If you have a Tracfone and buy an airtime card
you can use these promotional codes to get
some free minutes.

40 free minutes on a 40 minute card 54565

100 free minutes on a 100 minute card 54662

200 free minutes on a 200 minute card 58855

400 free minutes on a 400 minute card 52615


PJ

"peanutjake" wrote in message
s.com...
If you have a Tracfone and buy an airtime card
you can use these promotional codes to get
some free minutes.

40 free minutes on a 40 minute card 54565

100 free minutes on a 100 minute card 54662

200 free minutes on a 200 minute card 58855

400 free minutes on a 400 minute card 52615


The phone I got off your email came last week. I haven't activated it
because it is a Christmas gift for my MIL, but everything looks okay.

Is there an exoiration date for these codes?

Yeah Right!

This is just like your last scam, (Refer a Friend) I got no further in the
e-mail than step two, never heard back from Tracfone on my free 100 mins.

Tom


"peanutjake" wrote in message
s.com...
If you have a Tracfone and buy an airtime card
you can use these promotional codes to get
some free minutes.

40 free minutes on a 40 minute card 54565

100 free minutes on a 100 minute card 54662

200 free minutes on a 200 minute card 58855

400 free minutes on a 400 minute card 52615


PJ

wrote in message
oups.com...
Is there an exoiration date for these codes?


The codes I posted are good until the end of December.
But many times Tracfone has extended the time that codes can be used.

Tracfone is always comming out with new promotional codes.
I will post any ones that I hear about.

PJ

twfsa wrote in message
news:3aSpf.31527$Mi5.6264@dukeread07...
Yeah Right!

This is just like your last scam, (Refer a Friend) I got no further in
the
e-mail than step two, never heard back from Tracfone on my free 100 mins.

Tom

You have to click on number 3 in the email they sent you to get the 100 free
minutes.

If you have a problem, you can call Tracfone at
800 339 9345.
They have been pretty helpful in solving problems.

PJ

Did that filled out the form and it said that it may take up to 48 hrs
before you hear from them so far nothing I have even complaines to Tracfone
in there Refer a Freind Dept.I will try the phone number you listed.

Thanks
Tom


"peanutjake" wrote in message
s.com...

twfsa wrote in message
news:3aSpf.31527$Mi5.6264@dukeread07...
Yeah Right!

This is just like your last scam, (Refer a Friend) I got no further in
the
e-mail than step two, never heard back from Tracfone on my free 100 mins.

Tom

You have to click on number 3 in the email they sent you to get the 100
free
minutes.

If you have a problem, you can call Tracfone at
800 339 9345.
They have been pretty helpful in solving problems.

PJ

I did call the customer service number and did get the 100 mins via the
phone, but did not receive an e-mail ( as in step 3)with the pin number, for
future use, and am not going to bother calling customer service again.

Tom

"peanutjake" wrote in message
s.com...

twfsa wrote in message
news:3aSpf.31527$Mi5.6264@dukeread07...
Yeah Right!

This is just like your last scam, (Refer a Friend) I got no further in
the
e-mail than step two, never heard back from Tracfone on my free 100 mins.

Tom

You have to click on number 3 in the email they sent you to get the 100
free
minutes.

If you have a problem, you can call Tracfone at
800 339 9345.
They have been pretty helpful in solving problems.

PJ

twfsa wrote:
I did call the customer service number and did get the 100 mins via the
phone, but did not receive an e-mail ( as in step 3)with the pin number, for
future use, and am not going to bother calling customer service again.

Tom

"peanutjake" wrote in message
s.com...

twfsa wrote in message
news:3aSpf.31527$Mi5.6264@dukeread07...

Yeah Right!

This is just like your last scam, (Refer a Friend) I got no further in

the

e-mail than step two, never heard back from Tracfone on my free 100 mins.

Tom

You have to click on number 3 in the email they sent you to get the 100
free
minutes.

If you have a problem, you can call Tracfone at
800 339 9345.
They have been pretty helpful in solving problems.

PJ

Tracfone has one of the worst reputations for customer service. Good
luck calling them. If you search Google for tracfone reviews you'll see.
That's not to say it's still not a good deal for those you make very few
calls like me. When my contract is up I may go with them. Anybody have
much experience with Virgin Mobils pay-as-you-go?

Bonnie

Bonnie Jean wrote:

Tracfone has one of the worst reputations for customer service. Good
luck calling them. If you search Google for tracfone reviews you'll see.
That's not to say it's still not a good deal for those you make very few
calls like me. When my contract is up I may go with them. Anybody have
much experience with Virgin Mobils pay-as-you-go?

Bonnie

When I recently had trouble finding the pin code (or whatever it's
called) on a new purchase card, I called Tracfone and was connected
after a short wait and limited number pushing to a service rep who
politely answered all my stupid questions and got my minuntes activated.
She did have a distinctive accent but was helpful and thorough. YMMV.

Steve

--
"But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on.
We're waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on."

-Pete Seeger

Steve IA wrote:
Bonnie Jean wrote:

Tracfone has one of the worst reputations for customer service. Good
luck calling them. If you search Google for tracfone reviews you'll
see. That's not to say it's still not a good deal for those you make
very few calls like me. When my contract is up I may go with them.
Anybody have much experience with Virgin Mobils pay-as-you-go?

Bonnie


When I recently had trouble finding the pin code (or whatever it's
called) on a new purchase card, I called Tracfone and was connected
after a short wait and limited number pushing to a service rep who
politely answered all my stupid questions and got my minuntes activated.
She did have a distinctive accent but was helpful and thorough. YMMV.

Steve

That is very encouraging. Still if you do research online you'll see
what I'm talking about. It could be that those with bad experiences are
more likely to complain than those with good experiences register their
satisfaction with Tracfones service.

Bonnie

Bonnie Jean wrote:

Steve IA wrote:

Bonnie Jean wrote:

Tracfone has one of the worst reputations for customer service. Good
luck calling them. If you search Google for tracfone reviews you'll
see. That's not to say it's still not a good deal for those you make
very few calls like me. When my contract is up I may go with them.
Anybody have much experience with Virgin Mobils pay-as-you-go?

