Cell Phone Plans

I just wanted to see what cell phone providers most people are using out there and how much you pay a month, and for what? Any good deals to pass on?

PLEASE just do not use a KIOSK like at a mall, we had the horror of cell phone experiences from a Co that represented a well known co. and found out they make out thier own rules I took it as far as the ATTY genreal of my state and because of the signed contract we were stuck. I would have filed in my BK-7 but we really sue the phones and other cos neede deposits etc beacuse of the bad credit, good luck.. just go to a real store not an "authorized dealer'

Alrighty! So thats +1 against a mall kiosk. Anybody else care to add?

First, some employers offer discounts to employees on the plan the company uses as long as you remain an employee. I get a 17% discount on my line on my family plan and we are offerred great plan costs due to my employer. If that is not an option for you, there are some great options out there if you take the time to compare. Many hinge now on combining your home phone, internet service, TV and Cell lines and you can get a great package deal. It all depends what you are looking for, how big of a cell phone package you need and if you want to combine with other options. It can be confusing so do an online comparison of what each service is offering as to equipment and costs before a decision is made. What some folks may pay in one area will differ from another due to other costs involved, taxes, etc. but national plan costs as advertised online should all remain the same so it doesn't matter what other folks pay to compare rates you may need.

We are like Flamingo. We receive a 15% discount on Verizon, through my husband's employer. We pay $75/mo for 2 phones, 1000 minutes. We've had it for so long, Verizon no longer offers the 1000 minute plan. :D

Good luck!

My At&t contract ended Dec 20, so a few weeks before I started looking around. Sprint and T-Mobile, hands down, have the best plan prices. But I didnt want to pay anything for a new Blackberry and I knew I could find a deal. The Sprint store wanted $179 for the Blackberry Curve 8830. Sams Club wanted $49. Best buy wanted $0.00 :yahoo: :yahoo: I now pay $89 (Before the 15% off!) a month for unlimited text, video, pic messages, unlimited blackberry/data/internet, and 900 minutes. Most everybody I know uses Sprint so I will have a lot of mobile-to-mobile. I was paying $120 with At&t for the same exact thing.

I do get a 15% discount because of my gov't job. I already checked my first bill and they took 15% off. Score!

Just wondering what everybody else does for cell phones out in bk land. Im very happy with my Sprint phone, the internet definately seems faster than At&t's. Not only do I save $40 a month switching to Sprint, but my phone was free!! I cant wait to tell the BK trustee that one :D Im gonna get brownie points...lol

Wow...so only 4 Bkforums members have cell phones?! Anybody else care to add?

AT & T Wireless. Two year plan contract runs out sometime in October - will definitely switch. Purchased international service for $25 extra a month upfront. Went overseas for a month - phone did not work. They refused to credit my account back.

'Hub and I aren't going to be much help. We use the Boost Mobiles. These phones are made by Motorola and we pay as we go, usually the $20.00 card per phone keeps us set for a month. We use these really for emergency only, but like them because they have the Direct Connect, walkie-talkie feature that we use to stay in contact. Obviously that is not good for trying to really do any long-term talking as far as the minutes go.

'Hub's brother sent him a Verizon cell phone, because our land line was turned off. This phone is a very basic no frills model. I don't know details of the plan, other than to just be careful of the minutes.

Now, as far as the land line, we have invested in a MagicJack unit. You pay $39.00 to get the device, and then $19.00 a year thereafter. You have to have high speed Internet. This is called, 'Voice Over IP'. You connect one end to your USB port, and the other to the phone cord of the land line of a telephone handset. As I said, our phone service was turned off, so the land line does not have to be active in order for it to work. Once plugged in, you download a 'getting started' package that is simple to set up and you are on your way.

We have had this for almost 2 months now and have been pleased so far.

'Hub and I aren't going to be much help. We use the Boost Mobiles. These phones are made by Motorola and we pay as we go, usually the $20.00 card per phone keeps us set for a month. We use these really for emergency only, but like them because they have the Direct Connect, walkie-talkie feature that we use to stay in contact. Obviously that is not good for trying to really do any long-term talking as far as the minutes go.

