Verizon Nation One Rate vs. America Choice

CK-
I was in a similar position as you except that I am in Wisconsin. I had the National Single Rate plan with the 150 minutes and weekend minutes as well. In August I upgraded my phone to the Moto v60i which required me to sign a new contract because I was using New Every Two and took the promotional price. So I was told that I would loose my weekend minutes. Like you the 150 minutes was marginal with the weekend minutes so without the weekend minutes there was no way. But at the time Wisconsin didn't have "great" coverage for America's Choice so I was also hesitant. So I had two choices: 1) be forced to move up to the next highest plan for the Single Rate for an additional $20 or 2) go with America's Choice. I went with America's Choice and I am very happy I did. Now I get double the minutes and like you said NIGHT and weekend minutes. Now I use my cell phone more than I did before cause of the extra minutes I have. So I could never go back. But I looked at it this way: for the $20 extra a month I would have to pay to go to the next highest Single Rate plan, I could use on roaming charges that may incur using the America's Choice. That is actually a lot of roaming. I must say that I have only had 1 or 2 roaming charges since I switched. And with the new coverage in Wisconsin those places are no longer roaming. So I have spend about $1.50 of roaming charges in 4 months and saved $80 by going with America's Choice over Single Rate. So that is one way I suggest looking at it. Just think you will have $20 in roaming to use by not going up to the next Single Rate plan. Now it may be different with coverage in your area. So you might just want to try it out and see what happens.

Aso as far as phones go, I have the v60i and love it. If you don't care too much about color or internet than this is the phone to get. Looks great, great reception, good sound quality, etc. And now if you can find it in your area store it is only $50 after rebate, which is a steal. I had a StarTac 9868 before this and I get better reception with my v60i than I did with my StarTac. So if you can find one I highly recommend it. Good luck with everything!!

 

Looking at the AC map really doesn't give you a good indicator of how coverage is in your local area because MA is so small and the scale of the map is so large. However, looking at the local map shows that Verizon only has one small pocket of roaming in north central MA (NE of Pittsfield, it appears). My guess is that it's actually part of a Vermont BTA and just not included in that particular local plan, though most likely covered under AC. Judging by the maps, I don't think you'd have much trouble with going to the AC plan as it seems to cover most of the Eastern US with only a few exceptions (spotty in northeast NY, nothing along the Maine/Canada border, a couple spots along the PA/NY border, most of KY, and the eastern half of WV). The previous poster made an excellent point that going up to the next NSR plan would be $20, and you could easily look at that as money you could use on roaming fees, if necessary. But if you don't have any roaming charges, you get more minutes for $20 less! If I was in your position, I'd go with the AC plan.

 

i live here in worcester, and verizon is known to have excellent service here. i dont think youd be roaming much. my friend has it, and said he's never been on roam except in one spot in newton, ma on the way to boston. and btw, cingular is just as good if not better here in central ma for service. those are the 2 best ones here. i have cingular, and im on the nation plan with nights and weekends. so if i switch my plan i have the same exact problem as you, but with cingular instead. if i did, it prob wouldnt matter, since i never roam here, but i like knowing ill never ever get roaming charges....

 

CK:

Those are the best plans I've seen so far. What I really like about it is the extra bonus minutes. It's the first time I've ever seen that. As stated above, I would get the v60i. It's a great phone. I would suggest getting a new phone with the current plans before Jan 4th. I heard it is only a holiday promotion.

 

The 1000 m2m and unlim N&W have been going on for quite some time now... It's just with the recent promotions that they've added the bonus anytime minutes, which just sweetens the deal.

 

Be careful about switching to the AC plan in your area. If you travel Rt. 2 a lot you WILL incur roaming charges from somewhere past Leominster to at least Greenfield and all around Franklin County. This is Verizon's most significant AC coverage gap in Mass. The licenses and towers there are owned by Rural Cellular Company and Cingular, with which Verizon has NO roaming agreement with currently. Look at the local coverage map and you will see what I'm talking about, a huge gap left blank in North Central/Northwest MA. If this is a big deal for you, you might want to think about keeping that Single Rate plan.