Bonnie



When I recently had trouble finding the pin code (or whatever it's
called) on a new purchase card, I called Tracfone and was connected
after a short wait and limited number pushing to a service rep who
politely answered all my stupid questions and got my minuntes
activated. She did have a distinctive accent but was helpful and
thorough. YMMV.

Steve

That is very encouraging. Still if you do research online you'll see
what I'm talking about. It could be that those with bad experiences are
more likely to complain than those with good experiences register their
satisfaction with Tracfones service.

Bonnie

I've had TracFone for 2 years, and in the few calls I've made, they beat my
landline SouBell CR's hands down. You're right usually the satisfied folks
don't post about their experiences.
bj

Bonnie Jean wrote in message
. ..
Steve IA wrote:
Bonnie Jean wrote:

Tracfone has one of the worst reputations for customer service. Good
luck calling them. If you search Google for tracfone reviews you'll
see. That's not to say it's still not a good deal for those you make
very few calls like me. When my contract is up I may go with them.
Anybody have much experience with Virgin Mobils pay-as-you-go?

Bonnie


When I recently had trouble finding the pin code (or whatever it's
called) on a new purchase card, I called Tracfone and was connected
after a short wait and limited number pushing to a service rep who
politely answered all my stupid questions and got my minuntes activated.
She did have a distinctive accent but was helpful and thorough. YMMV.

Steve

That is very encouraging. Still if you do research online you'll see
what I'm talking about. It could be that those with bad experiences are
more likely to complain than those with good experiences register their
satisfaction with Tracfones service.

Bonnie

If you search any of the cell phone companies you will find lots of
dissatisfied people.

I have never had a problem that a email or phone call to Tracfone did not
fix.

Tracfone is the only company that has a program that gives free minutes for
new users.
If you get a Tracfone just send an email to
tracfone AT alex4all.com saying "free minutes please."
You will receive an email from Tracfone giving you the instructions for
activating you new or refurbished phone and giving you 100 free minutes.
No one else does that.

PJ

I'd like to have my email address used for promo codes too.
Is there any secrets I need to know before I start soliciting free
minutes?

Also, How do I retrieve my messages with a land phone?

WM

WM wrote in message
...

I'd like to have my email address used for promo codes too.
Is there any secrets I need to know before I start soliciting free
minutes?


No, just study the Tracfone web site.



Also, How do I retrieve my messages with a land phone?

WM

Here is the way I do it.
I turn OFF the cell phone.
On a land line I call the cell phone.
When the message system answers I press pound.
I am then asked for my pin number.
I enter the pin and I can listen to my messages.

PJ

On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 06:11:44 -0500, Bonnie Jean
wrote:


| Anybody have
| much experience with Virgin Mobils pay-as-you-go?
|
| Bonnie

My wife and I have been using VM for about a year and a half now and
are quite pleased with the service. We make very few calls and it fits
our needs. I think we have had only two times we could not get a
signal, which runs off the Sprint PCS network.

We have our account set up with our credit card so that it
automatically adds $20 worth of service when we get down to under $5
in our account. It will also auto-add $20 every three months if we
have not used up our minimum usage requirement, although this rarely
if ever happens. You can also use phone cards you buy at a store and
enter directly into the phone or you can add minutes on the Internet
using phone cards or credit/debit cards. Personally, I find both of
these methods inconvenient. There are several other "top up" options,
but the auto option works for us.

Of course, each individual call is relatively expensive. First of all,
you gotta buy the phone and they cost $20 - $190 or so depending on
your selection. The first ten minutes each day are 25 cents each and
10 cents each minute thereafter. This rate could really add up for a
frequent user, but we never spend more than $10/month or so unless we
are travelling.

The two times I called customer service the operators were utterly
clueless and could not solve my problem. I was getting email messages
that they had lost my account address. But they obviously hadn't, and
the phone still works, although to this day there is a statement on
the account data on their website saying that they have the wrong
address for me. Nobody at VM seemed to know how to fix this, and in
fact seemed thunderstruck by the problem. Both CS reps sounded like
they were around 15 years old.

Still, for an occasional user like me and my wife, it's a very good
solution which has saved us a great deal of money over Verizon, my
previous carrier. For me, with a cellphone, that's all that counts.
And I like the phone, an older but tiny Vox flip phone. Good battery
life, too. Hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of ringtones, if you are
into that.

VM is a service that panders to the pre-teen crowd, so all the website
information is presented in a pseudo-hip sort of way that will make
most people gag. It's "corporate hip" if you know what I mean. But who
cares about that so long as the service plan fits your needs? When you
use the phone, it's just like every other phone.

The Real Tom Miller wrote in message
...
On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 06:11:44 -0500, Bonnie Jean
wrote:


| Anybody have
| much experience with Virgin Mobils pay-as-you-go?
|
| Bonnie

My wife and I have been using VM for about a year and a half now and
are quite pleased with the service. We make very few calls and it fits
our needs. I think we have had only two times we could not get a
signal, which runs off the Sprint PCS network.

We have our account set up with our credit card so that it
automatically adds $20 worth of service when we get down to under $5
in our account. It will also auto-add $20 every three months if we
have not used up our minimum usage requirement,

It sounds like Tracfone is a much better deal.
No minumums, no useage requirements.
Unused minutes roll over.
Customer service department that really solves problems.

PJ

PJ

On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 19:22:21 -0500, "peanutjake"
wrote:

|
| The Real Tom Miller wrote in message
| ...
| On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 06:11:44 -0500, Bonnie Jean
| wrote:
|
|
| | Anybody have
| | much experience with Virgin Mobils pay-as-you-go?
| |
| | Bonnie
|
| My wife and I have been using VM for about a year and a half now and
| are quite pleased with the service. We make very few calls and it fits
| our needs. I think we have had only two times we could not get a
| signal, which runs off the Sprint PCS network.
|
| We have our account set up with our credit card so that it
| automatically adds $20 worth of service when we get down to under $5
| in our account. It will also auto-add $20 every three months if we
| have not used up our minimum usage requirement,
|
| It sounds like Tracfone is a much better deal.
| No minumums, no useage requirements.
| Unused minutes roll over.
| Customer service department that really solves problems.
|
| PJ

I have no idea. Just answering someone's question. I'm not trying to
sell anybody one, like you are. I get nothing out of my description
and I don't care if anyone uses VM or not.

