Prepaid cell phone plans--are they a good deal?

Before we start you should know that I AM GETTING PAID TO WRITE THIS. There, now you know. Altho I'm a member of ReviewMe and a couple other paid-to-post sites, I hardly ever review the sites they send me because they're usually not relevant to my blog. Plus, the topics are often more boring than watching paint dry.

But I've always felt slightly guilty for rushing madly toward the Cingular Family Plan without heeding my mother-in-law's advice to check out a prepaid cell phone plan. She swears by hers, and I usually find her advice to be pretty spot on.

So, at last! Getting paid to review a prepaid cell phone site is the best kick in the pants. I can now compare my cell phone plan to a prepaid plan, and if prepaid looks better, then I'll make the switch. Or rather, I'll make the switch when my cell phone contract expires 87 years from now.

Wirefly Mobile has a section of its site dedicated to prepaid cell phone plans. Here's what they say about prepaid plans:

"Prepaid plans for cell phones, also known as "pay as you go" plans, allow you to buy your minutes as you use them. In other words, you pay only for the minutes you need. With a prepaid cell phone you have control over how much you spend each month, without having to worry about getting hit with overage charges from your cell phone company."

Other points of interest:
* These plans don't require a credit check.
* You don't have to lock yourself into a long contract.
* You probably shouldn't expect to get a free phone.

Sounds good, right?

The site offers info on prepaid plans from four carriers: T-Mobile, Cingular, Virgin Mobile, and Liberty Wireless. Of course I went straight to Cingular, since I'm a fairly satisfied Cingular customer already. For my plan, I currently pay $70/month including all taxes and fees. This gives me 2 phones, with 500 of "anytime minutes", unlimited night and weekend minutes, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling within the network, and unused minutes roll over. We never ever use all 500 minutes, but we do use around 300/month.

Judging by the confusing array of plan options listed on this site, I think I'll stick with what I've got.

Take, for example, the Cingular fee schedule they list first. You pay $1 for each day you use the phone. Since I use the phone virtually every day, that's about $30/month. You also pay 10 cents a minute. So, if I average 300 minutes/month during the day, that's another $30 right there. And since I wouldn't get free night and weekend minutes, I'd most likely use another 100-200 minutes on top of the 300 "anytime" minutes, so that's an additional $10-$20. Okeydokey, looks like my plan is a good deal after all.

Looking at the other 3 carriers offered here. T-Mobile is slightly more expensive, with their cheapest plan running 19 cents a minute. The Virgin Mobile link was a tease--there weren't really any plans available. Liberty (which uses the Sprint network--are they Sprint, then?) seemed to be the simplest and most straightforward. $30 gets you 300 minutes, with additional minutes costing 10 cents each. There is no contract, no credit check, and no cancellation fee.

Conclusion:
My plan is right for me. However, a prepaid plan might be a good idea if....
* You don't want to be locked into a 2 year contract
* You use your phone less than a couple hundred minutes a month.
* You have an iffy credit history and can't qualify for a traditional plan.

And if you're shopping for a prepaid plan, try Wirefly Mobile, but don't forget to shop around at other sites. It never hurts to make sure you're getting a good deal.