'Hub's brother sent him a Verizon cell phone, because our land line was turned off. This phone is a very basic no frills model. I don't know details of the plan, other than to just be careful of the minutes.

Now, as far as the land line, we have invested in a MagicJack unit. You pay $39.00 to get the device, and then $19.00 a year thereafter. You have to have high speed Internet. This is called, 'Voice Over IP'. You connect one end to your USB port, and the other to the phone cord of the land line of a telephone handset. As I said, our phone service was turned off, so the land line does not have to be active in order for it to work. Once plugged in, you download a 'getting started' package that is simple to set up and you are on your way.

We have had this for almost 2 months now and have been pleased so far.

I pay $32.85 per YEAR for my cell service.

There's no free minutes and it's all prepaid.

(Be careful of prepaid phones where the minutes expire every month or two because you'll find you'll need to spend the same $30 or $40 every month that a normal contract requires.)

My service is $0.09 per minute and the minutes NEVER expire.

The only requirement is that I use the phone at least once every several weeks to prove it's still in service and I lose my number if the balance goes negative for more than a couple weeks.

If you want the security of having a cell phone and you are a little bit conservative with how you use it you won't find a lower cost plan anywhere.

'Hub and I aren't going to be much help. We use the Boost Mobiles. These phones are made by Motorola and we pay as we go, usually the $20.00 card per phone keeps us set for a month. We use these really for emergency only, but like them because they have the Direct Connect, walkie-talkie feature that we use to stay in contact. Obviously that is not good for trying to really do any long-term talking as far as the minutes go.

'Hub's brother sent him a Verizon cell phone, because our land line was turned off. This phone is a very basic no frills model. I don't know details of the plan, other than to just be careful of the minutes.

Now, as far as the land line, we have invested in a MagicJack unit. You pay $39.00 to get the device, and then $19.00 a year thereafter. You have to have high speed Internet. This is called, 'Voice Over IP'. You connect one end to your USB port, and the other to the phone cord of the land line of a telephone handset. As I said, our phone service was turned off, so the land line does not have to be active in order for it to work. Once plugged in, you download a 'getting started' package that is simple to set up and you are on your way.

We have had this for almost 2 months now and have been pleased so far.


We've got VoIP also and it costs nothing. To ring a land-line I pay a couple of cents per minute and $10 lasts an eternity. Originally it was software running on our computer but I went out and spent $60 for an actual telephone with a network connection built in.

We set up a relative with the $10 DSL from AT&T along with the same VoIP phone. For $36 per year we rent a local phone number local to her daughter who's hundreds of miles away. The daughter calls a local phone number and the VoIP phone rings here and they both talk as long as they care to for no charge.

Also at Wal-Mart there were $15 USB phones on clearance that work great with Yahoo Messenger who also does VoIP for a penny or two a minute. I used to call bill collectors through Yahoo Instant Messenger using VoIP and they couldn't figure out the true caller ID.

I have to add to Mrs. about MagicJack. It is portable and you can plug it into a laptop anywhere and as long as you have WIFI available in the motel let's say, you have free phone long distance and all the amenaties. Thier helpdesk is absolutley top notch. I am impressed with this company.

We use Boost cell phones because it is up front payment, easy to use and the peeper is all we really need. It will not expire your minutes for 90 days and we certainly refresh more than 90 days.

I use a tracphone now. I bought a phone from their website for $9.95, and it came with the double minute feature, which means that I pay about $18.00 for 120 minutes. I also found a promo code online. I activated the phone with a 60 minute card and 3 months, and ended up with 200 minutes and five months of service.

Keep in mind, I do not walk around with the phone stuck to my ear talking about what color somebody is wearing. I use it for what I would call, emergency plus. Of course, for an emergency, but also in cases of convenience, just watching the conversation length. Most conversations are under one minute.

