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Permalink Reply by Digital Dario on August 13, 2010 at 10:28am

With most prepaid phones you buy minutes. AT&T has a gophone option which does allow you to buy more minutes at any time. Presumably through an automated service using a credit card.

Instead of paying after your usage (like most contracts) you pay before. In the case of AT&T you when you the phone, and most come with minutes and you can call to add more at anytime. Some prepaid phone minutes do expire so I would make sure to check for that as well.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on August 13, 2010 at 11:03am

You can buy minutes at better prices online as opposed to brick and mortar locations. You often save 5-10%, more-if you search for coupons, plus no sales tax.

I use Callingmart.com

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Permalink Reply by heather s on August 13, 2010 at 12:38pm

I used to use a Boost mobile phone for work (actually, if your friend wants to borrow it, I'd lend it. I never use it anymore and there are still minutes on it). I think the actual phone was around $40 and the minutes were pretty cheap- you could buy them online or at 7-11 and places like that. The only thing I found annoying was, the 'chirp' function cost $1 per day. But I suppose the average cell phone user isn't using the walkie-talkie thing anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Sean W. on August 13, 2010 at 1:44pm

As a low-time user who didn't have a cell phone until last year, I went with the T-Mobile prepaid. They offer 1000 minutes for $100, and the minutes don't expire for a year. Texts cost essentially a minute on this plan. The phone was ~$25 and came with 10-20 minutes as well.

You can just buy a prepaid SIM if you already have a phone to use that's compatible with the network. slide in the SIM, activate it (through the phone or online, I forget), and then you can add minutes at stores, online, or through the phone.

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