However, just FYI, there are no set minutes with VM, so minutes don't
need to roll over. You just pay for what you use as you use it. No
contracts. No phone cards unless you want them. I hate those phone
cards.

My tiny customer service issue turned out to be a non-issue, although
I was not impressed with the performance of the reps. That's just one
incident, however.

But the service is almost completely straightforward -- no gimmicky
rebates, no airtime promos, no spam-bait "deals."

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 02:36:01 GMT, (The Real
Tom Miller) wrote:

| On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 19:22:21 -0500, "peanutjake"
| wrote:
|
| |
| | The Real Tom Miller wrote in message
| | ...
| | On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 06:11:44 -0500, Bonnie Jean
| | wrote:
| |
| |
| | | Anybody have
| | | much experience with Virgin Mobils pay-as-you-go?
| | |
| | | Bonnie
| |
| | My wife and I have been using VM for about a year and a half now and
| | are quite pleased with the service. We make very few calls and it fits
| | our needs. I think we have had only two times we could not get a
| | signal, which runs off the Sprint PCS network.
| |
| | We have our account set up with our credit card so that it
| | automatically adds $20 worth of service when we get down to under $5
| | in our account. It will also auto-add $20 every three months if we
| | have not used up our minimum usage requirement,
| |
| | It sounds like Tracfone is a much better deal.
| | No minumums, no useage requirements.
| | Unused minutes roll over.
| | Customer service department that really solves problems.
| |
| | PJ
|
| I have no idea. Just answering someone's question. I'm not trying to
| sell anybody one, like you are. I get nothing out of my description
| and I don't care if anyone uses VM or not.
|
| However, just FYI, there are no set minutes with VM, so minutes don't
| need to roll over. You just pay for what you use as you use it. No
| contracts. No phone cards unless you want them. I hate those phone
| cards.
|
| My tiny customer service issue turned out to be a non-issue, although
| I was not impressed with the performance of the reps. That's just one
| incident, however.
|
| But the service is almost completely straightforward -- no gimmicky
| rebates, no airtime promos, no spam-bait "deals."

I just looked on the Tracphone website to see what kind of deal they
offered and noticed that you have to add minutes to the phone every 60
days. With VM, you have to add $15 to your account every 90 days.
Which is the better deal?

With a VM credit/debit card plan you don't need to actually do
anything, but with Tracphone you have to find a store and buy a phone
card and enter the number before your remaining minutes and usage time
run out.

With Tracphone, the minutes added to the phone expire after 120 days
and each of the cards have an expiration date too. With VM there is
nothing to expire if you choose the credit/debit card plan.

I'd say the Tracphone asks you to pay way too much attention to your
phone or else you'll lose your money. And you have to guess in advance
how much you will be using it in the next 60 days to buy the "right"
size card. To make it an easy, convenient plan to use you would have
to buy one of the annual plan cards with a significant outlay of money
up front. Too complicated for me. Too expensive for me. I just want to
use the friggin' phone and not have to worry about buying phone cards,
what day it is, how many minutes I'm going to be using in the next two
months, and how many minutes I have left.

On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 06:11:44 -0500, Bonnie Jean
wrote:
| Anybody have
| much experience with Virgin Mobils pay-as-you-go?
| Bonnie


The Real Tom Miller wrote:
My wife and I have been using VM for about a year and a half now and
are quite pleased with the service.

Concerning the 25¢ per minute for the first 10 minutes..........is that
10 minutes each day no matter if you use them or not? Or is it for the
first 10 minutes of ACTUAL use.
Thanks Tom for the info

The Real Tom Miller wrote:
Tom Miller) wrote:
| the service is almost completely straightforward -- no gimmicky
| rebates, no airtime promos, no spam-bait "deals."

Same as for TracFone, if customers *go to their web site* and read about all
of their offerings.


I just looked on the Tracphone website to see what kind of deal they
offered and noticed that you have to add minutes to the phone every 60
days. With VM, you have to add $15 to your account every 90 days.
Which is the better deal?

I'd say it depends on your usage. I paid $90 for the annual service, which
is $7.50 month. I can add minutes if I need them. In 2 yrs. I haven't had
to, because of buying when promotions were available.


With a VM credit/debit card plan you don't need to actually do
anything, but with Tracphone you have to find a store and buy a phone
card and enter the number before your remaining minutes and usage time
run out.

OR buy additional time on the internet or by phone, or sign up for their
monthly auto-pay plan.


With Tracphone, the minutes added to the phone expire after 120 days
and each of the cards have an expiration date too. With VM there is
nothing to expire if you choose the credit/debit card plan.

Their web site says [and it is my understanding] that time purchased does
not expire, with ACTIVE service. How you choose to keep your service
*active* is up to you.


I'd say the Tracphone asks you to pay way too much attention to your
phone or else you'll lose your money. And you have to guess in advance
how much you will be using it in the next 60 days to buy the "right"
size card. To make it an easy, convenient plan to use you would have
to buy one of the annual plan cards with a significant outlay of money
up front.

OR you could sign up for the same service with TracFone. They also have the
option of monthly auto-pay plans. Your choice...


Too complicated for me. Too expensive for me. I just want to
use the friggin' phone and not have to worry about buying phone cards,
what day it is, how many minutes I'm going to be using in the next two
months, and how many minutes I have left.

Not many TracFone users do either. I'm not selling TracFone, but your
message was really distorting what is available through TracFone, and I
thought people should be encouraged to read the site info for themselves.

http://tracfone.com/rates.jsp?nextPa...jsp&task=rates

bj

The Real Tom Miller wrote:
@VM snip
Of course, each individual call is relatively expensive. First of all,
you gotta buy the phone and they cost $20 - $190 or so depending on
your selection.

