Best cell phone deal?

[hellifino]

My DH and I have decided that a cell phone is a great idea after a cpl incidents (spare tire falling off the spare tire holder under the van, oil filter just coming off the car ,etc) well I have NO clue about stuff like this and would REALLY appreciate ANY help anyone can give me! We live in a VERY rural area (about 10 miles from the small town and about 50 miles or so from Springfield mo)
we don't need lots of air time (I don't think) we want to use it for emergiencies(like that's what will really happen right?) also for such things as when I'm online, a second line would cost us approx. 25 extra a month. so we decided a cell phone would be better.

So can anyone help me out?

THANKS in advance.

[bethie_alane]

I can actually speak from experience on this since I am in the process of getting a cell phone myself and have been doing lots of research!

Two great sites I recommend are [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] Clark Howard is this consumer advocate guy and has good cell phone info on his site. Also [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] (click consumer, not business) is a great way to compare plans through many different carriers and you can chose different options you want based on your needs.

There are a lot of $20-ish plans out there but for $10 extra bucks the $30 plans are a lot better. Word of advice, I'd stay away from Verizon Wireless. Many DOD members have had bad experiences with them. I've started a thread about that while back so you might want to use the 'search' feature in the top right hand corner and type in 'verizon' or 'cingular' or 'powertel' or 'cell phones', etc....

I live in Athens, GA and I have narrowed it down to either Powertel or Cingular depending if me and my boyfriend keep our landline (lingo for the regular phone in the house) Cingular is doing a great 29.99 promo called Cingular Home 250 that gives you 250 minutes, free LD (long distance), and a choice of either rollover minutes OR 1000 free nites and weekend minutes (their nites begin at 8pm and end at 7a, and weekends begin Fri at 8pm and end Mon at 7am) Pretty good deal. Plus for an extra $14.99 you can get a second line added to that account that will share the 250 minutes only maybe the free LD but only the 29.99 phone number gets the promo roll over or free nites and weekends.

Powertel has a good plan for $20 I think called Powertel Weekend 20 Promo or something. And you get 100 anytime minutes and 1000 weekend minutes. Powertel is also running a promo where if you sign up with them you get a $50 credit on your 2nd phone bill - even if you sign up for their cheapie plans! Powertel only uses single band phones which Best Buy told me will probably end up being phased out in a couple of years cuz dual band is betting and helps when you travel. Powertel includes free voice mail and caller ID which Cingular does not.

Also through my research I've realized that AT&T wireless does not have competitive prices and does not offer as many free perky stuff. Although I don't recommend Verizon they have a $20 plan called Digital 50 and you get 50 peak minutes (7a-7p) and 450 off peak minutes. Radio Shack is doing a promo where you get an instant $25 instore credit when you sign with Verizon to apply toward a phone and they had a 29.95 Motorola phone that ends up only being $7-ish including tax. But again, lots of DOD members do not recommend Verizon.

Well I hope this lengthy e-mail helps. Let me know what you decide!!!!

[tamralynn]

Thanks for that lengthy reply. I went to check Cingular out and they don't offer any service in my state.
I currently use the Tracfone. The original poster may want to check them out. They are great for emergency uses and you don't have to sign any contracts. You just buy prepaid cell phone cards and when they run out, you buy another on. No minimums.

Tamra

[rafala]

I have a tracfone as well. You do have to renew a card every 30 or 60 days, depending on which price card you purchase. The cards time do carry over and dont run out but you do have to use the phone once every 120 days. cards range from $10 to $100, i think, so you could spend as little as $10 a month or $25 a month. There are deals around now as well where you buy a phone for $40 and you get a free phone card, 100 minute one i think. Check out jcpenny or bestbuy. i know i saw it listed in one of their circulars this past sunday.

I have only had my phone for a couple of weeks and i havent used it for talking so i cant tell you about the quality.

good luck deciding.

karen

[bethie_alane]

Tracfone can only be used for tracfone. What I mean is, the cell phone you buy for tracphone can only be used for tracphone service and if you ever upgrade to a monthly plan with some other carrier you cannot use the tracphone!

Plus there are some great $20/mo plans out there. If you think you are going to use your cell phone kinda frequently or even 60min a month, just go with a regular plan. You get better perks.

Especially in an emergency situation, you don't neccessary want pre-paid because it doesn't have a big coverage map. Make sure if you go pre-paid with tracphone that you know where your phone will work.