Virgin Mobile’s “Get Paid” Cell Phone Program seems like a great deal: rather than paying a flat monthly fee, you only pay for the time you use. Backed by slick advertising and a brand name popular with kids, Virgo Mobile captured a nice chunk of the cell phone market. “Pay as you go” can be a great option for those who use it wisely, but if you’re not careful, you could be paying a lot more than you ever thought.
Of course, before you choose a cell phone cell phone service plan. Phones range from $19.99 for a basic Kyocera cell phone to $150 for a “Switchback” model with a text message keyboard. Virgin plasmas (with instructions on how to move) can be found anywhere from 7-11 to Radio Shack and most major retailers. If you do little with no texts and you don’t need new ringtones, you will be working on cell phones. well, and they are very well known. Coverage is pretty good, and unlike some providers, Virgo doesn’t drop calls very often in urban areas.
In order to decide which is the best plan, you should first get your first estimate using the minute. If you already use cell phone, this is quite easy to do. Just be careful not to count holidays or any other time in which you spend too many minutes. This can slide your average, and it’s not too wild to walk through once in a while.
If you have never used a cell phone, or bought one for your child for the first time, evaluating your use could be more difficult. Should a cell phone be used every day, so that parent and child can check on each other? Is it for business use, as a way to take calls while you’re on the road? Is it only for emergency use? If you have to use a teen to keep in touch with your friends, the best bet is not to use Virgo at all. While most teen minutes are spent after school, other older carriers are better at dealing with prime time and at any time. On the other hand, “pay for incoming calls” is a great way to teach a kid responsible phone use if/he has to pay for his own minutes. Adding more money to your account, called “Top-Up”, can be annoying for anyone on a budget, even at a minimum of $10.
The plans of the virgin are quite simple: for a month or for a minute. As of the summer of 2006, Virgin-Mobile rates were as follows. The “Per Minute” plan changes at a flat rate of 18 cents per minute, with no other applicable fees.
The “Per Month” plans break down as follows:
For $6.99 a month, all minutes that month are 10 cents each.
For each of the following plans, additional minutes above said amount are 18 cents each;
For $14.99 a month, you get 100 minutes anytime.
For $24.99 a month, you get 200 minutes anytime.
For $34.99 a month, you get 300 minutes anytime and 1000 minutes of prime time.
For $44.99 per month, you get 400 minutes each, unlimited during the first few minutes (7 a.m. – 7 p.m.).
For $59.99 a month, you get DC every minute, with unlimited first minutes.
If you want to send or receive text messages, the rates are five cents each, 50 for $1.99, or 1000 for $9.99.
When you estimate the average monthly minutes, making a decision is easy. When it comes to Virgo, the first “magic minute number” is 75. If you use 75 or fewer minutes per month, it is better to use the program “minutes to minutes” for 18 cents minutes with no extras. At that level, the most you’ll pay per month is $13.50, less than any other program.
Your next “magic minute number” is 100. After you’ve used that level, the best buy is the $14.99 basic subscription plan, with 100 free minutes. You will certainly pay far less per minute (14.9 cents) than per minute (18 cents) or 10 cents (currently 16.9 cents) plan.
Of course, if you use more than 100 minutes, monthly plans are the best way to buy minutes. However, Virgo may not be the best buy for monthly plans. Severalwireless-service”>wireless-service”>offer great discounts, and often beat original rates, especially “family”. The plans offer several phones with a large number of minutes.
Virgo often offers special promotions that can save you minutes or discounts on minutes, like their “Sugar Mama” program. When you sign up for the “Sugar Mama” program, you can earn a free moment for each person you watch online, receive a preview, and reply to every two ads via text message. If you don’t use many minutes, it can be a nice bonus that saves money .
Perhaps it can be useful to monitor the use of teenagers, if their first is a cell phone. You can call us on the Virgin website. One cell phone store operator reported that they had some teenagers coming to Virgin Mobile to buy “Top Up” Pardia ( which can provide more time) are calculated in amounts above $100 per month, much more than you will be charged with any other cell service provider. Customers can also register a credit or debit card on the Virgin website to automatically charge more minutes when needed. . This could lead to the ever-popular “constitutional strike” with the parent getting a bill next month.
If you use a spare cell phone Virgin’s “minute to minute” plan is a great buy. Virgo only requires you to add 90 cents to your account each day. For high volume minute usage, you can probably get a better deal with another provider. Once you know what you need in minutes, simple math can point you to the best deal.
Report:
- Virgin Mobile’s Website: www.viginmobileusa.com