TracFone [and others probably] frequently give away refurbished phones FREE
during promotions. I got my Nokia free 2 years ago, and it has worked fine.


The first ten minutes each day are 25 cents each and
10 cents each minute thereafter. This rate could really add up for a
frequent user, but we never spend more than $10/month or so unless we
are travelling.

There are no individual call charges [local or LD] when made within your
calling area with TracFone. I think the minutes are doubled, outside your
range. Since I do little traveling outside my range, this is fine for me.
bj

chicagofan wrote:
The Real Tom Miller wrote:

@VM snip
Of course, each individual call is relatively expensive. First of all,
you gotta buy the phone and they cost $20 - $190 or so depending on
your selection.


TracFone [and others probably] frequently give away refurbished phones
FREE during promotions. I got my Nokia free 2 years ago, and it has
worked fine.


The first ten minutes each day are 25 cents each and
10 cents each minute thereafter. This rate could really add up for a
frequent user, but we never spend more than $10/month or so unless we
are travelling.


There are no individual call charges [local or LD] when made within your
calling area with TracFone. I think the minutes are doubled, outside
your range. Since I do little traveling outside my range, this is fine
for me.
bj


I was with Tracfone for 3 years. Then the kid found that VM is
marginally better, and switched to it. The TracFone's one year service
of $90 can get you 360+ minues of time on VM, if you don't consider the
value of that free Nokia phone. I got 3 of them, that is going to trash
can. Does anyone want to pick them up for free? They can still be used
for Tracfone.

Then comes the STi. The catch is the $100 rebate/phone. The
free-after-rebate phones with color display is world ahead of the old
Nokia phones I had. I bought 4 phones from Staple - three of them used
by the family, and one for spare in my drawer. With a net cost of 60
cents (assuming I will get the rebates back), you can't beat that by any
company. Yes, that 60 cents is after the $5 tax and $5 activation fee,
and a $10 phone card, as Staple has a 12% off before 12/24/05. The $5
remained on the phone after activation charge will let you phone active
for 14 years if you use it minimally - that is send or receive a SMS
every 2 months.

For comparisons, see:
http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 06:22:32 -0500, Bonnie Jean
wrote:

| On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 06:11:44 -0500, Bonnie Jean
| wrote:=20
| | Anybody have=20
| | much experience with Virgin Mobils pay-as-you-go? =20
| | Bonnie
|
|
| The Real Tom Miller wrote:
| My wife and I have been using VM for about a year and a half now and
| are quite pleased with the service.
|
| Concerning the 25=A2 per minute for the first 10 minutes..........is that=
|
| 10 minutes each day no matter if you use them or not? Or is it for the=20
| first 10 minutes of ACTUAL use.
| Thanks Tom for the info

It's for actual use. You don't pay if you don't make the calls. But
the first 10 minutes of use are 25 cents each. It seems like a lot to
me, but overall it works for us.

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 12:18:47 -0500, chicagofan
wrote:

| The Real Tom Miller wrote:
| @VM snip
| Of course, each individual call is relatively expensive. First of all,
| you gotta buy the phone and they cost $20 - $190 or so depending on
| your selection.
|
| TracFone [and others probably] frequently give away refurbished phones FREE
| during promotions. I got my Nokia free 2 years ago, and it has worked fine.
|

I have not noticed any free phones with VM, but they are all new
phones AFAIK.

|
| The first ten minutes each day are 25 cents each and
| 10 cents each minute thereafter. This rate could really add up for a
| frequent user, but we never spend more than $10/month or so unless we
| are travelling.
|
| There are no individual call charges [local or LD] when made within your
| calling area with TracFone. I think the minutes are doubled, outside your
| range. Since I do little traveling outside my range, this is fine for me.
| bj

I'm not following this. You mean calls in the "calling area" are free?
It doesn't say that on the website. I thought you had to buy a phone
card. VM has NO local calling area and all calls cost the same no
matter if local or long distance. Each call is 25 cents/minute for the
first 10 minutes and 10 cents thereafter. No other charges at all, no
monthly charges, no monthly minutes. We use the phone more when we
are travelling, but it doesn't cost any more per minute.

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 12:07:10 -0500, chicagofan
wrote:

| The Real Tom Miller wrote:
| Tom Miller) wrote:
| | the service is almost completely straightforward -- no gimmicky
| | rebates, no airtime promos, no spam-bait "deals."
|
| Same as for TracFone, if customers *go to their web site* and read about all
| of their offerings.
|

But below you talk about "going to the website" and looking for
promotions in order to save money.

If you look on the website, every single offer is a "special promo."
Every time you buy a card, you have to second guess their marketing
staff and pre-estimate your future use. Really, it's nothing but
gimmicks.

|
| I just looked on the Tracphone website to see what kind of deal they
| offered and noticed that you have to add minutes to the phone every 60
| days. With VM, you have to add $15 to your account every 90 days.
| Which is the better deal?
|
| I'd say it depends on your usage. I paid $90 for the annual service, which
| is $7.50 month. I can add minutes if I need them. In 2 yrs. I haven't had
| to, because of buying when promotions were available.


So you have to front $90/year to get a good deal, but I front as
little as $15/quarter. And except for the $15, I never have to buy
minutes until I actually use them. As I use the service, I use up the
$15. Then they charge my credit card another $15 and so on. All I do
is use the phone. You have to buy minutes before you use them and then
keep track of your use and replace them with a card.


|
|
| With a VM credit/debit card plan you don't need to actually do
| anything, but with Tracphone you have to find a store and buy a phone
| card and enter the number before your remaining minutes and usage time
| run out.
|
| OR buy additional time on the internet or by phone, or sign up for their
| monthly auto-pay plan.
|
|
| With Tracphone, the minutes added to the phone expire after 120 days
| and each of the cards have an expiration date too. With VM there is
| nothing to expire if you choose the credit/debit card plan.
|
| Their web site says [and it is my understanding] that time purchased does
| not expire, with ACTIVE service. How you choose to keep your service
| *active* is up to you.

