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My wife is looking for a cell phone since we have relocated. We had Cincinnati Bell Wireless which was great because their plans were all non-contract. I get my service through work so it's a non-issue for me at the moment.
I don't like contracts for several reasons; one, you never know what's going to happen a year from now, and also because some of them auto-renew making them sort of perpetual contracts unless you really keep a close eye on them.
We're also considering a pre-paid option - that might work for us, but I'm sure there are probably drawbacks that I haven't thought of.
My wife is looking for a cell phone since we have relocated. We had Cincinnati Bell Wireless which was great because their plans were all non-contract. I get my service through work so it's a non-issue for me at the moment.
I don't like contracts for several reasons; one, you never know what's going to happen a year from now, and also because some of them auto-renew making them sort of perpetual contracts unless you really keep a close eye on them.
We're also considering a pre-paid option - that might work for us, but I'm sure there are probably drawbacks that I haven't thought of.
I had good experience with AT&T's prepaid (month-to-month) plan last summer when I used it for several months. Then, it cost something like $69.99 per month for 650 anytime minutes, free nights and weekends, and free mobile-to-mobile.
It would probably be best to check into the options offered by your service provider at work, as you'll surely want to be able to use free mobile-to-mobile minutes when talking with one another.
Yikes! We've got digital phone service at home, so long distance isn't an issue, and she rarely uses her cell phone - I just want her to have one for emergencies, so 650 minutes is probably more then we'd use.
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It would probably be best to check into the options offered by your service provider at work, as you'll surely want to be able to use free mobile-to-mobile minutes when talking with one another.
Mine is through Verizon, and they don't have any non-contract plans. Not sure about pre-paid though.
AT&T Wireless has a 25 cents/minute plan (for all domestic calls) that may work well for you. You prepay and have expiration. $100 prepay has a 1 year expiration.
There are other plans, but that one seems to have no other strings.
Perhaps look into Boost Mobile also. My fiance just purchased a new phone and service with them. Plans are non-contract and $45 a month for unlimited local and long distance, $50 a month for unlimited calling and texting, and $55 a month for unliminted calling, texting and Internet. They also have a fairly nice selection of phones (if the cosmetic matters to you guys). IMO, they are the best in terms of the pre-paid/non-contract providers. I have had Virgin Mobile until now, and basically pay the same for much less freedom (400 daytime & 2000 night/weekend minutes, what a ripoff!). Needless to say, I'll be switching to Boost very soon!
It's also nice that you don't have to pay with a credit card if you don't want to. You can easily pay in cash at the location where you set up your account, if you prefer.
we use Virgin Mobile, and we love them. they are prepaid and no contracts. the phones are inexpensive but they have every type you can want. they have different "plans", ours is 10 cents a minute and we just have to "top up" a minimum of $20 in 3 months in order to stay activated. you dont lose minutes either. i hardly use my phone, so i top up every couple of months.
we use Virgin Mobile, and we love them. they are prepaid and no contracts. the phones are inexpensive but they have every type you can want. they have different "plans", ours is 10 cents a minute and we just have to "top up" a minimum of $20 in 3 months in order to stay activated. you dont lose minutes either. i hardly use my phone, so i top up every couple of months.
If your wife is truly a low user you may also want to look into the "U" prepaid plans offered by Alltel. They have several different options but we use the 15 cents a minute including long distance plan and so long as you make a one minute call each month your minutes roll over until you run out of them (if you don't use the phone at all its $4.00 so its worth even calling yourself for 15 cents). You can replenish online or via phone. There is a tax or surcharge on the replenishment but it is not much (I think takes the cost up to 16 cents a minute.) My husband and I both have these phones and find that we get good service and spend less than $10. a month per phone. Heck there are months we don't spend $5. between the two of us.
We found this to be the best plan for our very low usage patterns.
I heard an advertisement for Cricket that said $35/month unlimited, month to month. Don't know anything about them, but that is a heck of a deal if its true.
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