subject: Us Prepaid Mobile Plans That Won't Break The Bank [print this page] Prepaid mobile, or pay as you go plans, are usually packaged according to different types of user behaviour, so to save money it's important to choose a specific plan, depending for instance on if you text a lot or if you call during peak times Here are some tips on choosing the best prepaid mobile phone plans in the US.
Most prepaid mobile companies offer plans where you charge the account associated with your cell phone number with a certain sum, such as $20 or $100, and then use it to pay for services such as calls, sending texts, listening to voicemail, and so on.
One important point to consider is that unused prepaid mobile credit expires, but this takes a different amount of time based on the operator and on the size of your last recharge. You don't want to find yourself losing half of 100$ because you didn't know your plan details!
Also, if you don't top up your prepaid mobile phone regularly, after six months or a year the rental of the line will expire too, and you will lose the phone number. You will then have to get a new number and go through the hassle of telling all your friends that you changed phone number.
Another important thing to check is area coverage. Make sure that the carrier of your choice has a good reception in the area where you live, and also that you can use the phone in any out of state areas that you visit often, such as favourite vacation hangouts or where family members live.
As for the operators and their plans, Virgin Mobile has a very cheap offer, with most prepaid mobile recharges giving you the opportunity to call for 10 cents a minute. The credit doesn't last long though, only a month, so you should only charge your account with what you will spend in that time.
T-Mobile is one of the few operators offering nice handsets together with prepaid mobile contracts, so if you would like a new multimedia phone rather than a basic device, this is the best carrier. If you top your pay as you go credit up in chunks of 100$, they will last a whole year.
TracFone offers nice phones too, if somewhat more basic, and generally the call quality is very good. Prices are similar to T-Mobile, around 20 cents a minute depending on the prepaid mobile top-up amounts. This carrier is suitable if you want to top up small amounts more often.
MetroPCS also offers good service and rates, but its prepaid mobile service is only available in 33 states. This includes the most populous ones, so there is a good chance that this carrier will be available to you, though. Avoid it if you travel a lot out of state though, as their roaming and long distance rates are quite steep for prepaid mobiles.
Cingular is great for occasional prepaid mobile use, as the calls are very cheap at 10 cents a minute, although they also charge you a dollar every day that you will make calls with your prepaid mobile.
