Should I give up my pre-paid plan
February 11, 2021 2:12 PM Subscribe
Should I get rid of my pre-paid data plan & get a contract plan instead for the convenience? Is it worth it?
I went for a relatively long time without having a data plan because I couldn't afford it. Then when it became non-negotiable I opted for an ATT pre-paid plan because A. it was more affordable, B. I didn't want a contract or to commit to any particular company if their service wasn't working for me and C. my perception was that when you use too much data with contract plans you get punished for it via throttling and you were just SOL for the month; at least with a prepaid plan I could just buy more data if I needed it. Now though this thing is getting on my nerves and I was wondering if I get a contract plan will I regret it.
It's getting on my nerves because it never renews on time and about once a month I'm like "Why isn't my mobile data working...." and then eventually I remember I have to go online and pay again. It actually doesn't matter if I have auto pay set up or not, even with auto pay it doesn't actually just happen without intervention. And I don't want to deal with that anymore.
But if I get a not-prepaid plan, will I not have the benefits of flexibility, in being able to buy more data if I need it? I actually haven't had to do this in awhile, but in earlier times I would use it for travel basically.
Also the prepaid plan I have is $65/month whereas my husband's contract plan is like $100/month and our usage is exactly the same so I am not relishing paying more to not get more either way. Should I just continue with this dance every month or is it time to switch?
Thank you for your advice!
I went for a relatively long time without having a data plan because I couldn't afford it. Then when it became non-negotiable I opted for an ATT pre-paid plan because A. it was more affordable, B. I didn't want a contract or to commit to any particular company if their service wasn't working for me and C. my perception was that when you use too much data with contract plans you get punished for it via throttling and you were just SOL for the month; at least with a prepaid plan I could just buy more data if I needed it. Now though this thing is getting on my nerves and I was wondering if I get a contract plan will I regret it.
It's getting on my nerves because it never renews on time and about once a month I'm like "Why isn't my mobile data working...." and then eventually I remember I have to go online and pay again. It actually doesn't matter if I have auto pay set up or not, even with auto pay it doesn't actually just happen without intervention. And I don't want to deal with that anymore.
But if I get a not-prepaid plan, will I not have the benefits of flexibility, in being able to buy more data if I need it? I actually haven't had to do this in awhile, but in earlier times I would use it for travel basically.
Also the prepaid plan I have is $65/month whereas my husband's contract plan is like $100/month and our usage is exactly the same so I am not relishing paying more to not get more either way. Should I just continue with this dance every month or is it time to switch?
Thank you for your advice!
If you're not opposed to Google, the Fi data plan is a penny a megabyte up until the point you hit $60, at which point it's unlimited but will throttle the speed after a certain point. I like it because most months I use 1-2 GB of data, so I only pay for that, but on heavy travel months I have as much as I need with a cap on the price. That's in addition to $20/month, which covers the phone/SMS part of the service. You don't have to prepay it, they just put whatever the data fee you incurred onto your next month's bill, so you won't ever run out.
How much data do you use in a normal month?
Our numbers originate in different states so we would have to change our numbers to get a family plan
Are you sure? I know tons of people with family plans on Verizon with different area codes but am not familiar with other providers.
posted by Candleman at 2:21 PM on February 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
How much data do you use in a normal month?
Our numbers originate in different states so we would have to change our numbers to get a family plan
Are you sure? I know tons of people with family plans on Verizon with different area codes but am not familiar with other providers.
posted by Candleman at 2:21 PM on February 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Can you call customer service and ask why your auto pay isn't working as intended? Also, have your husband check and see how much it would cost to put another line on his plan - it should not double his bill. If he isn't getting unlimited data on his contract, he should ask how much that plan would be for both one line and for two lines. We switched to an unlimited plan last year and saved money (contract account, 4 lines). I have a family plan with two different area codes on it - that should not be an issue unless his provider is regional (Qwest is, I think, there may be others). If one company can't put your current numbers on a family plan, try another company.
If you are porting the number to another company and your number is prepaid, you may need more info than just your phone number. Try to get all your info like account number and anything else you can find in your account settings.
posted by soelo at 2:32 PM on February 11, 2021
If you are porting the number to another company and your number is prepaid, you may need more info than just your phone number. Try to get all your info like account number and anything else you can find in your account settings.
posted by soelo at 2:32 PM on February 11, 2021
my perception was that when you use too much data with contract plans you get punished for it via throttling and you were just SOL for the month
At $65/month, I don't think you're using enough data to result in throttling from any unlimited contract plan. For instance, AT&T throttles only after 22 GiB/50GiB used (depending on plan). On my pre-paid plan, 22 GiB would cost much more than $65/month.
Otherwise, your question is a bit strange. If auto-pay isn't working, that's a question for your provider. Even if it can't be resolved, your choices aren't just "move to a contract plan", it's also "move to other pre-paid plan". I have no issue with Tracfone, as a limited data user.
