TracFone Motorolla Prepaid Cell Phone Bundle - $9.88 (Was $14.88) @ Walmart.com

[noehlp]

TracFone Motorola W260-4 Prepaid Cellular Phone Bundle with Double Minutes for the Life of Your Phone (A $50 value)

 

Now $9.88 Was $14.99

Ship to store eligible

 

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/61/69/60/00/0061696000873_215X215.jpg

[tokanm]

Wow that is a great idea. I always use one of these if I am traveling and roaming charges are just too high

[cassgurlie04]

we bought this for my 8 almost 9 yr old for christmas because he was just dying to have a cell phone. we figured this would be a good start to see if he can be responsible. the phone is great so far, very easy to use, and it was a great buy!

[dawnette123]

So it says you can text message but how does it charge for that? So many minutes or something? Sorry, not too savvy about tech stuff.

[luvadeal46]

I haven't had good luck with tracfone lately... the last two i have purchased never worked.. I got them activated however couldn't send or receive calls....so we have moved on to net10 for now...

However upon talking to someone who knows the tech issues.. he stated that tracfone in our area are running out of local numbers and this is the problem that it is causing... not being able to send or receive calls.... so with the net10 we bought for son for christmas we used not a local number to activate it and it worked perfectly....

 

almost makes me want to purchase one of the tracfone and activate it with not a local number and see what happens....

[goldie]

So it says you can text message but how does it charge for that? So many minutes or something? Sorry, not too savvy about tech stuff.

I think text is around 0.33 minute. Cheaper than talk time.

[luvadeal46]

yes i have heard 3 text per minute....

[jhaferm]

Does anyone know how long this deal will last? What happens if you buy and the phone doesn't get reception in your home? I am thinking about doing this to replace our home phone.

We use internet phone but they have been real inconsistent as far as reliability. I really need a phone so that when I am not here my kids can call me or I can call them. I have two teenagers that have cell phones but my son is not good about keeping it on at home (keeps it on vibrate at school and forgets to change it). My daughter is pretty good about it but she is gone a lot and my other son is here alone sometimes with my younger dd's. He is not ready for a cell phone of his own yet so I am trying to think of options.

[CarpeDiem]

says it wont work in my area =( I know people who have trac phones here humm

[luvadeal46]

If you going to get rid of your home phone... i would go with a plan cell phone service. We recently went with us cellular and we pay $90 a month for four phones with one phone having text messaging... ds age 14.. We are able to talk for free after 7:00 pm to 7:00am everyday and weekends are free.... we also can talk to anyone with us cellular for free at anytime....we have gotten rid of our landline phone...

[jhaferm]

If you going to get rid of your home phone... i would go with a plan cell phone service. We recently went with us cellular and we pay $90 a month for four phones with one phone having text messaging... ds age 14.. We are able to talk for free after 7:00 pm to 7:00am everyday and weekends are free.... we also can talk to anyone with us cellular for free at anytime....we have gotten rid of our landline phone...

Wow, that's a great price! US Cellular doesn't work here. I have Verizon (cannot change anytime soon) and I pay $160 for 3 phones 1700 min. and free text. It is $10 a month to add another phone so that's why I was thinking about the track phone.

[cassgurlie04]

The phone goes down by .30 of a minute for each text.

[kerryjo]

I bought a similar Tracfone bundle as a backup to keep in my car. I have left the house in a hurry and not had my phone, and the same has happened with my daughters. I just ordered this one for DH. That way, we always have a spare phone, just in case we forget ours, have a malfunction, no charger in the car, etc. You can set these phones to be able to buy minutes from the phone, which also aids in an emergency, or you can just get a spare minutes card, and keep it in the car with the phone to activate it if ever needed.

[krucook]

Does this come with minutes or do you purchase them separately?

[cassgurlie04]

upon registering my sons phone online he was credited with 20 minutes

[sammypj]

We have one already (different model) and love it, so I ordered another one as a backup. It is a great deal with double minutes included. You do order the minutes separately but it is very cost effective. I usually just go online and order the minutes when we are getting low, but you can also do it from your phone.

