Prepaid Cell Phones from US Cellular.
US Cellular is a popular cellphone service offering coverage in 26 states in the USA. They have recently started selling plans replicating pay monthly benefits without the hassle of a credit check and with the convenience of prepaid billing.
Plans:
There are four calling plans offered by US Cellular. When purchased they include the activation fee as well as the first month of service. They all include free incoming minutes as well as unlimited calls at nights and weekends which start after 9pm.
Users can choose the Wide Area plan which comes with 350 anytime minutes for $45 a month, where each additional minute costs 15 cents. The $60 version of the plan includes 600 anytime minutes where additional calls are charged at 10 cents per minute, and the $80 plan includes 1000 anytime minutes and additional minutes for 10 cents.
There are also cheaper plans available, where the $25 version includes 100 anytime minutes, and 50 cent calls for additional minutes. This plan does not include the unlimited incoming calls or the nights and weekends that come with the other plans.
There is also a text messaging plan offered by US Cellular which includes unlimited text messages each month for the hearing impaired, where all voice calls will cost 50 cents and the plan itself is $25 a month.
Pros:
The great thing about these plans is that they can be used on any phone, without purchasing any specific US Cellular phone. All plans are also designed to include the features of a pay monthly service without the credit checks usually required.
Cons:
There is no plan offered by US Cellular for a basic pay per minute option. If you do want to get prepaid cell phones from US Cellular, the options have become rather limited.
Related posts:
US Cellular as recently replaced and added to their prepaid plans. They now offer both “pay as you go” plans, and fixed cost plans, though they are different than above. Pay-as-you-go plans they offer are their $6/month, 15 cents/minute, and $10/month, 10 cents/minute, each with a $50.00 activation fee. They also have an unlimited text-only plan for $24.95/month, available in all their coverage areas which has a $30 activation fee. Their fixed rate plans now include $45/month unlimited calls to/from local calling area, and $55/month unlimited calls and text. The $45 plan has a $30 activation fee, the $55 plan has no activation fee. The only real con with US Cellular prepaid (monthly) plans is one is limited to their local calling area, though those tend to be quite large (mine covers most of WI, IN, IL, and parts of IA and MO. If you venture outside your local calling area, roaming/minute charges are .69/minute.