Prepaid Cell Phone ???

[camos]

I don't have a cell phone and don't particularly want one. That said it appears that a cell phone could be considered as a necessary piece of safety chrome. I'm coming to Cody so if I buy one in Canada, can I make calls in the US or do I need to buy one in the US for that?

 

Obviously I know squat about this topic so any reasonably accurate info will be much appreciated.

[Bubber]

Stop at one of the chain stores and get a pre-paid cell some give you the phone and all you do is pay for the minutes, just get 60 minutes and buy more as needed.

That is what I do and I only use the phone for making call, If it don't work in Canada toss it, no big deal.

[camos]

Do the prepaid cards fit in any phone or are they more like a disposable phone?

[RandyR]

I have a Tracfone which I bought at Walmart for $19 and It came with 120 minutes talk time and 90 days of service. One can buy additional talk time and months of service. You could consider it disposable.

[camos]

I was meaning disposable in the sense of use up the minutes, throw it a way and get another one instead of just changing the card. I wonder if Walmart in Canada would carry a phone that will accept cards from Walmart in the US?

 

Perhaps I'm making this more complicated than necessary.

[SilvrT]

"pay as you go" (at least the way it worked for me) is not on a card that you "insert into the phone" ... you buy time and you update that with the cell phone provider by calling their service and inputting a code which is on the piece of paper that you bought. ... at least this is how it worked when I was doing it a few years back.... technology does change tho and no doubt there's other ways.

[camos]

I guess a trip to Walmart is on the agenda for tomorrow to find out what they can tell me about the cell phones they sell. The cheapest they show on their website is $29.

[scotty]

I was having the very same question for our holiday this year. My wife found this at wallmart on the internet.(currently shows stock in Hayden)

I know our phone won't work in the states from our holiday 2 years ago. (pay as you go)

This looks like a good plan to me based on some assumptions:

1 Is it as simple as walking into wallmart and for $10 I have a phone?

2 I assume it will not work here, so can I toss it to some random person just before crossing the border? "Free phone, never been used!"

3 If I run it through the washing machine I assume it will not work anymore.

 

Anyone have any insight on these things?

[CaptainJoe]

On a trac phone,, the 800 minute card you buy for $100 gets credited to your phones account... they the seller, keep the card... the 800 min card is good for 1 year and you get double minutes. if you don't let them expire you get to keep the minutes you have.

 

I've use one for 3 years now and rarely use 400 minutes a year, hence a cell phone would have been way more expensive....

 

Check to see if trac phone works in Canada...

Edited June 17, 2011 by CaptainJoe

[RandyR]

I have a USA-purchased Tracfone. works fine. You can add minutes or extend the time without getting a new program card. btw the tracfone I have works more places than the more expensive T-mobile I had previously.

 

For those thinking about doing this as a permanent cell phone, some tracfone phones come with the option to provide doubleminutes. ie: when you buy 100 minutes of connect time you really get 200, etc.

 

For one bought in the USA, I can place international calls, but it costs 'extra' minutes. They have a website which explains this.

[Rocket]

"pay as you go" (at least the way it worked for me) is not on a card that you "insert into the phone" ... you buy time and you update that with the cell phone provider by calling their service and inputting a code which is on the piece of paper that you bought. ... at least this is how it worked when I was doing it a few years back.... technology does change tho and no doubt there's other ways.

 

I had unlocked my new phone before heading stateside & got a prepaid sim card while in gary's area. Prior to the change in sim card, the phone was good for "emergency use only". I have my normal sim card in it now with being in Ontario, but once I head south again, the other sim card will go back in.

[Bubber]

I was having the very same question for our holiday this year. My wife found this at wallmart on the internet.(currently shows stock in Hayden)

I know our phone won't work in the states from our holiday 2 years ago. (pay as you go)

This looks like a good plan to me based on some assumptions:

1 Is it as simple as walking into wallmart and for $10 I have a phone?

2 I assume it will not work here, so can I toss it to some random person just before crossing the border? "Free phone, never been used!"

3 If I run it through the washing machine I assume it will not work anymore.

 

Anyone have any insight on these things?

 

 

Just send it to Eck he seems to have an affliction with phones. He is also getting to like the taste of uncooked rice.