I Need a New Phone Plan ASAP What to Choose?

C

CptFalcon

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
2,012
I have prepaid right now through T-mobile and I hate it! I pay $10 for only 30 minutes of talk time. I am 18 and I can get a plan if I want to and I hope to do it soon.

I have a really crappy phone (voice quality is superb though) and I have little demands. I use a little bit of texting, and mostly talking to my friends. I use 250 minutes a month (when I was with Verizon, on my mom's account which has been canceled) and only text a few messages, so I am not a huge typist.

What can I get for under $40 a month?
 
tmobile has a 300 anytime minutes plan with 5 unlimited my fav's for like $39.99,
 
I'm a no-contract type person. So I only know and talk about non-contract plans.

My plan of choice:
AT&T Pick Your Plan @ $40/mo = 300 anytime mins, 500 night and weekend mins, unlimited mins to other AT&T customers.

If you don't travel much outside certain areas, a local provider is usually a really good deal. Example:
Pocket Communications in South Texas - $40/mo = unlimited mins, unlimited text, unlimited data. Though they have a very limited coverage map, it's a great deal if you don't leave the area often.

Cricket is a great deal if you stay in their coverage area, too. @ $40/mo = unlimited talk, unlimited text.

I use AT&T because I use GSM/HSDPA phones and travel domestically and internationally a lot. 22 countries and 25 states in 12 years. T-Mobile doesn't have as good 3G coverage as AT&T and those are my only two real choices.
 
If you are looking at contract, t-mobile and sprint both have very basic 30 dollar plans. T-mobile has three different options at 39.99 a month (don't forget any plan like this is subject to taxes as well as federal and state regulatory charges so you're bill will come out more than the 40...if you have a max of 40 a contract may not be for you). Sprint, Verizon and AT&T both have basic talk plans that include 450 minutes for 40 dollars.

Really though, if you don't talk much, you may not need to get a contract. Virgin Mobile, who uses the sprint network for their service, has where you can get 400 minutes a month for 30 dollars, and whatever you don't use will roll over to the next month.

It sounds like you currently use t-mobile's prepaid service. If you can afford it, you might look at getting the 1000 minutes for 100 dollars, which assuming an average use of 250 min/month would give you 4 months of calls. It'd be around 25 a month that way.

Something to keep in mind if you decide to do no-contract and go with a monthly plan vs. just paying for minutes as you use them. A lot of carriers require that you register a form of payment for the account. Not all do, but just something else to be aware of.

These are some of the plans that are available, I don't know that any of them are what you need. You say you don't text. You say you like the sound quality of your phone but don't like the phone in general. What don't you like about the phone? Are there features that are missing? Are there things you'd like to do, but can't? What are your complaints with the current service you have? Is it just the lack of minutes for your money? For 25 dollars you can get 130 minutes which should be around 20 cents a minute which is about the lowest for a prepaid plan, unless you start getting into the really big top-up cards.

If you are looking at getting a contract and really want bang for your buck. I'd really take a look at what T-mobile offers. The myfaves is nice, but what I like is that there are 4 fairly different plans available in your named price range. The rest of the big contract carriers all only offer the same plan. Each carrier has it's own perks, with ATT you get rollover, with sprint you get 7PM night calling (so all calls after 7 are free) and with Verizon you get creepy men following you around. T-mobile offers you 600 anytime minutes OR 1000 minutes period (no free nights or weekends) OR 300 anytime minutes + unlimited calling to 5 people OR 300 anytime minutes (which includes nights) and unlimited weekends.
 
I'd go with the AT&T cheapo $40 a month plan. They'll let you roll over minutes if you need them, and they're pretty good with younger people getting new accounts without credit checks if you're willing to put down a deposit.

Edit. And you're not required to pay a contract fee if you bring in your own unlocked phone.
 
In my experience att is some of the worst for people with low/poor credit. T-mobile lets you do flexpay which means even with poor or no credit you can get a phone plan. Rollover minutes can be good, but honestly for most people I don't see the benefit of them, it is really only useful if you have very varied usage IE one month you don't talk much and the next you talk a lot.
 
Where do you live? Do you travel alot? Like to out of the way places or fairly populated areas? $40/month can get you alot from a carrier like Cricket or Revol or one of several other regional providers. No contracts either.

My wife and I get unlimited talk, sms, mms and web for $83/month (including taxes, both phones, total). I have a Touch Pro and she has an HTC Titan. If I travel, I need to pay an addition $5 to roam off network for that month.

Just don't expect a regional provider to subsidize your phone purchase.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top