Tracfone Prepaid Cell Phone - How to Get Started
On the Tracfone website, there is quote that read as follows: “The cheapest way to own a cell phone in America.” This article is about how to get started with a Tracfone Prepaid Cell Phone.
Prepaid cell phones are an optimal choice for people who like to have more control over their minutes, don’t want to sign a multi-year contract, want to avoid expensive cancellation fees, or just like to have a phone around for emergencies. The Tracfone prepaid cell phone is a good option for those who opt to use a pay as you go mobile service model.
Here are some steps to get you started with this particular phone company.
The first step is purchasing the phone and phone card. You can buy your prepaid Tracfone at Target, Rite-Aid, and most other similar big stores. You also need to purchase some minutes you can actually use the phone.
A word of advice for those who purchase the Tracfone. You can often find very good deals on the actual phones and the minutes at the official company website. It is worth spending some time looking for sales or other discounts with this company, as they are frequetly available.
If you are a savvy consumer you may even be able to find the best deals by doing simply search engine queries for discount codes. You may be able to increase your savings this way.
The next step in the process of getting set up with a Tracfone prepaid cell phone is to choose which plan you want to get started with. This is where you get to decide how many minutes you are going to purchase in the beginning of your plan. Don’t worry if you buy too few minutes because you can always purchase more. One benefit to buying more minutes for your phone on the front end is that you can often get a discounted rate. But don’t buy more minutes than you think you’ll use in a years time. That would defeat the purpose of a prepaid cell phone, which is to only pay for the minutes you use.
But if you are keeping the phone in case of emergency and don’t use it too often, it is never a bad thing to have ample minutes you can use in dire straits. There’s nothing worse than having car trouble and a phone with no minutes left.
Here is a brief rundown of some of the plans available with the prepaid tracfone:
1) Individual Plan: With this plan you can automatically have minutes added to your phone each month. $9.99 for 50 minutes a month or 100 minutes for $19.99.
2) Family Value Plan: This plan is a low-priced monthly plan created for the entire family. On this plan, you automatically receive minutes for every TracFone in your home every month. You pay $9.99 for the first phone and $5.99 for each additional phone and get the use fo 50 minutes per handset.
Members of these Tracfone “value plans” can add minutes in bundles of 50 or 100 anytime they get low on call time.
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Venture Mobile Prepaid Cell Phone Plans
Venture Mobile is the service based in Washington that is extremely popular for its claims of cutting edge technology and mobile services. It offers both traditional as well as prepaid cell phone plans, as well as internet phones and reasonable long distance calling features.
Plans:
There are several prepaid plan options with any Venture mobile. With all of their prepaid plans, Venture customers have the choice between the Verizon Network or the PCS Network, with different plans for each.
On the Verizon Network the prepaid plans start at $24.99 which includes 70 anytime minutes and 2,900 night time and weekend minutes. The most expensive plan includes 1,600 anytime minutes and 2,900 night time and weekend minutes for $129.99. Any minutes used above your allowance will be charged at 29 cents per minute.
The PCS Network prepaid plans start lower at $9.99 for 45 minutes as well as seven days of unlimited night time and weekend calling. The top plan is charged at $199.99 a month and includes 2,000 anytime minutes and 30 days of unlimited night time and weekend calls. All other calls are charged at the lower rate of 15 cents per minute.
Roaming is free anywhere on the network, and calls placed outside of this network are charged at 58 cents per minute on Verizon or 64 cents a minute on the PCS Network. Voicemail, caller ID and 3 way calling are all included in any Venture Mobile prepaid plan.
Pros:
The choice between networks on Venture plans is extremely useful as it ensures reliable call connections based on the network that serves your area best. It also provides a great range of choice when it comes to paying for your minutes.
There are also international calling plans included in the above plans with reasonable rates, however you will need to contact customer services for an exact cost as this varies according to the destination you are calling. Nationwide long distance is included in the plan, meaning that calls anywhere in the US cost the same and are billed as standard minutes.