[jhaferm]

I ordered one of these last night. I figured for the price I can always use it. Does anyone know what the Tracfone one year airtime card is? The description says:

 

* Adds 400 minutes and 365 days of service

* Nationwide network coverage

* Minutes accumulate with active service

 

It says "Adds one year of service to end date". What does "end date" mean and why would anyone pay $99 for this when they can get the 200 min card for $39.99 and would end up with 400 min?

 

Thanks!

[sammypj]

I ordered one of these last night. I figured for the price I can always use it. Does anyone know what the Tracfone one year airtime card is? The description says:

 

* Adds 400 minutes and 365 days of service

* Nationwide network coverage

* Minutes accumulate with active service

 

It says "Adds one year of service to end date". What does "end date" mean and why would anyone pay $99 for this when they can get the 200 min card for $39.99 and would end up with 400 min?

 

Thanks!

A regular purchase of minutes comes with 90 days of service. As long as you are on top of it and use the phone with some regularity it shouldn't be a problem. But if you were buying this for emergencies only and don't use it much, you might lose track of end (term) date. I believe phone service on your phone will terminate on the end date, if you don't have any activity and you don't "re-up" with minutes purchase. So for some, it might just be convenience and peace of mind to know that they have a full year of service and they don't have to do anything. They wouldn't have to keep track of when the terms expire. I hope that makes sense.

[MonsterMutts]

Just make sure you call and tell them that you have the Double minutes. After waiting for 15 min to have some lady from India tell me I don't have a phone that s compatable for double minutes, I hung up on her and called back. The next India lady was super fast and got me set up in about 5 min.

[jhaferm]

A regular purchase of minutes comes with 90 days of service. As long as you are on top of it and use the phone with some regularity it shouldn't be a problem. But if you were buying this for emergencies only and don't use it much, you might lose track of end (term) date. I believe phone service on your phone will terminate on the end date, if you don't have any activity and you don't "re-up" with minutes purchase. So for some, it might just be convenience and peace of mind to know that they have a full year of service and they don't have to do anything. They wouldn't have to keep track of when the terms expire. I hope that makes sense.

So, when you buy minutes they are only good for 90 days and the one year card keeps your phone active for a year plus you get 400 bonus minutes? Am I understanding this right? Are the 400 bonus minutes eligible for doubling?

 

Thanks!

[sammypj]

So, when you buy minutes they are only good for 90 days and the one year card keeps your phone active for a year plus you get 400 bonus minutes? Am I understanding this right? Are the 400 bonus minutes eligible for doubling?

 

Thanks!

I don't think the minutes expire after 90 days as long as you keep the service going. In other words, as long as you add more minutes before the term date on the service, you will automatically keep a rolling balance. The shorter term airtimes are referred to as "pay as you go", so you basically keep extending the term on your phone every 90 days. How many minutes you pay for (to go along with the 90 day service) will depend on your usage. We usually buy 200 minutes at a time and get 400 for that same price. This is a great option for those not wanting to lock into anything long-term.

 

I just took a quick look and it does appear the one year plan includes 365 days of service as well as 400 minutes which will be doubled. As PP said, you should mention when you call to activate that you are getting double minutes for the life of your phone service.

[cathyt927]

I've been using tracfone for about 2 years now. Their csr svce often leaves a lot to be desired, but once the phone is operational, (No Mr. Csr Svce... Sending me out a 4th new Sim card will NOT solve the problem...) they work really well. I'm in Upstate NY and I've gotten service in area's where some of the big guys (Verizon) had a hard time.

 

Good points...

 

The minutes roll over. If you have a 90 minute card and a 200 minute card, you will get 290 minutes (580 with a Double Minutes for life phone).

 

There are lots of bonus codes available to give you even more time. IE Add a 1 year/400 minute card and get 300 bonus minutes.

 

The service days add on to the end of your service. If you have 45 days left and add a new card with 90 days, you will then have 135 service days.

