A prepaid cell phone plan is one of the most common types of phone plans around. A prepaid, also known as a no contract, is a plan that does not require a monthly contract. Alternatively, individuals pay before hand to obtain a given amount of minutes for access each month. The minutes that one purchases are available to use until they expire, or until there are no more minutes available from the purchase. Generally, the minutes will expire after one to three months of the initial purchase. Prepaid plans are a wise choice for individuals who rarely use their cellular devices. Since prepaid plans are based on per-minute usage, the user may spend as much or as little time as their budget allows.
Parents commonly set their children up on this sort of plan in order to make emergency calls. Individuals may adjust this plan so that the media features can not be streamed that could potentially lead to extra troubles. Additionally, those who have poor or no credit are perfect for prepaid plans because credit checks are not required. One of the perks of having a prepaid plan is that once the customer uses up all of their minutes, the service will then be shut off; however, 911 calls are still able to be made. This avoids the fees that one would be charged for going over any data or minutes. Once all of the minutes have been used, the individual may either purchase more minutes or wait until the next pay period. One can usually connect their own phone to a prepaid plan, or they may purchase a new phone at full price and connect it to the plan.
Most of the major cell phone companies offer prepaid plans, some of which include: Cricket Wireless, Metro PCS, AT&T, Boost Mobile, and Verizon. According to Nerdwallet, Cricket Wireless and Metro PCS are two of the best prepaid phone plans that include data. Cricket Wireless is considered one of the best plans because the monthly cost is $40, and it features unlimited talk and text as well as 4GB of data. Metro PCS is also considered one of the best plans because its monthly cost is $40, and it features 6GB of data as well as unlimited talk and text. AT&T, Boost Mobile, and Verizon all offer great prepaid plans; however, the companies are slightly more expensive. If an individual is looking for a prepaid plan that does not include data, then two of the best plans would be Republic Wireless and Ting. Republic Wireless has a monthly cost of $15, and it features unlimited minutes and text messages. Ting has a monthly cost of $12, and it features 100 minutes and 100 text messages. Individuals may also get a prepaid plan with no data through Verizon, but it is $30 for unlimited talk and text. Customers will realize that larger companies such as AT&T and Verizon will charge more for the same type of prepaid plan.
It is important to know that companies such as Cricket Wireless and Metro PCS are subsidiaries of bigger companies such as AT&T and T-Mobile. For example, Cricket Wireless is owned by AT&T. Therefore, individuals will pay less for the prepaid plan, but still use AT&T’s network. Cricket also allows customers to connect their personal phone to the prepaid plan. Metro PCS is owned by T-Mobile; therefore, customers may enjoy unlimited streaming of apps such as Pandora and iHeart radio while being on the T-Mobile network. In the long run, those two companies can save customers a lot of money when purchasing prepaid plans. Prepaid cell phone plans can actually come with some pretty great deals. For example, depending on what deal in individual chooses, he/she can get a certain percentage off just by purchasing the plan. Other deals include a free phone upon purchase of a plan, or even discounted phones upon purchase of a plan.
In conclusion, there are a number of plans that offer great deals at great prices such as Metro PCS and Republic Wireless. One can always save money on prepaid plans by choosing the right company that fits the customers needs.
