Pre-paid cell phones minutes that last forever?

[Monkeyleg]

When we moved down here last spring, we got my wife an inexpensive cell phone just for emergencies. She never uses it, and we just buy minutes, although she never uses them.

We're now at the point where we're paying $25 for three months. I think there's 100 minutes in that package, or somewhere around there.

Anyway, when the three months are up, we have to pay $25 again, even if she didn't use any minutes.

Isn't there a package where you buy X number of minutes and they're yours until they're used up?

[Antibubba]

Not anywhere. 

[lee n. field]

When we moved down here last spring, we got my wife an inexpensive cell phone just for emergencies. She never uses it, and we just buy minutes, although she never uses them.

We're now at the point where we're paying $25 for three months. I think there's 100 minutes in that package, or somewhere around there.

Anyway, when the three months are up, we have to pay $25 again, even if she didn't use any minutes.

Isn't there a package where you buy X number of minutes and they're yours until they're used up?

Net 10 almost does what you want.  Unused minutes accumulate, but you must keep buying a bit to keep it active.  If I ever need a cell and don't have one provided by work, I'd probably go that way.

[zxcvbob]

Virgin Mobile has a plan that's close. 

$20 every 3 months buys minutes that just keep accumulating.  If you sign up for automatic top-up with a credit card, the minimum drops to $15 for 3 months.  And the last couple of times I've topped up mine they extended for a full year instead of just 3 months.

[Azrael256]

Define "emergency."

All cellphones can call 911.

[Monkeyleg]

Emergency wouldn't just be police, ambulance or fire. It could be a two truck, a call to me for something urgent, etc.

Thanks for the tips. Right now those minutes just get flushed with nothing to show.

[Gowen]

I am with T Mobile prepaid, after you buy $100 worth of minutes, you only need to spend $10 every year to re-up and you keep all the minutes.  They run a special every so often where you by a prepaid phone and get a $25 card for free.  I buy the phone, sell my old phone and the sim card on ebay separately.  The sim card sells for $5-$6, the old phone for $25-$30, and I get to keep the $25 card with a new phone for virtually nothing.

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/prepaid.aspx?WT.mc_n=SeePrepaidPhones&WT.mc_t=OnsiteAd

They have the prepaid phones with the $25 card for free on sale right now.

[Harold Tuttle]

Virgin has eliminated most of their simple phones and replaced them with "smart" phones

[go_bang]

I am with T Mobile prepaid, after you buy $100 worth of minutes, you only need to spend $10 every year to re-up and you keep all the minutes.  They run a special every so often where you by a prepaid phone and get a $25 card for free.  I buy the phone, sell my old phone and the sim card on ebay separately.  The sim card sells for $5-$6, the old phone for $25-$30, and I get to keep the $25 card with a new phone for virtually nothing.

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/prepaid.aspx?WT.mc_n=SeePrepaidPhones&WT.mc_t=OnsiteAd

They have the prepaid phones with the $25 card for free on sale right now.

+1 on the T-Mobile recommendation.  My wife has had a prepaid phone with them for several years now and we've been quite happy with it.  Also, once you spend the first $100 you get 15% more minutes for each refill after in addition to the minutes being good for a year.  Their rates for text messages are very good too.

[roo_ster]

$25/3 months.  Hmm.  I have an unlimited data & voice plan with sprint and it costs me an extra $10/mo for my wife's extra phone.  $30/3mo with usable minutes/data.

[Antibubba]

I didn't find a smartphone or even a web-capable model at T-Mobile Prepaid that would make me want to switch.  I do like the Rumor Touch at Virgin Mobile.  Anyone here able to provide feedback on it?

[Monkeyleg]

$25/3 months.  Hmm.  I have an unlimited data & voice plan with sprint and it costs me an extra $10/mo for my wife's extra phone.  $30/3mo with usable minutes/data.

I have unlimited voice and data with Sprint, too. Never looked into an extra phone, but I will now.

[MillCreek]

I just recently bought the Virgin Mobile Samsung Intercept on sale at Best Buy for $ 189.  In ten days, when my AT&T contract expires, I will port over my current cell number and activate it.  It is an Android phone running 2.1, soon to be upgraded to 2.2, and I can have my work Exchange email pushed to the phone. I am already doing that via WiFi.  I will be using the $ 25/month plan for 300 cell minutes and unlimited IM, text, email and web.  

[sanglant]

not ever lasting minutes, but as close as i've found. tracfone has a setup where they bill you ~6 bucks if your service days runs out. it's what i've been using lately, i have over 700 minutes bought up, and don't really like talking on the phone though.

that would be around 72 bucks a year, if you never buy a card. oh and your phone has to be on at the end of the month for them to bill you, and add the 30days.

and didn't one prepaid cell phone deal, charge you a service fee for each day you used it. and your credit was left if you didn't use it?

edit: if that was version, it still has a time limit.

[Antibubba]

I have unlimited voice and data with Sprint, too. Never looked into an extra phone, but I will now. 

Virgin Mobile is owned by Sprint.  Talk to them--I think Virgin calls to Sprint are mobile-to-mobile, but I'm not certain.  But you might find a family plan cheaper.

I just recently bought the Virgin Mobile Samsung Intercept on sale at Best Buy for $ 189.  In ten days, when my AT&T contract expires, I will port over my current cell number and activate it.

You might not be able to port, since it's a pre-paid service.

[Jamisjockey]

I have unlimited voice and data with Sprint, too. Never looked into an extra phone, but I will now.

You should be able to add a phone for 10 +/- a month with pretty much all the carriers.  And most carriers have a bare bones old school phone you can purchase for fifty bucks or so. 

[MillCreek]

Virgin Mobile is owned by Sprint.

You might not be able to port, since it's a pre-paid service.

You can.  It says so in the FAQ on their website.

[go_bang]

Free mobile-to-mobile for prepaid plans is typically only offered on plans that bill your credit card each month or for a daily access charge with the phone is used.  It's not an option on the bucket-o-minutes prepaid plans.

[MrGreenmachine]

You can port pre-paid numbers.  You just usually need some more information from the provider, usually it's an account number that they have tied to your pre-paid phone number.  I've done this twice with pre-paids and had to actually go to a company store to have it done and not in a kiosk or independent retailer.  First was from virgin mobile to att and then att to uscellular.   Both virgin and att were prepaids.

[KD5NRH]

Define "emergency."

All cellphones can call 911.

911 isn't appropriate when your spare tire is flat on a backroad at 3AM.

Also, 911 generally can't call a disconnected phone back, which can result in a lot of lost time while they wait for you to get tired of waiting for the first responders and call them back to clarify whether you meant 8 miles north of town A on south BFE road or 8 mies south of town B on north BFE highway.

[vaskidmark]

I'm not saying that just because the newbie provides a link to an Arabic pre-paid card that he is spamming us.

stay safe.

[K Frame]

I'm not saying that just because the newbie provides a link to an Arabic pre-paid card that he is spamming us.

stay safe.

Resurrectamos!

You may not be saying it, but I am saying it. SPAM from a SPAMMER.

Seen this *expletive deleted*it a couple of places the last few days.

I'd tell him to eat a phone card of dicks, but it's Ramadamadingdong, and they're not eating anything right now...

[Jamisjockey]

Die spammer die.