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Old 03-07-2013, 09:21 AM
 
14 posts, read 18,014 times
Reputation: 11

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I really appreciate all the comments here. I don't have a Smartphone, I'm older and not as social, so I liked the idea of buying a phone card and paying as you go. My understanding is that many people buy a $100 card from T-Mobile that is good for one year so they can have a phone in the car for emergencies (about $10/mo.).

So are you saying that Page Plus does this, but has the advantage of operating over the Verizon network? What I saw on their website suggests that they're even cheaper than T-Mobile.
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Old 03-07-2013, 09:27 AM
 
3,939 posts, read 8,957,884 times
Reputation: 1516
Quote:
Originally Posted by johncholmes View Post
I really appreciate all the comments here. I don't have a Smartphone, I'm older and not as social, so I liked the idea of buying a phone card and paying as you go. My understanding is that many people buy a $100 card from T-Mobile that is good for one year so they can have a phone in the car for emergencies (about $10/mo.).

So are you saying that Page Plus does this, but has the advantage of operating over the Verizon network? What I saw on their website suggests that they're even cheaper than T-Mobile.
Any phone, regardless of whether it has service or not, will be able to dial 911.
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Old 03-07-2013, 09:57 AM
 
14 posts, read 18,014 times
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Yes, it can dial 911, but not Geico's equivalent of what AAA offers at a fraction of the price per year. I had occasion to use it recently, the man drove :45 to change a flat tire (I couldn't get the lug nuts off) and there was no charge.
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Old 03-07-2013, 12:03 PM
 
3,939 posts, read 8,957,884 times
Reputation: 1516
Quote:
Originally Posted by johncholmes View Post
Yes, it can dial 911, but not Geico's equivalent of what AAA offers at a fraction of the price per year. I had occasion to use it recently, the man drove :45 to change a flat tire (I couldn't get the lug nuts off) and there was no charge.
Careful... I've read that Geico's roadside assistance counts against you on your insurance.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/autom...-roadside.html
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Old 03-07-2013, 12:15 PM
 
14 posts, read 18,014 times
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Interesting, but considering GEICO recommended to me an online course about a year ago that is knocking $300 off my policy ($50 every 6 mos. for 3 years) I'm sure it will all balance out. The course was a joke, I don't remember any of it, but they're definitely deducting the $$.
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Old 03-07-2013, 11:13 PM
 
Location: Charlotte Metro Area
2,186 posts, read 4,167,513 times
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Originally Posted by InfoSeeker52 View Post
I have a pay-as-you-go plan with Straight Talk (sold at Wal-Mart), and my phone operates on the Verizon network, so my reception is just as good as it was when I had Verizon, and I only pay $45/month ($50 after taxes) for a nationwide unlimited plan. My phone is an off-brand Droid, but so far, it functions just as well as my old HTC did. Also, if you're willing to shell out a decent chunk of change up front, they had some of the fancier Samsungs available as well.
Straight Talk gives you full speed data for the first 2GB/month. After that, the data is at throttled speeds.
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Old 03-08-2013, 01:00 AM
s13
 
797 posts, read 1,277,087 times
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+1 for Straight Talk, moved to it from Virgin a few months ago and have been pretty satisfied overall. Had the grandfathered $25 plan on Virgin but dumped it because I kept running out of minutes, plus Sprint's coverage and 3G speeds were laughably bad.

Straight Talk uses either AT&T or T-Mobile depending on what phone you bring, I bought an AT&T HTC Inspire which is a "4G" phone (HSDPA) - speed you will never confuse with real 4G (LTE) but significantly faster than 3G. Coverage has never been a problem as AT&T has the best coverage of any company not named Verizon.

There are a few trade-offs, most notably the atrocious website and clueless tech support people, but once your SIM card is successfully activated then hopefully you won't need to call support for anything and you'll only need the website to pay your bill (or you can turn on auto-refill and not need it at all).
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Old 03-08-2013, 02:30 AM
 
Location: Stony Brook
2,897 posts, read 4,393,180 times
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Vzw is the most expensive' but also the best in reception. Just bite the bullet and go back.
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Old 03-08-2013, 09:21 PM
 
Location: Islip,NY
20,894 posts, read 28,287,318 times
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I have had T-mobile pay as you go for 7 years, no problems here. $1,000 minutes lasts me all year. I do not have one of those fancy phones either, and I don't text. Call me an old fashioned but I don't see the need for a high tech cell phone.
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Old 03-08-2013, 09:37 PM
 
14 posts, read 18,014 times
Reputation: 11
That's what I bought, T-Mobile 1,000 minutes for $100, I'm not terribly social and I bought it to save money. The reception is so terrible that I walk around the apt. trying to find an area where it won't fade out.

The other day, someone called me as I was getting into my car and the reception was still terrible, even outside.

I looked at Page Plus, it's $80 for 2,000 minutes, lasts a year. If they're indeed using Verizon's system, I'm going to give them a try.
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