One of the biggest complaints people have about cellular services is that they lock you into a two-year contract, with big fees if you want to cancel. If you’re looking for a flexible plan that doesn’t lock you in for those two years, it might be worth your while to check out Cingular’s Go Phone plans.
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There are two sub-plans under GoPhone; Pay-As-You-Go and Pick-Your-Plan.
Pay-As-You-Go
This is the more flexible of the two options—you’re not locked into one price per month, and you only pay for minutes you use. It works a little like a prepaid phone card, where you buy a certain number of minutes and then refill the account when it gets low—except with Pay-As-You-Go, the phone comes with the account.
There are two options you can pick here: the $.10-per-minute or the $.25-per-minute plan. Under the $.10-per-minute plan, you get free calling to other people who use Cingular, which you don’t under the $.25-per-minute plan. The catch is that under the cheaper plan, they charge you an extra dollar per day—but only on days that you use the phone. In my opinion, if you’re going to use your phone a lot, the best value is the $.10-per-minute plan—your account will last twice as long, even with that dollar-a-day charge. The $.25-a-minute plan is the best choice, in my opinion, if you’re looking for a just-for-emergencies plan—you won’t be locked into a monthly rate for a phone line that’s seldom used.
Under Pay-As-You-Go, you can buy minute cards in amounts from $15 to $100, and they last up to a year. It’s easy to refill your minutes, and they’ll also credit your account with a free $10 when you sign up for the first time, which is a nice bonus.
Pick-Your-Plan
Under this plan, you’ll pay a monthly fee like you would for a regular cellular service—the difference is there’s no contract and no hit to the checkbook if you cancel. If you’re planning to be on the phone quite a lot, this is probably the best option for you.
Pick-Your-Plan is much more similar to the traditional wireless plans than Pay-As-You-Go. It’s pretty economical, starting at $29.95 a month, and you get up to 600 minutes a month. Depending on the payment plan you choose, you can have free calls to other Cingular members, rollover, and free nights and weekends—all the perks you might expect under traditional plans. The difference is that you aren’t locked in with a contract.
Both services include everything a basic cellular service does: voice mail, free long distance and roaming, call forwarding, and call waiting. They’re both an excellent value for the money if you’re looking for flexibility in your wireless service. Read a full review on the Cingular Go Phone service at Prepaid Reviews.