"To keep your TracFone service active, you must purchase and add a
TracFone Prepaid Wireless Airtime every 60 or 365 days depending on
the card denomination. Add airtime before your due date and your
remaining minutes and service days will carryover and be added to your
phone, to a maximum of 120 days with any combination of regular
airtime cards or 730 days with any combination of annual plan cards."

With VM you have to add at least $15 worth of time every 90 days. If I
don't use the phone at all, the credit card adds $15 to my balance
every 90 days and I have a larger balance to use. (actually, I have
mine set for $20, but I could set it as low as $15). The balance never
expires, although if you never used it you would build a large balance
eventually. But this has never happened to me.


|
|
| I'd say the Tracphone asks you to pay way too much attention to your
| phone or else you'll lose your money. And you have to guess in advance
| how much you will be using it in the next 60 days to buy the "right"
| size card. To make it an easy, convenient plan to use you would have
| to buy one of the annual plan cards with a significant outlay of money
| up front.
|
| OR you could sign up for the same service with TracFone. They also have the
| option of monthly auto-pay plans. Your choice...
|

If there's an auto pay plan, this is more interesting. However, I did
not see it on the site. They have a plan called "auto pay" but it
seems to be a $15 monthly fee promo plan that still requires that you
buy airtime cards. You would have to front $80 to get 10 cents/minute
and still pay $15/month in addition. And out-of-area costs twice as
much, so you're paying 20 cents/minute.

|
| Too complicated for me. Too expensive for me. I just want to
| use the friggin' phone and not have to worry about buying phone cards,
| what day it is, how many minutes I'm going to be using in the next two
| months, and how many minutes I have left.
|
| Not many TracFone users do either. I'm not selling TracFone, but your
| message was really distorting what is available through TracFone, and I
| thought people should be encouraged to read the site info for themselves.
|
| http://tracfone.com/rates.jsp?nextPa...jsp&task=rates

I agree. Read the site yourself. I did not intend to distort the
Tracphone plans, but I can't find these good deals on the site myself.
But then, I'm not looking very hard.

It still sounds like a lot of dickin' around to make a phone call. And
I really don't like the doube charge for roaming.

My wife uses Tracfone, since it alows you to rome at double the minutes. I
use VM; but don't have roming. For my wife's Tracfone I usually buy the
double minutes + years service, she uses the phone alot; but still cheaper
than normal mobile service. Also with the double minutes plan, when Tracfone
has specials you can end up getting the minutes for about 12.5 cents per
minute or less. VM is a better deal if you're not using your phone alot.
Also I have never used up my 90 days of time and I have to still add $20
every 90 days. Either way if you don't plan on using over 200 minutes per
month, I'd go with either. Just remember do you want roming or not.
"The Real Tom Miller" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 12:18:47 -0500, chicagofan
wrote:

| The Real Tom Miller wrote:
| @VM snip
| Of course, each individual call is relatively expensive. First of
all,
| you gotta buy the phone and they cost $20 - $190 or so depending on
| your selection.
|
| TracFone [and others probably] frequently give away refurbished phones
FREE
| during promotions. I got my Nokia free 2 years ago, and it has worked
fine.
|

I have not noticed any free phones with VM, but they are all new
phones AFAIK.

|
| The first ten minutes each day are 25 cents each and
| 10 cents each minute thereafter. This rate could really add up for a
| frequent user, but we never spend more than $10/month or so unless
we
| are travelling.
|
| There are no individual call charges [local or LD] when made within
your
| calling area with TracFone. I think the minutes are doubled, outside
your
| range. Since I do little traveling outside my range, this is fine for
me.
| bj

I'm not following this. You mean calls in the "calling area" are free?
It doesn't say that on the website. I thought you had to buy a phone
card. VM has NO local calling area and all calls cost the same no
matter if local or long distance. Each call is 25 cents/minute for the
first 10 minutes and 10 cents thereafter. No other charges at all, no
monthly charges, no monthly minutes. We use the phone more when we
are travelling, but it doesn't cost any more per minute.

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 20:48:00 -0600, "jkaszynski"
wrote:

| My wife uses Tracfone, since it alows you to rome at double the minutes. I
| use VM; but don't have roming. For my wife's Tracfone I usually buy the
| double minutes + years service, she uses the phone alot; but still cheaper
| than normal mobile service. Also with the double minutes plan, when Tracfone
| has specials you can end up getting the minutes for about 12.5 cents per
| minute or less. VM is a better deal if you're not using your phone alot.
| Also I have never used up my 90 days of time and I have to still add $20
| every 90 days. Either way if you don't plan on using over 200 minutes per
| month, I'd go with either. Just remember do you want roming or not.

Yeah, this is right. I misunderstood the "roaming" issue. With my VM,
I can use it in any place that has Sprint PCS service but nowhere
else. Although the service is widely available, and although I have
almost never had a problem getting a connection, it probably doesn't
work in a lot of rural areas. It also doesn't work in the western end
of my living room in New Jersey, but that's another story entirely.

Tracphone apparently has very good roaming, although outside the home
area you "pay" double for it.


| "The Real Tom Miller" wrote in message
| ...
| On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 12:18:47 -0500, chicagofan
| wrote:
|
| | The Real Tom Miller wrote:
| | @VM snip
| | Of course, each individual call is relatively expensive. First of
| all,
| | you gotta buy the phone and they cost $20 - $190 or so depending on
| | your selection.
| |
| | TracFone [and others probably] frequently give away refurbished phones
| FREE
| | during promotions. I got my Nokia free 2 years ago, and it has worked
| fine.
| |
|
| I have not noticed any free phones with VM, but they are all new
| phones AFAIK.
|
| |
| | The first ten minutes each day are 25 cents each and
| | 10 cents each minute thereafter. This rate could really add up for a
| | frequent user, but we never spend more than $10/month or so unless
| we
| | are travelling.
| |
| | There are no individual call charges [local or LD] when made within
| your
| | calling area with TracFone. I think the minutes are doubled, outside
| your
| | range. Since I do little traveling outside my range, this is fine for
| me.
| | bj
|
| I'm not following this. You mean calls in the "calling area" are free?
| It doesn't say that on the website. I thought you had to buy a phone
| card. VM has NO local calling area and all calls cost the same no
| matter if local or long distance. Each call is 25 cents/minute for the
| first 10 minutes and 10 cents thereafter. No other charges at all, no
| monthly charges, no monthly minutes. We use the phone more when we
| are travelling, but it doesn't cost any more per minute.
|
|