Cons:
If you make your monthly payment late then there is not much time to rectify the problem. Venture Mobile will soon disconnect your phone and deregister your mobile number. There are also no downloadables available on the Venture Mobile network (including games, images and ringtones).
While there is no activation fee for the Verizon network, the PCS Network costs $10 to activate.
Read my article with 5 reasons to consider prepaid cell phones.
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Omni Prepaid Cell Phone Offers
Omni mobile services are well established, having been in business since 1992. This means that they have a large subscription base as well as over 30,000 retailers of their services across the country. They have been offering an established prepaid cell phone service as part of their commitment to customers.
Plans:
The Omni prepaid cell phone plan is extremely simple, meaning that there is a charge per minute of calls and that is it. All calls with the Omni prepaid plan are charged at 14 cents per minute and users are able to make calls after topping up their balance with refill cards of either $10, $25 or $40.
The Omni prepaid plan also offers text messaging at a fixed cost of five cents per every message that is either sent or received, and their service does not offer picture messaging. There are also no data services included in the prepaid plan.
Pros:
The great thing about the Omni prepaid plan is that it is incredibly simple. There are no hidden activation fees, no monthly costs. All you have to do is load the money you want onto the phone and you can make calls until it runs out. On top of this, Omni customers also have the added benefit of any calls that they make to Canada being charged as regular calls, and therefore also charged by the flat rate per minute.
There is no activation fee to use Omni’s prepaid cell phone plan, and long-distance nationwide calls are all included in the money and flat rate that you pay per minute.
Cons:
The problem with the Omni service is that they do not make their terms and conditions clear on their website, nor do they make it clear whether there are any additional fees for certain options. When setting up the roaming capabilities on their phones it will take some time to get it to work, and this is the same for activating their voicemail services.
The phones available with Omni plans are mostly older, refurbished models. This is due to the fact that the company grew from a pager store to a reseller of wireless prepaid services. However, this may be a good option for those who do not want to spend much on a phone or for those who have never had a phone before. They do not have color screens, and they are major make phones that are simply branded as ‘Omni’ phones. However, they are low in cost.
Read about Virgin Mobile Prepaid Cell Phones.
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Five Reasons to Consider Prepaid Cell Phones
Prepaid Cell Phones have become an attractive option in the wireless service market. Here are five reasons why you may want to consider this type of cell phone plan.
1) No Contracts! This is a big one for a lot of individuals who simply don’t feel comfortable signing (and re-signing) 2-year contracts with their cell phone service provider. The worst part about contracts are the termination fees you have to pay when their service is not up to par and you want out of it.
2) Be smarter with your minutes. Prepaid cell phones often have a function that lets you know how many minutes you have left or how close you are to going over your allotted minutes. For normal contract based cell phone plans, you generally have to go to the company website or call them in order to find out how close you are to “going over.” Of course, there are fees associated with this. This allows you to be “smarter” with your minutes and know how long you have to talk.
3) Control your kids minutes. Kids love to talk on their cell phones, and these days with so many other things they can use their phones for (like downloading video games and listening to music) it is incredibly easy for them to run up their cell phone bills very quickly. Prepaid and pay as you go options, like the ones offered by Verizon and Virgin Mobile prepaid, give you more control over how much you pay for phone use.
4) No Roaming Charges. This is a huge one for many people (and definitely for me as well). Roaming charges can be hugely expensive, but many prepaid cell phone plans don’t have extra roaming charges. This is one of the best ways to save money on your wireless bill, because those charges snowball very quickly and often without you knowing it.
5) Only Pay for the Minutes you Use. Sure, the previous four items on this list are all about saving money, but that’s why you’re here right? If a prepaid plan is right for you and your situation, then you will be able to cut out a lot of the expense of your bill. One of the benefits of prepaid over postpaid is there is more flexibility. Say you use your phone for your business. Maybe things really slow down in Summer but pick up in the Fall. You can easily adjust to the changes because you will only really have to pay for the minutes you use instead of having to pay for, say, 600 minutes a month January through December.
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