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Prepaid Cell Phone Plans
Choosing a prepaid provider can be a daunting task, especially with over three times the amount of prepaid cell phone providers than there are post paid providers. Fortunately, choosing a plan is much simpler, as most of them have settled into four different types, with a few variants based on texting, international calls, and cell phone data plans.
Pay As you go prepaid cell phone plans:
These cell phone plans are about the simplest, you purchase an amount of minutes, say $10 - $20 at a minimum, and then from there, it's a set amount per minute, ranging from 10 cents to 25 cents. Some prepaid cell phone providers allow you to purchase bulk minutes, so long as you use them in 30 days, but your simple pay as you go rates can last from 30 days to one year depending upon how much your purchase. These plans are perfect for people who use less than 150 minutes of air time every month, or who want a simple cell phone.
Dollar a day plans:
Your larger providers (AT&T GoPhone, Verizon InPulse, and T-Mobile Prepaid) and Boost Mobile offer this option for folks who are more carrier centric than others. In other words, if your friends are all on AT&T, then it might make sense to do their $1 a day plan. All of these prepaid cell phone plans offer the same basic service: Pay $1 a day for the days you use it. If you use it 5 days out of the month, then you pay $5. All calls to the same provider are included in that $1 a day. Calls outside the providers network are 10 cents per minute, and include domestic long distance.
Again, there are small variances to these plans, based on the provider. T-Mobile, for example, includes unlimited nights to any number from 7am to 7pm in their prepaid cell phone plans, and Boost offers unlimited walkie talkie for their dollar a day plan.
Monthly calling plans:
These are plans that offer a specific amount of minutes, text, and data in return for a monthly calling fee. Of course, there is still no contract involved, and you have to pay your monthly bill in advance, but some plans can offer greater savings than what a conventional cell phone plan can offer. Boost has a $50 unlimited plan, that includes text and web access, and both Virgin Mobile and AT&T GoPhone have a $60 unlimited plan that includes unlimited calling and text.
All of these plans have variants that might make choosing a prepaid cell phone provider a bit easier, based on how you're using the phone, if you need to dial internationally, or if you want data plans with GPS or other services. Your best resource, before you choose a prepaid cell phone plan, is to visit their website and decide which features you don't want to live without.
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