Need Advise on a plan for my wife

If it is only going to be for emergencies then Pre-Pay would be the way to go.

 

just be careful many of them require you to "deposit" money each 30-60 days even if you haven't used it... I found it was cheaper to add a line or family plan!?

just my 3 cents worth

 

Yeah, I got a family plan and it works great! We can keep track easily.

 

T-mobile offers a $20 plan with 50 or 75 minutes per month plus a couple hundred weekend minutes per month. Check the coverage on their website to make sure it meets your needs.

 

Yes, with Pre-Pay you will have to put money on the account every 30-90 for most companies. But for a true emergency phone it will be $5 cheaper per month or more compared to most post-paid add-a-lines after taxes & surcharges.

Post-Paid add-a-lines:
$9.99 ($12-$15 after t&s) per month
$15.00 ($18-$20)
$20.00 ($24-$26)

Pre-Pay Plans:
Cingular / Pay As You Go, Virgin Mobile, T-Mobile To Go $25 card 90 exp. ($8.34 per month)

With T-Mobile To Go once you put $100 worth of airtime on the account the minutes will not expire for a year.

Also Easyspeak (7-11 (Uses Cingular) ) minutes expire in a year right from the start. But they do take out $1-$1.25 per month from your account. And you have to use the phone every three to four months, or your account will be deactivated.

So for a keep in touch phone (high - bye) a add-a-line would be cheaper, but for the true emergency phone pre-pay can be much cheaper.

And Matt's suggestion is a good one for a stand alone post paid plan. I have it and it works great for what I need it for (call forwading & back-up).

 

Go with T-mobile 19.99 60 anytime minutes and 500 weekend minutes
if your credit worthy stay away from prepay

Good Luck!
Thefreephoneguy

 

For light usage, T-Mobile's $19.99 (Basic) plan is the one to go with.