not play well with their new GSM service. That will be fixed at some point but would not recommend to an IPHONE user at this time.
 
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I still have T-Mobile prepaid legacy plan from before 2010 that lasts for a year. It is 3G only but I am totally ok with it as my spare line and I spend $10 to refill it annually. I will very sad when T-Mobile drops 3G support this October.

Red pocket or quarterly Tracfone 360day plan sales (for $39) are the only two I would describe as good deal for low usage users who are not suited for the gov sponsored free cell service.

I used to love Tello but now I dont think they have any advantage over other vendors, prepaid or not. It is true that you can roll over the monthly plan to accumulate minutes and MBs by change to the same plan every month before it expires but that is a lot of the minutes I won't be using. Instead, I become more and more tied up with them but after they screwed up their prepaid transition earlier in 2020 I just don't want to deal with them any more.
 
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teetee said:
I still have T-Mobile prepaid legacy plan from before 2010 that lasts for a year. It is 3G only but I am totally ok with it as my spare line and I spend $10 to refill it annually. I will very sad when T-Mobile drops 3G support this October...
Click to expand...

Just buy a new phone and move the SIM.

I have a couple left on that legacy plan that I use as glovebox phones.
 
ncbill said:
Just buy a new phone and move the SIM.

I have a couple left on that legacy plan that I use as glovebox phones.
Click to expand...
I hope the legacy plan will remain active because right now it appears to operate on 3G network only. I already have the sim moved to a new 4G phone and the voice/text works on the new phone with it. The phone however only shows 3G and when I tried to use data on it(as a test), it asked me to sign into T-Mobile network and when I was in, the website told me to change the plan. That is why I think that legacy plan won't survive the network drop because anytime when I am asked to change, it is always for the better for the provider.
 
ncbill said:
Tracfone is probably most convenient...once you've setup an online account you can add the cheapest refill card to your cart, then add the "additional 365 days" option for $50.

If you already have the minute balance you want you can delete the refill card and just pay for the add'l 365 days for $50...plus taxes/fees, of course.
Click to expand...

I didn't realize you could keep the "additional 365 days" option without buying minutes. Good to know. Thanks. I've always bought more minutes even though I almost never make a voice call on my cell phone. I've got a gazillion minutes I'll never use. :)
 
teetee said:
I still have T-Mobile prepaid legacy plan from before 2010 that lasts for a year. It is 3G only but I am totally ok with it as my spare line and I spend $10 to refill it annually. I will very sad when T-Mobile drops 3G support this October.

....
Click to expand...

I think I might have the same legacy plan, I did upgrade my phone a few times, but have kept the same plan.

When I have $100 worth or more, on the phone I can refill for $10 for another year. So my plan sounds the same. There is no data with my plan.

What will happen in Oct ?

ETA: I just checked my moto g6 phone, and under settings -> sim status it shows it as LTE , which T-mobile says is 4g.
I think this means come October, mine may continue to work with the legacy plan :)
 
Last edited:
teetee said:
I hope the legacy plan will remain active because right now it appears to operate on 3G network only. I already have the sim moved to a new 4G phone and the voice/text works on the new phone with it. The phone however only shows 3G and when I tried to use data on it(as a test), it asked me to sign into T-Mobile network and when I was in, the website told me to change the plan. That is why I think that legacy plan won't survive the network drop because anytime when I am asked to change, it is always for the better for the provider.
Click to expand...

If your T-mobile legacy plan is the same as mine, it does not come with data, so of course when you try to use data, it does not work and asks you to change plans.
 
Sunset said:
If your T-mobile legacy plan is the same as mine, it does not come with data, so of course when you try to use data, it does not work and asks you to change plans.
Click to expand...
That makes perfect sense. Thanks. Yes, the legacy plan used to be the gold membership from T-Mobile prepaid plan you get after $100 was put in. With less than a dollar per month I think it is a great deal to keep the number and service for a emergency phone.
 
RetiredAndLovingIt said:
I'm assuming you're a low user so here is my suggestions.
This RED Pocket is great for a low user, comes out to $2.50 a month. The minutes/data/text renews every month for 12 months for a total cost of $30 for the year using T-Mobile GSM or if you are already a Sprint CDMA customer you may be able to jump on that however it is going away probably by the end of the year.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-50-Mo-Re...customid=5b3c60a293f311ebbd3aee446ae44d1d0INT

Tello does not offer a yearly plan, month to month only BUT if you manually renew before they auto renew you get to rollover your unused data and/or minutes to your new month as long as the new monthly plan includes data and/or minutes. Free unlimited text with any plan. Plans start at $5 a month for 500MB data or 100 minutes w/free unlimited texts. Now using T-Mobile GSM. I have the $5 data plan and use my Google voice app on my phone for any calls and I also have a small pay as you go balance from $20 I added over 2 years ago. I also have 7.5GB of data from manually renewing each month and can also make T-mobile WIFI calls using that data. I've been with them for almost 4 years now, used to be Sprint CDMA and then they merged with T-Mobile and changed to GSM service. If interested PM me for a referral code, we both get $10. This link defaults to $14 a month plan but just click on the arrows to adjust the numbers to what you might be interested in to get a cost. https://tello.com/buy/custom_plans
The only problem with Tello right now is IPHONES do not play well with their new GSM service. That will be fixed at some point but would not recommend to an IPHONE user at this time.
Click to expand...