 

There is no additional charges on the days you use the phone. Some prepaids only charge you .10 cents a minute, but there is a 1.00 charge for each day you use the phone.

 

Bad points...

 

Their customer service is the worst. I don't know if it's the language barrier or what, but I dread when I have to call them. I've gone out and bought a new phone rather than deal with them. They seem to use a script and if you ask something that is not on their script, they have NO CLUE what to do and need to 'talk to a supervisor.'

 

If you are only going to use the phone for emergencies, tracfone works great. It's the cheapest because their aircards give you 90 days of service.

[jhaferm]

Thanks for all of the help everyone, you guys are great!

 

I feel better knowing that the minutes do not expire after the 90 days, that's what I thought the other poster meant.

 

I didn't know anything about the $1.00 a day either. None of this is posted on the link at WM where I bought this phone. I have never had prepaid before so I don't know all of the in's and out's of using them. So do you have to have a credit card on file for the $1.00?

 

Hopefully, this phone will work in my home. Right now the only service that does is Verizon and I am paying way too much for their service. I just want this phone to use in our house as a home phone for me to call my kids or for them to call me when I'm not here. For regular calls we have our cell phones but not all of my kids have one.

 

If this works out I might get another Tracfone for my dd10 in a year instead of adding her to my already high Verizon plan. I will have to see how we do cost wise with the Tracfone.

[jhaferm]

Sorry for all of the questions but I really need some help with these phones. I went to Tracfones website to try to find out if there is a $1.00 per day fee (if phone is used) but I can't find anything. I did see something about a fee per minute card you buy based on the minutes on the card.

 

I thought these were supposed to be "easy" to understand but it looks as though there is a lot of small print and conditions. I haven't received my phone yet but I am wondering if it is worth the trouble.

 

Can someone help me understand these a little better? At least with my high priced Verizon phones I don't have to worry about the phone expiring or being charged extra fees.

 

Thanks for the help!

[Melissa]

Tracfone does NOT charge $1.00 per day. There are NO fees other than what you spend on the cards.

[jhaferm]

Tracfone does NOT charge $1.00 per day. There are NO fees other than what you spend on the cards.

Thanks! The only reason I asked is because someone posted it in a previous post.

[sammypj]

Sorry for all of the questions but I really need some help with these phones. I went to Tracfones website to try to find out if there is a $1.00 per day fee (if phone is used) but I can't find anything. I did see something about a fee per minute card you buy based on the minutes on the card.

 

I thought these were supposed to be "easy" to understand but it looks as though there is a lot of small print and conditions. I haven't received my phone yet but I am wondering if it is worth the trouble.

 

Can someone help me understand these a little better? At least with my high priced Verizon phones I don't have to worry about the phone expiring or being charged extra fees.

 

Thanks for the help!

Our experience has been all positive. There are absolutely no hidden fees. You pay as you go, and you decide on how much at a time. After the expense of the phone, all you pay for is the minutes. We love it for the fact that we aren't locked into a contract. We have also had really good reception and have been in places where others were not getting service but Tracfone did!

[jhaferm]

Our experience has been all positive. There are absolutely no hidden fees. You pay as you go, and you decide on how much at a time. After the expense of the phone, all you pay for is the minutes. We love it for the fact that we aren't locked into a contract. We have also had really good reception and have been in places where others were not getting service but Tracfone did!

Thanks!

[JenSully]

Does the 1 year service/400 minutes get doubled with this deal?

[notatenanine]

I thought that I would add for those considering getting one as a first phone for their kids that you might want to check with your carrier to see what type of deals they have. We got a pay as you go for our ds15. We have Verizon as our plan and they wanted BIG bucks to add him to our plan. So I bought a Verizon phone on eBay for $20. Took into our local store and had it setup. We pay $15 a month for unlimited text and voice is about .10 a minute. For a teenager..its all about texting.

 

 

We had a pay as you go through Alltel and that plan was great too for price. They told me that they could setup any of their phones for pays as you.

 

Sadly - we can not use Tracfone - reception is very poor.