TracFone Wireless Digital Prepaid Plan

Average customer rating: 3.0

Anything else has got to be better than this

Occasional/Emergency Users Can Do Better Elsewhere

Great for the occasional user

Excellent Service, Convenient, Inexpensive

BEWARE! Horrible, misleading service

TracFone Wireless Digital Prepaid Plan

Manufacturer:
Product Group: Wireless
Binding: Wireless Plan
ASIN: B00005U1Q8

Related Categories:

Emergency Use: Under 100 min
| Service Plans | Cell Phones & Service

Amazon.com Product Description

Calling Range: national (roaming not included)

This cell phone service plan lets you call throughout TracFone's nationwide network, with no additional fees for long distance service.

Included Minutes: Units good for 10 local or 5 roaming

This plan includes 10 airtime units; good for 10 minutes worth of local calling (billed at one unit per minute) or 5 minutes of roaming (billed at two units per minute), or any combination of local and roaming totaling 10 airtime units.

Mobile-to-Mobile minutes: no

This plan offers no reduced fee for calls made between two TracFone cell phone plan subscribers.

Services and products included at no additional fee

A Nokia 5165 cell phone and access to the TracFone nationwide long distance network is available at no additional cost to the by-minute rate (see Services Available, below) when you purchase individual phone cards. You'll also get voice mail, caller ID, call waiting, and text messaging. There is no monthly fee, deposit, or credit check with this program. For more information, see the "prepaid faq" on the left column of this page.

Services Available for an additional, per-use fee

Calls cost between $0.10 and $0.50 per minute depending on the type of pre-paid phone card you use. Cards are purchased separately.

Upgrade Highlights: n/a

No upgrades are available for this plan.

Plan Duration: n/a

Calls are paid for with prepaid phone cards, sold separately and refillable by TracFone and most cell phone retail outlets.

Customer Reviews:

Anything else has got to be better than this.......2006-08-05

I just bought this "service" for my son. The package advertised 60 minutes free, but when I activated the phone it only showed 20 minutes. I spent 45 minutes on the phone with a call center in Mexico (best guess). Every 2 minutes the guy said he had to discuss the problem "with his supervisor". It became clear that they hope you will hang up while waiting. The next headache came with trying to set up the voice mail. The phone actually deducts minutes just to leave your voicemail greeting! The web site states that voice messages can be retrieved for free from a land line, but doesn't explain how to access them. I called customer "service" again and the guy told me first that this feature is not available for any phones. I told him about the information on the web site, then he put me on hold while he talked to the "supervisor". Presto, he explained how to access from a land line. We haven't made an outgoing call yet, but we've already eaten up 20 units! At least I'm only out $30, but it seems a shame to waste the new phone. I'd much rather pay more for a service with viable support.

Occasional/Emergency Users Can Do Better Elsewhere.......2005-07-12

Prepaid is definitely the way to go if you only want a cell phone for occasional or emergency use. Tracfone is not the provider to go with. Other prepaid providers (such as Virgin Mobile or ECallPlus) allow you to pay less per month or year than you'll pay for Tracfone. Then there's Tracfone's notoriously poor customer support. The kicker for me was spending six weeks calling the support line, trying to figure out how to access voicemail from a landline (an absolute necessity for a prepaid cell phone, since there's no charge for checking voicemail from a landline). After tracking down Tracfone's Florida support number and speaking to four different representatives going higher up the chain of command, I finally got a diagnosis from Tracfone headquarters: the cell phone did not support landline voicemail access "in your particular geographic location."

Save money, save stress, and go with another prepaid plan.

Great for the occasional user.......2004-10-08

I just couldn't justify paying $79.99 for a phone and $39.99 EVERY month for TWO YEARS to have a cell phone. I just wanted Caller ID, Voice Mail and a phone that didn't sound like everyone else's.

I got my phone re-furbished through Tracfone's web site and it was $29.99 for the phone and 100 minutes for 30 days. A very good deal! With the refer a 100 minute freind program, my cost was $.16 a minute. With the double minute, 1 year card I don't have to worry about my time running out and all future minute purchases are automatically doubled!

The box contains a code book for bonus minutes on future purchases (20 for 100; 30 for 150 & 200; 50 for 300 & 400; 100 for 150 1yr & 400 double 1 yr). Sometimes Tracfone has promos and offers more codes on their web site (200 bonus for the Double minute card is the one I used).

If you live on your cell phone and travel accross the country, you may not think it is the teriffic deal I think it is, but then again your needs are different than mine. I travel a bit for work, but locally (no roaming) and just need the phone for security. Roaming is charged at 2 units per minute.

If you need a phone for basic stuff and occasional calls (or to give to your kid to check up on them) this is a very good phone and plan.

The web site tells you that after the first 15 seconds you will be charged airtime, regardless if the call connects, so I advise people not to let it ring and ring and ring! Six rings and then I hang up, let them call me back if they're home!

If you need a refer a friend free 100 minutes, please send me an e-mail at oliviagoddess@yahoo.com and just say "Tracfone minutes". No obligation and you have 30 days from the e-mail date to buy and activate a phone. You get 100 minutes and I get 100 minutes, what a deal! And if you activate before x_mass, I can tell you how to get another 260 minutes.

Excellent Service, Convenient, Inexpensive.......2004-03-30

Love the fact that I can pay as I go. Easy to understand instructions. If you bother to take the time to educate yourself on the details of the system and the service plan you won't find yourself having problems.
Compared to all the restrictions, fees, penalties, fine print and hidden monthly costs of the "mainstream" service providers, Trac Fone's program is blessedly simple. You would have to be retarded not to understand how it works.
It is definitely the answer to your cellular needs without the necessity of a LONG TERM CONTRACT or penalties if you decide to cancel.

BEWARE! Horrible, misleading service.......2004-01-20

I bought a Tracfone a year ago and experienced serious problems getting that phone set up, so I should have known better than to try to upgrade to a newer model phone and continue with Tracfone "service." I don't even know where to start in telling you all the sub-standard customer service I've received trying to get this new phone activated: they assured me that I could keep my old Tracfone number, which was not true; they sent me the wrong phone/activation card for my service area; trying to get a refund took over two hours of waiting on hold, arguing with numerous service folks. They even tried to charge me a $10 restocking fee when sending the phone back, even though all these problems were entirely their fault. They also refused to refund my shipping costs and refused to pay for the return shipping. Beware of this company: they are misinformed and have terrible customer service.

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