Monthly Cell Phones - Can anyone beat $10.60/mo?

[Engine09]

Planning on getting a new cell phone.

I have an old Telus phone right now, I top it up once a month with $10. At the end of the month I still have almost all of my minutes left over. I rarely use the thing but I need it for work occasionaly. No interest in signing a contract of any kind, just want the bare minimum.

Looking at Bell, they have a minimum of $15 a month, plus charge you an extra $3.95 + $1 each month. No good.

Anyone else worth looking into?

[GreenTeaFrapp]

I topped up my Rogers phone with $100 that's good for one year.

[gottabekd]

I don't use my cell phone often. Mostly just to tell time (ha!). So I got a pay-as-you go from Virgin. Back when it started, there were no minimums--once you bought the phone, top-up when you need to. Then they implemented a policy that your balance expires after 4 months with no "top-ups". A minimum top-up was $15. So essentially, you could get by paying $15/4 months.

They changed all that around now. But searching their site, if you top up $100 in your account, it lasts 365 days.

http://virginmobile.ca/vmc/en/howDoI...d_account.html (Under the FAQ : "Does my account balance expire?"

I rarely call anyone, but when I do, the $0.30 a minute really adds up. I just have to remind myself that overall I pay only about $15.00/month total and get all the features for free (voicemail, call display, 911, receiving text messages).

[jamesteterenko]

I use a Virgin phone and top up every three months with $25. The only downside is that the phone is useless in the US. Other than that, it is great.

[Engine09]

Those are not bad deals at all, for guys like us who don't use a cell very often.

I looked into those and also a monthly contract with Telus. Any type of a contract would be a total waste of money for me so I'm just going to buy a new phone outright and continue to throw $10 on my account every month.

I calculated that I will was save $698 over the next 3 years, even if I buy a $400 phone.

Probably throw an ad up and see if anyone has one for sale.

[Vulcan]

If you go through Future Shop or Bestbuy you can buy a prepaid phone which with Telus at least, includes $50 in talk time. I also got another $25 credit for activating it on-line. So my cheap phone was basically free.

[HelloHockeyFans]

nm

[ken0042]

Just be very careful with plans that sound too good to be true. Pay as you go is great, but with Koodo you could get sucked into a 5 or 6 year "contract." Oh, sorry, they call it a tab instead of a contract. Here's where they get you:

Conventional phone you get $100-200 off by signing a 3 year contract. With Koodo you get money off the phone, and 10% of you bill goes to pay off the tab you created in getting the phone. So if you get $100 off a Koodo phone, and stick with the $15/month plan, it will take 5 years and 7 months to pay off your tab.

Granted getting out of your "contract" is considerably cheaper; after 1 year it would only cost you $82 as opposed to $400 with a regular phone. That's why I say to be careful.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Just be very careful with plans that sound too good to be true. Pay as you go is great, but with Koodo you could get sucked into a 5 or 6 year "contract." Oh, sorry, they call it a tab instead of a contract. Here's where they get you:

Conventional phone you get $100-200 off by signing a 3 year contract. With Koodo you get money off the phone, and 10% of you bill goes to pay off the tab you created in getting the phone. So if you get $100 off a Koodo phone, and stick with the $15/month plan, it will take 5 years and 7 months to pay off your tab.

Granted getting out of your "contract" is considerably cheaper; after 1 year it would only cost you $82 as opposed to $400 with a regular phone. That's why I say to be careful.

Also not to mention that Koodo can change their prices anytime they want, and you have no protection, since you don't have a fixed term contract... Being Telus, I fully expect to see some version of a system access fee come out one day...

[HOOT]

Well if you don't want the hassel of having to buy cards and all that...Solo Mobile has some new plans out that include the SAF/911 charges.

Plan
Unbeatable 15

Minimum monthly fee

$15

Local anytime minutes included

50

Local evening and weekend minutes included (7pm – 8am)

N/A

Features included

Call waiting, Call forwarding, Conference Calling

Text messages

50 Text messages per month

Additional local minutes

$0.35

Long distance minutes

$0.35

Monthly system access fee

Included

e9-1-1 emergency access service fee

Included

One time connection charge

Waived

[Gobsgraham]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Well if you don't want the hassel of having to buy cards and all that...Solo Mobile has some new plans out that include the SAF/911 charges.

Telus has this plan too they just don't tell you about it. I had a friend that used to work at Westco and I wanted to cancel my contract plan once the term was up. He told me to call in and ask about their "secret $15 plan". Her phone has been on it for 3 years now. $15+GST per month and nothing else. 50 minutes has always been enough for her and it is easier than having to worry about reloading the card all the time.

[Engine09]

$15+GST per month and nothing else. 50 minutes

Sounds damn good. I decided to stay with Telus, nothing out there was good enough for me to go through the hassle.

By the way, with my cheapo plan I have never bought any cards. Just dial #123 then top up with $10 of $25 from my credit card.

[BBQorMILDEW]

I pay 6.95 per month for unlimited calling and unlimited Data.
oh plus 50 cents for 911 fee...

hahaha

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by BBQorMILDEW

I pay 6.95 per month for unlimited calling and unlimited Data.
oh plus 50 cents for 911 fee...

hahaha

I pay $0.... on 2 different phones with different providers.

[FireFly]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

If you go through Future Shop or Bestbuy you can buy a prepaid phone which with Telus at least, includes $50 in talk time. I also got another $25 credit for activating it on-line. So my cheap phone was basically free.

That's a bit of a fallacy. That's for new activations only. If you already have a phone number, you don't get the 'activation' credit.