My tracfone minutes don't expire, I have to add at least 60 minutes every 90 days to keep it active, which costs $21.49 with tax and takes about 3 minutes online to do, but as long as I do the minutes don't expire.

If your not using it much, the minutes just accumulate, ready when you need them.

I looked at the AT&T site that XBanker linked. In the user agreement it specifically states that "minutes don't expire", which is great. But check this out:

- "...A surcharge not to exceed 10 minutes applies to U.S. pay phone calls, some of which compensates pay phone providers."

- "...For calls that begin and end within the same state, minutes are deducted at the following rates per minute of talk time: 1 minute: DC, IL, IN, MA, RI, USVI; 3 minutes: AL, AR, CA, CT, DE, GA, HI, KS, KY, LA, MD, ME, MI, MS, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PR, SC, TN, UT, WI, WV; 5 minutes: AK, AZ, CO, FL, IA, ID, MN, MT, NC, NH, OK, PA, TX, VA, VT, WA, WY; and 8 minutes: MO, ND, SD."

WOW! One minute of intrastate actual talk time is billed as 3 to 8 minutes off your card in most states. So in my state, a "300 minute" card is really just a 100 minute card. Amazing.

Thanks for all the replies you guys.

As stated above, the AT&T cards do not expire. They are also available from your local Wal-Mart as is the Tracfone cell phone discussed above. With the Tracfone, you also have the option of purchasing about $100 worth of time in advance. At that level, the phone stays active for a year, just reactivate before the time expires and it all rolls over. I've had one for a few years and am very pleased with the Tracphone and the AT&T card. God bless Wally World.

Craig.

How much time do you need to reactivate it?

Thanks,

-john

> My tracfone minutes don't expire, I have to add at least 60 minutes
> every 90 days to keep it active, which costs $21.49 with tax and takes
> about 3 minutes online to do, but as long as I do the minutes don't expire.

In a similar vein, I have a Virgin cellphone. The plan is pay-as-you go, and I have it set to "top up" as they put it every 90 days. Every three months, the company bills my credit card $15, and I pay eighteen cents a minute for incoming and outgoing calls.

Since it's done automatically, I don't have to go online, and I can more minutes if I need them right from the phone. So if all internet access is down, I still can have a useable phone (so long as my credit card is still good :->).

By topping up every 90 days, my unused minutes roll over and don't expire. I'm confused on the tax issue, as their Web site says taxes and surcharges don't apply to the plan I'm using, which I have some doubts about.

Virgin phone has live agents that I've asked questions and gotten help from. It costs to call them from the cell phone, but it's free if I call from my landline on their 800 number.

Fifteen bucks a quarter is the cheapest I've seen. If anyone has alternatives, I'd appreciate hearing about them.

EDIT: I should add that by cheapest, I mean actually out of pocket ($15/mo), not per minute. I don't use all my minutes, and my goal is to have a cell phone that works for the lowest out of pocket cost over a year.

Saw this online...

Posted - Sep 30 2006
Just in from tracfone. Buy any airtime card and get one year of service for $50. This means you could get 13 months of service for 70$ (60 min airtime card plus one year of service if you already had a phone). This is good for those that don't use their phone much and comes out to $5.38/month.

Hi John,

I have a ATT prepaid (formerly Cingular)phone. I purchased it with $100.00 (400 minutes) and 1 year expiration . When I renewed it they rolled over the unused minutes/$. So now it's about $135 (540 min.) Not a bad deal.

Blitz

I use Tel3 which never expires. You can buy it in $25 increments.

https://www.tel3advantage.com/jsp/newSignUp.jsp?agentnumber=436514