I did have Verizon, but use it much less now, so I don't need 800 minutes on two phones for $89.95 per month. I won't pay that for a year now! If I go on vacation, and will be using the phone more, I have no problem buying one of the higher minute cards, and figuring the price in my vacation budget.

I use vonage at home for $29.95 per month, unlimited, anywhere in the US. If I go on vacation and the hotel has a network jack, I can take my home phone with me.

If you really want a cheap plan, go METRO PCS.

Currently, we use US Cellular. We pay about $110/month for 2 lines, Blackberry service and text messaging. If we get rid of the Blackberry service and text messaging, the lowest our bill could go would be about $75/month.

Our contracts are up soon and we are considering changing to save money.

Currently, we are testing a prepay line from Page Plus Cellular (www.PagePlusCellular.com). They use the Verizon Prepay towers and since I had an old Verizon phone from a relative, I called them and told them I wanted test their service.

They activated the phone with 100 free minutes good for 120 days AND DIDN'T CHARGE ME A PENNY!

There is no roaming (as long as you are on the Verizon Prepay towers), free voice mail, online account management, caller ID, etc.

BEST PART: When you spend $80 to fill your minutes, you get 1400 minutes good for 120 days! That is less than .06 cents per minute.

We will be giving up our Blackberries, but saving $900/year!!!

I pay $29.95 for 300 anytime minutes with US Cellular. Last month I used about 65 minutes. It's the cheapest plan they have. I've had the same phone for over 3 years.

We have a tmobile family plan. My wife and I, and our oldest daughter all have phones. We have 700 minutes to share, and no minutes count to call each other. I think we have 500 texts each for about $12.00 a month. The plan is $70, so with charges it comes to around $90.00 a month. We don't have internet(all our phones do wifi), or equipment protection, and we don't buy ringtones or any of that. I use audacity to make our tones, and you can always find wallpapers and stuff online. We've had tmobile for 4 years and have always been happy with it. My contract is up in March, and I'm getting a G1 and the tmobile rep said by then, they'd probably be around $50.00. Oh and we always sell our old phone, and keep one as a backup if one of ours gets damaged.

I live very close to the world headquarters of Sprint and cannot get a good signal 1 mile from the place. We take a family vacation, everyone talking on the phone in the National Park, ours was still searching for a signal. As soon as my contract ended I changed to TMobile. Always get a signal.

I just switched from Tmobile to Cricket - I'm not sure if they have plans in all areas. The one I got was AZ Calling area - unlimited minutes, unlimited text for $35 a month. No credit check, no contracts. they have different offers for each area. my phone was a refurb for $30 and they gave me the first month of service free. they have unlimited everything for $45. :D

We went from paying Verizon 87.00 a month to Trac phone. We buy minutes by the month and spend about $20.00 per month.

I bought a pre-paid cell phone through Verizon back in 2002 for something like $89.00.

To keep it active, I have to spend at least $15.00 a month ($16.10 after taxes) and since I hardly use the thing, I have a balance of close to $700.00.

A few years back, I upgraded to a new phone and I am thinking about doing the same sometime this year.

I text sometimes, but mostly, I have the phone just incase of emergencies. Plus, it's great to use for creditors. They call my cell all day long and leave my landline free :D

My wife uses a Tracfone, which I think she has to pay something like $22.00 every 3 months to keep it active. Don't know too much about Tracfone, but I think I got a pretty good deal with my Verizon.

For many years, I was using T-mobile pre-paid, and I think it is a great deal if you don't use your phone much. You can buy a phone for about $30, which comes with a few minutes of service (not really sure how much). Then, as soon as you have racked up $100 in refills, then any refill you buy doesn't expire for 1 year. So, the first year, you could buy the $100 card and get 1000 minutes. This is what I did, and it lasted me the entire year. If you use it even less than that, you can buy a $10 card at the end of the first year, and the entire remaining balance will have a new 1yr expiration.

