[monikernc]

I just got bumped up another $20/mo by Verizon. Apparently, this should not have come as a surprise because it was on page 6 of my statement last month. I am now up to $116.32/month with a 20% employee discount.

What do you pay? I use data more than voice and most texts are with other verizon users in family so no additional charges for those.

My phone is an old iphone4 but sufficient for my purpose. I really don’t want to get into another contract and the last time (4 years ago) I walked out with a new phone and plan it cost me $400+ – this is not an option right now with Christmas and NTS and other exam expenses looming.

Help me find a good plan. I live in a metro area with good coverage. Suggestions?

Thanks.

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[Anonymous]

My partner uses StraightTalk bring-your-own-phone (BYOP) and has used it with an iPhone previously, currently uses it with a Windows phone, $45 (plus taxes as applicable) a month, unlimited calling and data, though it does “throttle” data speeds after 2GB/month IIRC, no contract. Upfront cost $15 for a SIM card programmed for StraightTalk. Customer service isn't the greatest, but once we had the phones activated, I haven't had to call customer service again, so even though it was standard (or maybe sub-par) telecom customer service, it's not a problem in my mind since I don't talk to them ever. Service wise, we've never had any issues out of it and he's had StraightTalk for, shoot, 4 years?

I use Boost Mobile, $35/month unlimited calling and data (again, throttles at some point, I think around 2GB), no contract, however it only works with Boost-branded phones. Boost's customer service was friendlier, but I only talked to them when trying to order a phone, and that was only a problem because I live in the backwoods. Their ordering system requires that the orders be shipped to your billing address, and orders ship via FedEx. My billing address is a PO Box, because there is no USPS delivery at my physical address, cause I'm in the backwoods. However, FedEx doesn't deliver to PO Boxes. So, I had several conversations with Boost Mobile trying to find a workaround, and ended up having to order my phone via eBay instead since they couldn't ship my phone to my PO Box via FedEx. 😐 However, that's not Boost's problem, it's my problem for living in the middle of nowhere. 🙂 I've had Boost Mobile for about 5 years and no issues other than shipping problems.

Honestly I think there's better deals than both of these out there, if you look around the non-contract and BYOP/SIM plans. I've considered switching, but it'd just be a $5 or so a month savings, so wasn't worth switching for me. However, if I was switching anyway (like from Verizon), I'd look around before picking StraightTalk or Boost Mobile right out of the gate. That being said, I haven't had any problems with their service, so wouldn't hesitate to recommend either one of them, while simultaneously recommending investigation of their competitors (T-Mobile, Verizon Pay-As-You-Go, etc.)

[Missy]

Is it just you or do you have a family? AT&T next is fabulous for a shared plan. Think we pay $160/mo for 4 phones, unlimited talk and text and 10gb of shared data.

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[plotikkk85]

ohhh! gosh! I have a prepaid phone- virgin mobile – $30 per month – unlimited data plan and 600 mins. BUT! you have to buy your own phone.

[leglock]

40 per month att. family plan sharing 10 gb of data

[monikernc]

It is just me. Keep them coming. AT&T used to drop calls a lot. Has that gotten better?

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Anonymous]

Ultra Mobile, $20 a month for unlimited talk and text, only 100 MB of data but I have a junk little $30 android from walmart so I don't use much data anyway. Sufficient for my purposes, I've never been one to spend time farting around on my phone.

[monikernc]

I live off data and text on my phone. Podcast junkie. I am a Mom in text only – these days it is a shock to hear my daughter's voice – but we text all the time. Some video – occassional movie or video podcast. Youtube for cpa exam stuff and when i need jimmy fallon to make me laugh. Baseball games in summer – go Red Sox! And with election year starting it will get worse. Lots of navigation/maps for work although new mapquest is awful!!

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[monikernc]

Leglock is that plan still available? Dropped calls an issue?

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Anonymous]

@monikernc If you're heavy on the videos and navigation/maps/GPS then I'm guessing you'd quickly go over the 2GB throttle point for most of the unlimited no contract pay-as-you-go plans, and then whether the reduced speeds would be a problem for you or not would vary based on how much the speeds affect you. However, the nice thing with these services is that they're no contract, so you could always give one a try and see how they work out for you. However, every time I look at contract plans they seem severely over-priced!

[12tang]

Sprint. Just a few months ago, I switched my plan to the $60 for unlimited talk, text and data. I have 4g lte where I live so it's great. I'm off contract right now. If I signed another 2 year, my phone would have been cheaper but I would have had to pay more monthly. It was the same either way in cost, so I opted to be off contract and paid for my phone outright.

I believe sprint has a deal right now where they will cut your bill in half if you switch from certain carriers. Or, you can just pick the $60 plan for unlimited everything, which IMO is the best around.

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[leglock]

i don't know the actual name my plan, but it's me and 4 others on it. It sounds like it is the exact same plan as mla. I've never had an issue with dropped calls. By comparison, my work provides me a Verizon iphone 6 that I carry with me also, and it is not as good as my att iphone with respect to speed and signal. I generally use the verizon just to check email, and use the att for any data/surfing because it is quicker.

[fuzyfro89]

If you tend to be a heavier data user, Sprint or T Mobile are probably the best deals for heavier users.

If you are a moderate user (<3gb), many of the prepaid plans (almost any carrier) or reseller services (Cricket, Straight talk, Virgin, etc.).

For what it's worth, I'm not sure how you pay $120/mo for a single line? Is your plan a super old carry over? Looking online shows many plans under $100/mo (the upper end being for fairly high data caps).

[MaLoTu]

I have verizon with 3 phones (all iphones; 6+,6+,4) and 6GB, my bill was $90 this month, but I think it was due to some retro thing. I guess after this month it will be $120 plus tax.

Have you tried calling them? Because all my phones are out of contract they only charge $20 per line for the service fee instead of $40 per line. I don't know if billing varies by state or not. I was paying close to $200 a month before they gave me all these discounts … try calling.

[monikernc]

thank you all for chiming in on this. yes. my plan is really old and until they up'd my rate it was no surprises. so now i have to get serious because it costs way too much. i am going to look at all of these. thank you again.

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Anonymous]

$45/month, unlimited everything with Straighttalk. I purchased a Samsung Galaxy Ace for $120.

[Author]

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