I thought it would be a great idea to write an article about getting a cell phone if you don’t have a credit card, a passport, or even an i.d…  These phones are called ‘pay as you go’ and work quite well.  Surprisingly they can be used for 5 cents a minute or even less if you talk mostly at night and on the weekends (this includes nationwide calling).  The example I’ll be using is Virgin Mobile because after researching all the companies I believe Virgin Mobile to be the cheapest.  Virgin seems to be an especially good bargain for international calling when compared to the competition. They may also have the best service geographically when compared to other ‘pay as you go’ phones but I can’t swear to that one. 

Before I witnessed someone first hand using this ‘pay as you go’ phone I thought they were rip offs.  Seems like a few people I know had tried them and all seemed to have negative experiences.  That doesn’t seem to be the case with my friend as he seems quite satisfied with his phone and plan purchase.

A friend of mine needed to obtain a cellular phone and his credit report was ruined.  I researched Virgin Mobile, T-mobile, and AT&T’s Go Phone.  I quickly determined that Virgin Mobile was easily the best bargain for my friend.  Also, each of the three companies sells their phones and ‘top up’ cards in Wal-Marts all across America.  Make sure and visit their websites to determine which phone is best suited for your needs. 

Here’s how it works (example based on Virgin Mobile)

Go into Wal-Mart or another store that carries these phones (Virgin Mobile’s website gave a listing of local stores which carried their phones).  Most places carry a phone that costs $20 or $30 bucks but you can buy one with a built in camera for around $50 on the website. Buy a top-up card for $50.00 so that you can later put money on the phone (this is a necessary step but money can also be added to the phone via the website using a debit card).  Now you need to turn on the phone and go through the necessary steps for activating the phone (activation is free).  Note: it is not necessary to visit the website to use this phone, but it does make things simpler.

After activating you need to add money to the phone

My friend uses top up cards to put money on the phone.  The phone has easy to follow instructions for adding the dollar amount of the top card onto the phone.  After you add the top up card to the phone your account info on the phone and on your account via website will show the dollar amount.  Now you need to buy a plan or a minute pack.  If you talk mostly during the daytime hours then your best bet is probably the minute pack.  After you put $50.00 on your Virgin Mobile phone you can select the option to buy a minute pack.  Failure to choose a plan or buy a minute pack will result in you paying 20 cents a minute.  However, you can use the $50.00 you’ve added to your Virgin phone to purchase a 1000 minute pack.  This means you end up paying 5 cents a minute.  Once you select the 1000 minute pack your $50.00 will no longer be visible but your 1,000 minutes will.  Now you’re on a minute pack.

You can also select to buy a ‘plan’ of which there are five options.  My friend selected the $49.99 plan because it comes with 400 daytime minutes but also free nights and weekends.  You use the 400 anytime minutes during the day and at night and on the weekends you pay nothing.  What’s great about these phones is that you can clearly see how much you are spending day by day.  This encourages you to be conservative since you’re paying up front.

You can also purchase unlimited text messaging, photo messaging, and even email for $10.00 a month.  Just remember that the money you add to the phone is used to purchase plans and minutes - not be used at 20 cents a minute….