The Real Tom Miller wrote in message
...
On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 20:48:00 -0600, "jkaszynski"
wrote:

| My wife uses Tracfone, since it alows you to rome at double the
minutes. I
| use VM; but don't have roming. For my wife's Tracfone I usually buy
the
| double minutes + years service, she uses the phone alot; but still
cheaper
| than normal mobile service. Also with the double minutes plan, when
Tracfone
| has specials you can end up getting the minutes for about 12.5 cents
per
| minute or less. VM is a better deal if you're not using your phone
alot.
| Also I have never used up my 90 days of time and I have to still add
$20
| every 90 days. Either way if you don't plan on using over 200 minutes
per
| month, I'd go with either. Just remember do you want roming or not.

Yeah, this is right. I misunderstood the "roaming" issue. With my VM,
I can use it in any place that has Sprint PCS service but nowhere
else. Although the service is widely available, and although I have
almost never had a problem getting a connection, it probably doesn't
work in a lot of rural areas.

If you get a GSM type Tracfone like the model 1100 there is no extra charge
for roaming.
This model will work on any carrier, any place in the country as long is GSM
is available. You are not limited to any particular service. The Tracfone
will automaticaly the strongest signal for the area.

PJ

PJ wrote:
If you get a GSM type Tracfone like the model 1100 there is no extra charge
for roaming.
This model will work on any carrier, any place in the country as long is GSM
is available. You are not limited to any particular service. The Tracfone
will automaticaly the strongest signal for the area.

PJ, I may be moving from South Jersey to Charlotte NC in 4 months. If I
buy a one year card, will I be able to change my telephone number and
local area midstream and not lose the minutes? I have already confirmed
that both areas use the same phones.

Thanks, Bonnie

"peanutjake" wrote in message
s.com...
If you have a Tracfone and buy an airtime card
you can use these promotional codes to get
some free minutes.

40 free minutes on a 40 minute card 54565

I tried that and it tells me it is an invalid code. Please advise.

Bonnie Jean wrote in message
...
PJ wrote:
If you get a GSM type Tracfone like the model 1100 there is no extra
charge
for roaming.
This model will work on any carrier, any place in the country as long is
GSM
is available. You are not limited to any particular service. The
Tracfone
will automaticaly the strongest signal for the area.

PJ, I may be moving from South Jersey to Charlotte NC in 4 months. If I
buy a one year card, will I be able to change my telephone number and
local area midstream and not lose the minutes? I have already confirmed
that both areas use the same phones.

Thanks, Bonnie

Yes, no problem.
Call customer service and give then your new zip code.
They will give you a new local number.
You will not lose anything.
PJ

Toller wrote in message
...

"peanutjake" wrote in message
s.com...
If you have a Tracfone and buy an airtime card
you can use these promotional codes to get
some free minutes.

40 free minutes on a 40 minute card 54565

I tried that and it tells me it is an invalid code. Please advise.



I answered you by email.

PJ

The Real Tom Miller wrote:
chicagofan wrote:

| The Real Tom Miller wrote:
| Tom Miller) wrote:
| | the service is almost completely straightforward -- no gimmicky
| | rebates, no airtime promos, no spam-bait "deals."
|
| Same as for TracFone, if customers *go to their web site* and read about all
| of their offerings.


But below you talk about "going to the website" and looking for
promotions in order to save money.

I'm not following you. When I first got their service, I went to their web
site, read all of their pricing plans and chose the one best for me, which
at the time... offered the free phone. I got the free phone, with 60 days
service [I've forgotten the minutes] for $30 for a trial run; that way if I
didn't like the service, nothing would be lost. [This was 2 yrs ago.]

As it turned out, the phone and reception was good [in my area they use
Cingular], so during the upcoming *renewal* month, they send offers [by
e-mail] with bonus minutes, and when I got one I liked, I renewed for a year
and got 100 bonus minutes.


If you look on the website, every single offer is a "special promo."
Every time you buy a card, you have to second guess their marketing
staff and pre-estimate your future use. Really, it's nothing but
gimmicks.

To each his own. I just read the offers that I get in the mail, and
estimate my usage, which I would do to evaluate *any* plan. And now I
only think about it, once a year.


| I just looked on the Tracphone website to see what kind of deal they
| offered and noticed that you have to add minutes to the phone every 60
| days. With VM, you have to add $15 to your account every 90 days.
| Which is the better deal?
|
| I'd say it depends on your usage. I paid $90 for the annual service, which
| is $7.50 month. I can add minutes if I need them. In 2 yrs. I haven't had
| to, because of buying when promotions were available.


So you have to front $90/year to get a good deal, but I front as
little as $15/quarter. And except for the $15, I never have to buy
minutes until I actually use them. As I use the service, I use up the
$15. Then they charge my credit card another $15 and so on. All I do
is use the phone. You have to buy minutes before you use them and then
keep track of your use and replace them with a card.

Not with my usage; but the minutes I have left, is always shown on my phone
when it is turned on.

I'm obviously doing a VERY bad job of explaining this. Maybe if I explain
my usage and why it works for me, it will be easier to understand. After my
landline phone was out of serivce for 2 weeks, I decided to see if I could
replace it with a cellphone, because I make *very* few local calls. The
comparison I've been making is $30 mo./$360 yr. for local telephone service
[rarely used] with NO long distance coverage; to Tracfone service for $90
yr. for local AND long distance.