Thank you all for the information, it's a lot to take in and research. Is there a better coverage map for Red Pocket CDMA network?
 
ncbill said:
Tracfone is probably most convenient...once you've setup an online account you can add the cheapest refill card to your cart, then add the "additional 365 days" option for $50.

If you already have the minute balance you want you can delete the refill card and just pay for the add'l 365 days for $50...plus taxes/fees, of course.

For DW's Tracfone I pick the cheapest refill card with 90 day expiration then add the add'l 365 day option for a total price of under $80 even after taxes/fees.
Click to expand...

I have Tracfone and stumbled onto this little trick a few years ago. Have you noticed that if you buy only the 1-year service time card there are fewer types of taxes because you didn't buy any minutes?
 
RetiredAndLovingIt said:
Not sure if you;re still looking but I stumbled across this Tracfone 365 day plan for $40 and you can use AT&T, T-mobile or Verizon. I've also heard this plan price drops to about $20 around Black Friday.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tracfone-P...customid=8499b2549d3711eb9714d2e5958396b20INT
Click to expand...
The $20 deal for 1yr is sweet. Though it is not the best yet. Many into that deal also used the referral code to get enough points when they sign up. By the end of the 1yr period, they can redeem those points for another year of service so essentially make it into $20/2yr of total 2400min/text and ~6GB data. I personally have enough referral points for 2yrs which makes it even sweeter ($20 for 3yrs, or .5 per month). It is the ultimate plan for low usage users.

For emergency use, some Tracfone users complained that their minutes got reduced to zero if they dont use the phone for over three months. Just another thing that we need the reminder of.
 
Some prepaid monthly plans are getting quite inexpensive. I had a Boost Mobile plan for $10/month for unlimited talk+text and a small about of data. After I upgraded phones they required that I upgrade to a ~35/month plan. Indirectly due to the Sprint and T-Mobile merger.

So I shopped around and found a couple of MVNO in the same price range or even cheaper. I ended up with Hello Mobile for only $5/month with unlimited talk+text and 500 MB of data, so enough data for emergency use, with the ability to purchase data add-ons (I think). I believe Tello Mobile has a similarly priced plan.

I find these prices too good to be true, in that earlier this year the big 3 phone providers paid about $80 billion to the FCC in an auction for C-band spectrum to provide future 5G service. There should be lots of devices connecting eventually, but a simple calculation of 160 Million people using the new spectrum would amount to $500/person before any equipment was deployed.
 
triangle said:
So I shopped around and found a couple of MVNO in the same price range or even cheaper. I ended up with Hello Mobile for only $5/month with unlimited talk+text and 500 MB of data, so enough data for emergency use, with the ability to purchase data add-ons (I think).was deployed.
Click to expand...


Excellent find! Thanks! I just switched my last line to Hello Mobile from Tello for the unlimited voice alone. It costs 9/mo for Tello to have unlimited voice/text and 500MB LTE data, almost double the price.


Do you know if by switching the plan right before the month is up in Hello Mobile, the unused data will be rolled over and added to the new plan? In Tello I do that so though my plan remains to be 500MB data, I have over 6GB balance from a year of monthly manual plan change.
 
triangle said:
Some prepaid monthly plans are getting quite inexpensive. I had a Boost Mobile plan for $10/month for unlimited talk+text and a small about of data. After I upgraded phones they required that I upgrade to a ~35/month plan. Indirectly due to the Sprint and T-Mobile merger.

So I shopped around and found a couple of MVNO in the same price range or even cheaper. I ended up with Hello Mobile for only $5/month with unlimited talk+text and 500 MB of data, so enough data for emergency use, with the ability to purchase data add-ons (I think). I believe Tello Mobile has a similarly priced plan.

I find these prices too good to be true, in that earlier this year the big 3 phone providers paid about $80 billion to the FCC in an auction for C-band spectrum to provide future 5G service. There should be lots of devices connecting eventually, but a simple calculation of 160 Million people using the new spectrum would amount to $500/person before any equipment was deployed.
Click to expand...
That $5 deal is amazing and way better than Tello since it includes unlimited calling and texts AND free international calls and texts to tons of countries. How long have you been using them and have you had any issues at all? For now I'm staying with Tello simply because I have about 3 years worth of referral credits to use but I would certainly consider moving to this plan for the free international calling.
Thanks
 
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