Starting last year, I've been working from home, and I separated from my wife, so I opted for a cell phone plan instead of the pre-paid and I don't have a home phone. Again, I went with t-mobile, and I think the prices are good. As for the phone (blackberry), the t-mobile stores and t-mobile online wanted way too much. I found a site called wirefly, and the prices were awesome, I paid nothing and they waived the activation fee. I was required to sign up for blackberry email, but I wanted that anyway because of my job. The deals on wirefly seemed to change all the time, so keep checking back to see what's available.

Lots of good info here, ty!

I see some changes headed our way....

Been on T-Mobile for years at $39.99 a month/1000 minutes. Now on prepay with them, $100 for 1000 minutes, good for a year. On prepay, once you pay $100, you can also do $50 amounts that are good for a year, but you have to do the $100 first. I've done prepay before and can keep the same number going between plans.

Currently I use Verizon ... As stated by others thru my employer I get a 17% discount with can really add up over a year.... I pay around $ 90.00 a mth but I have 3 phone on it ... My son, my mom & myself....

I saw an add for "jitterbug" and was going to check it out just havent had time..

AT&T. 1400 minute plan, 2 phones, free nights/weekends, free calls to AT&T cells, now with free calls to any 10 numbers that you list. Great service, priced @89.95 per month.

And another thing..... you DON'T have to sign a 2 year plan if you choose to buy your phones. When you go with anyone that uses a sims card (like At&T), you get the card, pay for the plan, and buy phones off E-bay or somewhere on the cheap.

My agreement is monthly, I can cancel at anytime with no fees, and my latest phone is a Samsung flip phone with camera that I bought for $4.00 off E-Bay. :D

We are with T-mobile. Been with them for about 5 years. Have 4 lines (4 cellphones-got kids). We get free tmobile-tmobile, unlimited nights and weekends, each line gets to call 5 numbers for free (My Favs), 1800 minutes to share between all 4 lines, unlimited text messaging/pic messages. I am about to upgrade to either My Touch or Motorla Cliq.

My Favs Family Plan : $89.99
Family Unlimited Text/Pic Messaging : $19.99
For the two additional lines $9.99 each.

I have not found anything that can compare to what we are paying.

Tanya

I use Sprint. I just copy and pasted my plan from their site. I'm happy with it- especially now that it includes Any Mobile, Anytime. Bonus was that I got my phone for a penny.:yes2:


* Everything Plus 500 Blackberry
* $59.99 Minimum Monthly Charge
* 500 Anytime Minutes
* Nationwide Long Distance Included
* AMERICA - ROAMING Included
* Unlimited Any Mobile, Anytime
* Unlimited Sms
* Unlimited Blackberry Internet Service (bis)
* Sprint Navigation
* Caller ID
* Call Waiting
* Three-way Calling
* Voicemail

Monthly charge for service plan
$59.99
Plan add-ons for BLACKBERRY TOUR

* Picture Mail: Included
* Nights and weekends starting at 7pm: Included
* Total Equipment Protection 7.00
* Sprint Service: Included
* Any Mobile, AnytimeSM: Included
* Sprint Navigation: Included

Someone was talking about Page Plus earlier and were going to try it out..They have ulimited minutes and texting for $39.99 month..
Anyone using this or know someone with a review.
I've been with Verizon for ever and cant stand paying $120. month for unlimited..
Page Plus is supposed to use verizon..
Thanks

Just found out about WalMart StraightTalk. $30/month, 1000 minutes and 1000 text messages.

We have At&t...just changed today to the 550 familytalk is $50 for first line and 9.99 for second. We've been having the 700 min familytalk plan for $60 and 9.99 for about a year now b/c that was the lowest package they had. Glad to see they've added a new one. I worked for Cingular, and got 2 free individual plans, and just stayed with them after I quit working there.

We used to live in a condo and had terrible reception, so we tried out the MagicJack thing. had a few kinks but overall satisfied. We quit using it when we moved and never paid for the new year. But I would definitely recommend it for certain situations. Cell phones are just easier for us with being away from home a lot.