In general, contract plans are only worthwhile if you use a lot of data (>10 GiB or so) and/or want to have a subsidized phone. If either of those apply to you, consider them. If neither apply to you, prepaid is probably the way to go.
posted by saeculorum at 2:36 PM on February 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
At $65/month, I don't think you're using enough data to result in throttling from any unlimited contract plan. For instance, AT&T throttles only after 22 GiB/50GiB used (depending on plan). On my pre-paid plan, 22 GiB would cost much more than $65/month.
Otherwise, your question is a bit strange. If auto-pay isn't working, that's a question for your provider. Even if it can't be resolved, your choices aren't just "move to a contract plan", it's also "move to other pre-paid plan". I have no issue with Tracfone, as a limited data user.
In general, contract plans are only worthwhile if you use a lot of data (>10 GiB or so) and/or want to have a subsidized phone. If either of those apply to you, consider them. If neither apply to you, prepaid is probably the way to go.
posted by saeculorum at 2:36 PM on February 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
Oh yeah and we have 2 different plans because our numbers originate in different states so we would have to change our numbers to get a family plan and neither of us wants that.
I have been on three different family plans in three different states with people from two other states (that weren't the state we were making the family plan) and none of us have ever had to change our phone number to do so.
posted by magnetsphere at 2:48 PM on February 11, 2021 [6 favorites]
I have been on three different family plans in three different states with people from two other states (that weren't the state we were making the family plan) and none of us have ever had to change our phone number to do so.
posted by magnetsphere at 2:48 PM on February 11, 2021 [6 favorites]
For what it's worth, you can have a family plan with numbers that originate from different markets on at&t postpaid. A long long time ago when it was still Cingular they couldn't cross east/west regions because they still used different billing systems, but it is has been possible for a long time now. At one point my SO and I had numbers from four different markets on different devices.
For the reference of others, if you have been a postpaid customer for a really long time, they might have to spend ten minutes on the phone creating a new billing account, but it can be done. Signing up today, it should just work.
I wouldn't recommend going with a term agreement (aka contract) if you do switch to postpaid. It's more expensive, at least last I checked (my plan would charge an extra $25 a month for each line on contract, but it's old AF), and will rarely be financially beneficial.
If either of you work for a decent sized company (and, to do it the easy way, have a company email address), there's a good chance you can get some kind of discount on the service. Apparently they're calling it AT&T Signature these days.
posted by wierdo at 2:52 PM on February 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
For the reference of others, if you have been a postpaid customer for a really long time, they might have to spend ten minutes on the phone creating a new billing account, but it can be done. Signing up today, it should just work.
I wouldn't recommend going with a term agreement (aka contract) if you do switch to postpaid. It's more expensive, at least last I checked (my plan would charge an extra $25 a month for each line on contract, but it's old AF), and will rarely be financially beneficial.
If either of you work for a decent sized company (and, to do it the easy way, have a company email address), there's a good chance you can get some kind of discount on the service. Apparently they're calling it AT&T Signature these days.
posted by wierdo at 2:52 PM on February 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Can you call customer service and ask why your auto pay isn't working as intended?
I have but their response was "Our system is 100 years old and sucks shit, deal with it." so, I will deal with it, haha.
I might have out of date information on the porting, but that was what we were told the last time I looked into it. I guess it makes sense to try again. Thank you all for your feedback, I will think about it. More if you have it, thank you!
posted by bleep at 3:29 PM on February 11, 2021
I have but their response was "Our system is 100 years old and sucks shit, deal with it." so, I will deal with it, haha.
I might have out of date information on the porting, but that was what we were told the last time I looked into it. I guess it makes sense to try again. Thank you all for your feedback, I will think about it. More if you have it, thank you!
posted by bleep at 3:29 PM on February 11, 2021
my perception was that when you use too much data with contract plans you get punished for it via throttling and you were just SOL for the month
Not necessarily - I've been on Verizon plans for forever and I just get charged more if I go over. And all of my phones for years (Androids) have allowed me to set an alert if I start to get close to going over a set level of data usage in a month.
But if I get a not-prepaid plan, will I not have the benefits of flexibility, in being able to buy more data if I need it?
You should be able to see how much data you've actually used on your phone over the last month at least. (Somewhere under "Settings.") This will at least give you an idea of what level of data included in a contract plan would be viable for you so you can get more of an "apples to apples" comparison. (i.e. if it turns out you use 4 gig/month, and AT&T has a $45 5 gig contract plan, that might be a viable choice.)
posted by soundguy99 at 3:35 PM on February 11, 2021
Not necessarily - I've been on Verizon plans for forever and I just get charged more if I go over. And all of my phones for years (Androids) have allowed me to set an alert if I start to get close to going over a set level of data usage in a month.
