Does anyone have one or know much about these? I've been researching a little online. We have sooooo many available minutes to us each month with Verizon, but we only use an average of 65min./month. Just wondering about how economical these would be. If anyone has any experiences with trac phones, would love to hear them. TIA

By Bea on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 07:08 pm:

I love mine. I'm not a cell phone user, and make and get only a few calls every month. It works perfectly for my usage. They usually offer a free minute bonus to sign up. For a year's service I pay about 26 cents a minute.

By Pamt on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 07:51 pm:

I love mine too! You can get 60 minutes for about 24.99. They also sell reloading cards on Ebay for CHEAP, but I've never tried that route because I'm a chicken. You'll get a better deal on phones if you buy off of the website (tracfone.com) than in a store. You actually buy units not minutes. In your calling area (mine is pretty big) 1 unit=1 minute. In roaming areas it is 2 units=1 minute. Each time you buy minutes they last for 3 months. When you buy more they rollover and just extend the time you have to use them. You can also get really got working phones with a warranty that are refurbished and CHEAP on the webiste. That's what I did. I've had my phone over a year with no problems.

Also, if you buy a tracfone, shoot me an email and we'll both get an extra 100 minutes for a referral. My email is pamela dot terrell at gmail.com

By Reds9298 on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 10:03 pm:

That sounds like the website I was researching Pam. Thanks a lot for the info. We pay about $70/mth for our cells right now and use anywhere from 50-100min. per month.

So like the 60min. you get for $24.99...is that just for use on one of your phones? If so, then we could pay basically $50 for 3mths. of minutes on both of our phones.
Also, how do the minutes you buy work? I mean I saw the cards on the website. Do you have a card that you have to have with you all the time and enter a #, or do you activate those minutes one time and then they are there until you buy new ones?
I have to see what it will cost us to get out of our contract, how much time is left, etc.
Thank you!

By Reds9298 on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 10:14 pm:

Also...let's say I bought 200min. Is there a time limit on when I have to use those? For instance, would it be okay if I took 6mths. to use those minutes?
Thanks

By Pamt on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 10:39 pm:

You buy minutes/units per phone. You get the card and then type the code from the card into your phone. That updates the # of units and the date when they expire. Like right now I have 112 units on my phone with an expiration date of 12/11/05. This is because I loaded 100 units onto my phone 8/11/05 and previously my minutes would have expired in September. The phone adds 3 months to whatever the current expiration date is each time you buy units. If you don't use all of the units they roll over, so it really is pay as you go.

I usually buy 60 units at a time and occasionally get extra ones with a promotional bonus. That way I KNOW I will use all of my minutes within 3 months. So if you buy 200 min. (or any # of min.) you have to buy new minutes in 3 months even if you still have minutes left. That's why I always shoot low. If you don't buy minutes then you'll lose your phone number. You can always re-start your phone, but you won't have the same number. However, Tracfone calls you and sends you an email when you are getting close to the 3 month expiration date, plus it is on your phone. The display always show #/min left and exp. date. I signed up for free "insurance." Basically, if I forget to renew my minutes at the 3 month mark I will be billed something like $2.95 to keep my number. I haven't forgotten yet and I am only charged that fee is I don't renew in time, but I still get to keep my hone number. Does that make sense??

It's hard to explain, but I'm sure there is an FAQ section on the website.

By Reds9298 on Saturday, August 27, 2005 - 10:57 pm:

Thanks Pam, that is a much better explanation than the website!!!Thanks for the tip about shooting low on the minutes. That makes sense.

I really appreciate your help!

By Missmudd on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 01:13 am:

I also have a tracfone, I figure I pay about $10-$15 per month for my phone. I think that each card only sends the expiration out 60 days not 90, I could be wrong but you may want to check that. My only problem is that if you have to call customer service, they are all in India and there accents are AWFUL. Customer service is not very good either. I recently got a new phone after having my old one die after 4 years, they sent me a new one that stopped working after about a month. They made me return the phone before they would send me a new one, gave my telephone number to someone else, and only gave me 30 minutes for my trouble. But all in all going on 5 years and mostly ok since I am going pretty cheap for my peace of mind. I do buy my tracfone cards on ebay, have only gotten burned once and paypal gave me my money back but I did get the one and only neg on my feedback . So I guess I would say go ahead and go for it, it is worth it mostly.

By Feona on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 07:29 am:

We have coupons for that too.

http://www.momsview.com/tracfone_promotional_code.shtml