I don't use the phone as much as most people, but since long distance is my
primary usage... the cost works out for me.


| Too complicated for me. Too expensive for me. I just want to
| use the friggin' phone and not have to worry about buying phone cards,
| what day it is, how many minutes I'm going to be using in the next two
| months, and how many minutes I have left.
|
| Not many TracFone users do either. I'm not selling TracFone, but your
| message was really distorting what is available through TracFone, and I
| thought people should be encouraged to read the site info for themselves.
|
| http://tracfone.com/rates.jsp?nextPa...jsp&task=rates


I agree. Read the site yourself. I did not intend to distort the
Tracphone plans, but I can't find these good deals on the site myself.
But then, I'm not looking very hard.

It still sounds like a lot of dickin' around to make a phone call. And
I really don't like the doube charge for roaming.

I agree the roaming charges have to be considered, and it seems you have
chosen the auto pay plan best suited to your usage. I like just paying once
a year and forgetting about it; and think I finally have the courage to
cancel my landline in the new year.
bj

The Real Tom Miller wrote:

chicagofan wrote:

| The Real Tom Miller wrote:
| @VM snip
| Of course, each individual call is
| The first ten minutes each day are 25 cents each and
| 10 cents each minute thereafter. This rate could really add up for a
| frequent user, but we never spend more than $10/month or so unless we
| are travelling.
|
| There are no individual call charges [local or LD] when made within your
| calling area with TracFone. I think the minutes are doubled, outside your
| range. Since I do little traveling outside my range, this is fine for me.
| bj


I'm not following this. You mean calls in the "calling area" are free?
It doesn't say that on the website. I thought you had to buy a phone
card.

They are not free in the sense, that you have to *buy* minutes.. to activate
your choice of service, but there are no extra per call charges... unless
you place a call outside of your home area [then you are using double
minutes]. In my case, the *home* area is almost the entire northern section
of my state.


VM has NO local calling area and all calls cost the same no
matter if local or long distance. Each call is 25 cents/minute for the
first 10 minutes and 10 cents thereafter.

I don't think I could keep up with this. I'd just have to trust their
billing was right.
bj

Another issue with Tracfone is that when you buy more time you have to enter
all these codes that they require to get your minutes you just bought. This
is a big hassle if you don't have the phone with you when you buy the
minutes, you have to wait until you have the phone present. With VM you just
tell them how much time you're buying and within a minute you have your
account updated.
Also one time my wife dropped her phone and it would no longer turn on. We
bought a new phone and then called tracfone to active the new phone and then
requested that they transfer the unused minutes from the old phone that no
longer worked along with the double minutes cards we had. Well tracfone told
us to turn on the old phone to verify the minutes that were remaining. We
told them that the phone no longer worked and could not turn on the phone.
Well to make a long story short and a number of calls and emails, it took
over 2 months to get the minutes we had coming. They told us they don't have
access to your phone records. Well with VM you can log on to their website
and look at all the calls you make and how much time and money you spent on
each call, it's just like a phone bill with long distant call listings.
"The Real Tom Miller" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 20:48:00 -0600, "jkaszynski"
wrote:

| My wife uses Tracfone, since it alows you to rome at double the
minutes. I
| use VM; but don't have roming. For my wife's Tracfone I usually buy
the
| double minutes + years service, she uses the phone alot; but still
cheaper
| than normal mobile service. Also with the double minutes plan, when
Tracfone
| has specials you can end up getting the minutes for about 12.5 cents
per
| minute or less. VM is a better deal if you're not using your phone
alot.
| Also I have never used up my 90 days of time and I have to still add
$20
| every 90 days. Either way if you don't plan on using over 200 minutes
per
| month, I'd go with either. Just remember do you want roming or not.

Yeah, this is right. I misunderstood the "roaming" issue. With my VM,
I can use it in any place that has Sprint PCS service but nowhere
else. Although the service is widely available, and although I have
almost never had a problem getting a connection, it probably doesn't
work in a lot of rural areas. It also doesn't work in the western end
of my living room in New Jersey, but that's another story entirely.

Tracphone apparently has very good roaming, although outside the home
area you "pay" double for it.


| "The Real Tom Miller" wrote in message
| ...
| On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 12:18:47 -0500, chicagofan
| wrote:
|
| | The Real Tom Miller wrote:
| | @VM snip
| | Of course, each individual call is relatively expensive. First
of
| all,
| | you gotta buy the phone and they cost $20 - $190 or so
depending on
| | your selection.
| |
| | TracFone [and others probably] frequently give away refurbished
phones
| FREE
| | during promotions. I got my Nokia free 2 years ago, and it has
worked
| fine.
| |
|
| I have not noticed any free phones with VM, but they are all new
| phones AFAIK.
|
| |
| | The first ten minutes each day are 25 cents each and
| | 10 cents each minute thereafter. This rate could really add up
for a
| | frequent user, but we never spend more than $10/month or so
unless
| we
| | are travelling.
| |
| | There are no individual call charges [local or LD] when made
within
| your
| | calling area with TracFone. I think the minutes are doubled,
outside
| your
| | range. Since I do little traveling outside my range, this is
fine for
| me.
| | bj
|
| I'm not following this. You mean calls in the "calling area" are
free?
| It doesn't say that on the website. I thought you had to buy a phone
| card. VM has NO local calling area and all calls cost the same no
| matter if local or long distance. Each call is 25 cents/minute for
the
| first 10 minutes and 10 cents thereafter. No other charges at all,
no
| monthly charges, no monthly minutes. We use the phone more when we
| are travelling, but it doesn't cost any more per minute.
|
|

On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 13:48:36 -0500, chicagofan
wrote:

| The Real Tom Miller wrote:
|
| chicagofan wrote:
|
| | The Real Tom Miller wrote:
| | @VM snip
| | Of course, each individual call is
| | The first ten minutes each day are 25 cents each and
| | 10 cents each minute thereafter. This rate could really add up for a
| | frequent user, but we never spend more than $10/month or so unless we
| | are travelling.
| |
| | There are no individual call charges [local or LD] when made within your
| | calling area with TracFone. I think the minutes are doubled, outside your
| | range. Since I do little traveling outside my range, this is fine for me.
| | bj
|
|
| I'm not following this. You mean calls in the "calling area" are free?
| It doesn't say that on the website. I thought you had to buy a phone
| card.
|
| They are not free in the sense, that you have to *buy* minutes.. to activate
| your choice of service, but there are no extra per call charges... unless
| you place a call outside of your home area [then you are using double
| minutes]. In my case, the *home* area is almost the entire northern section
| of my state.
|
|
| VM has NO local calling area and all calls cost the same no
| matter if local or long distance. Each call is 25 cents/minute for the
| first 10 minutes and 10 cents thereafter.
|
| I don't think I could keep up with this. I'd just have to trust their
| billing was right.
| bj

You don't really have to keep up with it. That's the point I'm making.
You just use the phone. If you want to check them for accuracy, all
your phone usage is itemized on their website, listed like a regular
phone bill. We use the phone so infrequently that we rarely check it.

