Prepaid Cell Phone Service ?

Edwards Finance > Phones

Q. Would appreciate some comments on Tracfone vs Callplus services. I have read both websites, and there are some things I don't understand. I EMailed Tracfone several days ago with some questions, but no response yet. l. Callplus doesn't have my area code on their list, but said to choose one that is "nearest". That would be over 200 miles - would I then be charged for long distance vs local rates? 2. Tracfone has a special on that includes the phone, a year of prepaid service, then 150 air time units. This is probably a dumb question to you who use cell phones, but if I have a year of prepaid service, do I also need to buy the airtime cards? As I said, they haven't answered me yet. What we want is a phone to carry in the car - it would not be a primary phone. . I checked into the emergency only phones, but we might need to call the auto club and not 911. Or call home briefly, etc.

A. I've had a Tracfone for almost two years and am very pleased with it. I noticed that Walmart has a sale on them. Anyway, you don't need to buy an airtime card until the year has passed or you have used all the 150 minutes. You can reload the minutes via the internet, too. Go to their website and check out the various plans. There is no extra charge for roaming with CallPlus, just one minute of airtime, same as a local call; AFAIK, Tracfone charges two minutes of airtime for every minute used while roaming. However, anyone calling you from your local area will be paying for a toll call if you don't have a local number. You may be surprised on how handy you find a phone for occasionally checking in at home or calling a friend to tell him/her you are running late. Compare plans with more than just "emergency" use in mind. Also realize that if the phone is kept in the glove box, the battery may be dead when you need it the most, so keep a car charger with it. I bought the Tracfone with the 1 year/150 unit aircard. You get 150 units (one minute in your calling area = 1 unit, one minute roaming = 2 units) that don't expire for 1 year. If you use up the 150 minutes in less than 1 year, you need to buy more airtime to keep your phone activated. Airtime cards come in various number of units/expiration times/prices. With the offer I bought, I got 30 initial units with the phone, good for 60 days. Then, when I activated the included 150 unit/1 year card, I got a promotional 100 units bonus. So, for $95, I got a phone and 280 units of airtime, spanning 14 months. I keep the phone in the car for emergencies and convenience. I don't use it for general conversation. I am satisfied with the service so far (~3 months into it). Prepaid service is not the same thing as air time. You need air time to use the phone. However, many cell phones have air time that expires within a certain amount of time (callplus expires every 90 days). You can "roll over" the minutes but you have to buy at least the minimum amount every 90 days. The advantage of tracfone is that the plan doesn't expire for a year. I use callplus, mostly because I already had a phone and didn't want to buy another one. However, if I were buying a phone now, I'd probably buy the Tracfone - having minutes that don't expire for a year is a real advantage to me.

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