But if I get a not-prepaid plan, will I not have the benefits of flexibility, in being able to buy more data if I need it?
You should be able to see how much data you've actually used on your phone over the last month at least. (Somewhere under "Settings.") This will at least give you an idea of what level of data included in a contract plan would be viable for you so you can get more of an "apples to apples" comparison. (i.e. if it turns out you use 4 gig/month, and AT&T has a $45 5 gig contract plan, that might be a viable choice.)
posted by soundguy99 at 3:35 PM on February 11, 2021
Maybe you should switch providers? I've been on Verizon prepaid for yoinks and I can't say I've ever had this auto-renew problem. That's always worked like clockwork (presumably because their dearest wish is to reach into my pocket every month).
posted by praemunire at 3:49 PM on February 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by praemunire at 3:49 PM on February 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Sounds to me like you're over thinking this.
It might be worthwhile to just pretend like you're starting from scratch, and go shopping for what you need. It looks like something called "whistleout" will let you enter your current phone model, zip code, and plan requirements (number of lines, minutes, data etc.) and then it'll generate you costs from all the major US wireless carriers and virtual carriers. You can get a lot of data for not very much money these days...
posted by tiamat at 3:52 PM on February 11, 2021 [7 favorites]
It might be worthwhile to just pretend like you're starting from scratch, and go shopping for what you need. It looks like something called "whistleout" will let you enter your current phone model, zip code, and plan requirements (number of lines, minutes, data etc.) and then it'll generate you costs from all the major US wireless carriers and virtual carriers. You can get a lot of data for not very much money these days...
posted by tiamat at 3:52 PM on February 11, 2021 [7 favorites]
It sounds like you should just leave your current plan and go to another prepaid provider. $65/month seems very high to deal with a malfunctioning billing system. As you said, the advantage of prepaid is that you can port out your number without too much difficulty, and you should definitely start doing that.
You can try out something like Visible which is $40/month for unlimited everything, and they'll throw in $100 if you port your account over and bring your own phone.
posted by meowzilla at 4:04 PM on February 11, 2021
You can try out something like Visible which is $40/month for unlimited everything, and they'll throw in $100 if you port your account over and bring your own phone.
posted by meowzilla at 4:04 PM on February 11, 2021
I've had a variety of prepaid plans for the past few years and $65/month sounds high to me too, especially for putting up with that kind of billing issue. Nthing the suggestion to try a different prepaid carrier first. I've ported between Virgin Mobile/Ting/Page Plus/Mint without any problems in recent years - I remember it being much messier years ago but these days it seems pretty smooth and fast.
posted by needs more cowbell at 5:07 PM on February 11, 2021
posted by needs more cowbell at 5:07 PM on February 11, 2021
I swear I'm not paid by them. Visible is through Verizon. I pay $40/mo for data/talk/text all unlimited. No fees or hidden taxes. MeMail me if you want a referral code. Right now new customers get their first month for $25. I can vouch for their coverage as it runs on Verizon. I can vouch for their customer service as well. I'm a happy customer. I found them through an AskMe post, in fact.
posted by kathrynm at 5:17 PM on February 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by kathrynm at 5:17 PM on February 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Cricket was purchased by AT&T a few years ago, and is now the flagship prepaid "AT&T" service. AT&T's branded prepaid is like a 12th-class citizen in AT&T's world these days. Cricket uses AT&T's network and when I switched, I couldn't tell the difference. I've been a happy customer for years, have used it all over the US and in Mexico, and my autopay (billed to a credit card) has worked every single time.
If you want a new phone and don't want to pay full price for it, then perhaps a contracted plan is worthwhile for the phone subsidy. If you already own your phone and don't mind paying up-front when you upgrade, then stick with prepaid, but find a better provider.
posted by toxic at 5:59 PM on February 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
If you want a new phone and don't want to pay full price for it, then perhaps a contracted plan is worthwhile for the phone subsidy. If you already own your phone and don't mind paying up-front when you upgrade, then stick with prepaid, but find a better provider.
posted by toxic at 5:59 PM on February 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Having used prepaid and postpaid I can tell you that I am very happy with Red Pocket. I bought one of their annual plans on ebay and I have been happy with the service. I bought a year of unlimited phone and text with 3 gb data per month and a brand new Moto phone and it was still cheaper than the postpaid arrangement I had previously. Service has been fine. When you buy an entire year there's no need to trigger a re-up, and you can still buy extra data if you need it. We went with the Red Pocket plan that uses ATT towers. Service isgreat even in the boonies, no throttling. Just sharing in case you want to stick with prepaid.
posted by crunchy potato at 7:45 PM on February 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by crunchy potato at 7:45 PM on February 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by bleep at 2:14 PM on February 11, 2021