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Help?? Advice about Prepaid phones


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Looking for a very simple prepaid phone for my mom who is technology challenged...so what type of phone do I get and is there something to llook for that I should be aware of? Anyone have advice/tips??
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How much will she be using the phone?

 

My sister has the Go Phone and loves it. If anyone she is calling regularly will have AT&T/Cingular then that is the way to go. Because with it you can call any other customers for free. However, you are charged a dollar for every day you use the phone.

 

Other people would rather opt for the TracPhone.

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I use T-Mobile prepaid and love it. The phone I have now, I got for free with the purchase of refill minutes at Target. It's very basic and easy to use. I have a Nokia 2610. I tried to link it, but it kept going to the wrong phone. Edited by becca0884
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I got my son a Virgin wireless phone from Target, it is the Aloha model is on clearence for $9.99 and he really likes it. You buy the prepaid cards and you are good to go. He has no problems with reception/service, and $20 every months works great.
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It will depend on the coverage for the area in which she will be making calls. We used Virgin mobile and never had an issue.

 

However there is usually some fine print with each pay as you go that you need to note. I know, at the time when we had Virgin, you had to purchase more minutes every 90 days. We used it rarely and ended up getting rid of the phone and losing money because minutes were still on it.

 

I thought about getting my Mom and Dad on our family plan with our wireless service. Adding a line is around $10 and then phone to phone is free. However, the coverage area around my folks home isn't so great for our wireless service.

 

If that is an option, adding your mom onto your plan, it may be the cheapest and easiest.

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net10.com is the best for us...works out to basically 15/month but thats it...your 15$ is 150 minutes and no fees for anything else. All others we looked at had added on things(dollar a day etc) or were closer to 25c a minute We actually have 2 now(myself and DH) and ADORE them. My friend and step mom both have contracted cells and when we go out I typically will have better coverage and strength then either of them.

 

and as long as you add time by the due date (15=1month 30=2 month....) your left over minutes are kept. I burned through a ton of mine while on vacation but DH uses his so rarely he has over 1000 minutes accumulated

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I use Tracfone and love it.

 

I bought a phone when they were running a promotion that doubles all the minutes I buy for it for the lifetime of the number/contract.

 

I've purchased minutes for it twice, got 200 minute cards at $40 each, and added in minutes from deals they run regularly on their site.

 

I've had the thing since September, and it's been fantastic!

 

-Mike

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We have both had TracFones for about 7 years and would not use anything else. If you do not use it much, it is the cheapest way to go. You buy a year card, which includes 400 minutes, I think, and it is like 95 bucks. Then, next year, if there are minutes left and you do not need anymore, you can buy a $20 card--which gives you 60 minutes and 90 days----and add a year of service for $49. So... you get 15 months for $70 plus tax. That comes to less than 6 bucks a month!

 

Watch ads from KMart, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc and you should be able to get a phone for 10-15 bucks. Then, buy the airtime online. It is VERY simple.

 

I bought one for my 74 year old Dad last year. He finally has it all figured out. Pretty basic.

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