The first 10 minutes each day costs $0.25 per minute and all minutes
after that are $0.10 per minute.

On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 13:24:03 -0500, chicagofan
wrote:

| The Real Tom Miller wrote:
| chicagofan wrote:

| I'm obviously doing a VERY bad job of explaining this. Maybe if I explain
| my usage and why it works for me, it will be easier to understand. After my
| landline phone was out of serivce for 2 weeks, I decided to see if I could
| replace it with a cellphone, because I make *very* few local calls. The
| comparison I've been making is $30 mo./$360 yr. for local telephone service
| [rarely used] with NO long distance coverage; to Tracfone service for $90
| yr. for local AND long distance.
|
| I don't use the phone as much as most people, but since long distance is my
| primary usage... the cost works out for me.

Hey, I don't think you are doing any worse job explaining it than I
probably am!

However, for the usage you explain above you could use many prepaid
services. You are calling from your home region and making mostly long
distance calls. You don't call much. Pretty simple and straightforward
and many plans, including VM, would accomodate this usage.

We use our cellphone mostly to make local calls when we are out of our
home (my wife calls me from the supermarket to tell me to go to the
kitchen and check our bread supply, for example). When we travel, we
use the phone to make calls from our hotel. We sometimes call
restaurants while we are shopping to make reservations for later.
Basically we use it like people used to use pay phones.

But if we wanted to use it in the home to make long distance calls, we
could.

We use our landline flat-rate service to make most long distance
calls. The landline flat rate is MUCH cheaper, and especially when we
ran a business we saved hundreds of dollars each month using it. But
we're talking phone bills of $300+/month.

What I like about VM is that when I make the calls, they are
automatically posted to my credit card and that's the end of it. No
phone cards (unless I want to use them, which I don't). Without this
feature, it's not much different from Tracphone, although for a very
low user it is apparently slightly cheaper. Very slightly cheaper.
(You pay $7.50/month, I'd pay $5.00/month).

We had an ATT cellphone for a year and a Verizon phone for two years.
Basically we were paying a fat monthly fee and never using the phones.
And the free phones we got were the size of bricks. The ATT service
was dreadful, too.

That's why I looked into prepaid cellphones in the first place. I
settled on VM because I could essentially charge the calls to my
credit card as I made them and forget about it. I'm not on a budget,
but I don't like paying for something I'm not using.

As for the Tracphone promo offers, all I can say is that I'm a retired
marketing executive and I spent a huge portion of my adult life
setting up promotions and special offers, and I knows 'em when I sees
'em. :-)

BTW someone posted this site which explains 'em all:

http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm



On Sun, 25 Dec 2005 03:13:32 GMT, (The Real
Tom Miller) wrote:

| On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 13:24:03 -0500, chicagofan
| wrote:
|
| | The Real Tom Miller wrote:
| | chicagofan wrote:
|
| | I'm obviously doing a VERY bad job of explaining this. Maybe if I explain
| | my usage and why it works for me, it will be easier to understand. After my
| | landline phone was out of serivce for 2 weeks, I decided to see if I could
| | replace it with a cellphone, because I make *very* few local calls. The
| | comparison I've been making is $30 mo./$360 yr. for local telephone service
| | [rarely used] with NO long distance coverage; to Tracfone service for $90
| | yr. for local AND long distance.
| |
| | I don't use the phone as much as most people, but since long distance is my
| | primary usage... the cost works out for me.
|
| Hey, I don't think you are doing any worse job explaining it than I
| probably am!
|
| However, for the usage you explain above you could use many prepaid
| services. You are calling from your home region and making mostly long
| distance calls. You don't call much. Pretty simple and straightforward
| and many plans, including VM, would accomodate this usage.
|
| We use our cellphone mostly to make local calls when we are out of our
| home (my wife calls me from the supermarket to tell me to go to the
| kitchen and check our bread supply, for example). When we travel, we
| use the phone to make calls from our hotel. We sometimes call
| restaurants while we are shopping to make reservations for later.
| Basically we use it like people used to use pay phones.
|
| But if we wanted to use it in the home to make long distance calls, we
| could.
|
| We use our landline flat-rate service to make most long distance
| calls. The landline flat rate is MUCH cheaper, and especially when we
| ran a business we saved hundreds of dollars each month using it. But
| we're talking phone bills of $300+/month.
|
| What I like about VM is that when I make the calls, they are
| automatically posted to my credit card and that's the end of it. No
| phone cards (unless I want to use them, which I don't). Without this
| feature, it's not much different from Tracphone, although for a very
| low user it is apparently slightly cheaper. Very slightly cheaper.
| (You pay $7.50/month, I'd pay $5.00/month).
|
| We had an ATT cellphone for a year and a Verizon phone for two years.
| Basically we were paying a fat monthly fee and never using the phones.
| And the free phones we got were the size of bricks. The ATT service
| was dreadful, too.
|
| That's why I looked into prepaid cellphones in the first place. I
| settled on VM because I could essentially charge the calls to my
| credit card as I made them and forget about it. I'm not on a budget,
| but I don't like paying for something I'm not using.
|
| As for the Tracphone promo offers, all I can say is that I'm a retired
| marketing executive and I spent a huge portion of my adult life
| setting up promotions and special offers, and I knows 'em when I sees
| 'em. :-)
|
|