The best cell phone plans for couples

[MarkYYC 0]

Hey guys

I moved here to the USA in early October of 2013, and I have been searching and searching for cell phone plans that we can actually afford with 2 people. The big companies only offer plans with high limits (unlimited, 1500 minutes, blah blah blah…WAY more than we need - and then they make you pay for it 2 times!)

A friend referred me to Ting Mobile, a new company that operates based on paying for what you actually use! They don't have plans or contracts, instead you pay in bucket form (i.e. 101-500 minutes, 101-1000 texts (global), or any amount of data you may need.

You can purchase phones from them, or you can bring your own! What my fiancé and I did is purchase used iPhones from ebay (be SURE they have CLEAN ESN's and are Sprint phones), and then you can use them! A lot of other phones work as well, you can check the whitelist at the link below to see which phones work.

The reason we decided to spend the extra money on iPhones instead of getting cheap flip phones is because with iMessage, texting between two iPhones (with iOS 6 or above) uses data/wifi, so it costs very very little. You can also use apps to call each other, or there is a new feature called FaceTime Audio, which should give us "free" (data/wifi) calling between each other! Keep in mind that calling Ting to Ting uses both members minutes/texts if you don't have iPhones.

We are hoping for really low bills, as K1 visas are expensive!

If you want more info, feel free to ask me anything, or see the link below (use this one and you'll get a discount:))

https://ting.com/r/irlssj0259

Mark

[Operator 1,927]

There are a few good options out there and it seems like you found a good one.

My wife has been using Red Pocket for a couple of years and really likes it (w.iPhone 5)

http://goredpocket.com/

[Canadian Bacon 6]

We're planning to go with Republic Wireless, I feel your pain as I've lived under US Cellular and Verizon! Look into RW, you have to pay for the phone up front, they just got the new Moto X and are offering it for $299 but plans start at $5/month. I recommend the $10/month if you just need unlimited talk and text, you can get data by connecting to your wifi.

With the same phone/plan, if we go with Verizon it will cost over $1400 a year, with RW and the same phone/plan - it'll only cost roughly $500/year for the first year and $120 after. (note that's just with one phone as we can't afford a second one just yet). The money really adds up with phone services. Plus if you go abroad, you can change your plan to the $5/month and not worry about roaming or anything as the phone will ride on wifi.

RW also has a 30* day back guarantee if you find that it's not working good for you.

[Nongorilla 0]

I've been using my Jailbroken GMS iPhone 3GS with Straight Talk (Unlimited everything for $45/m) for about 2 years.
for a cheap unlimited prepaid plan, I have no complain with that (using AT&T 3G network. basically same service as NET10)
http://www.straighttalk.com/

Recentry my husband gave me his old CDMA iPhone 4.
My monthly data traffic is about 300 to 500MB. so I am looking for more cheaper Verizon compatible CDMA BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) plan.
I am thinking to switch to Page Plus. free activation + plan starts at $12/m.
http://pagepluspros.com/

Republic Wireless's $25 plan also sounds really sweet.

but their website is too ambiguous to understand.

is that CDMA BYOD right?

[MarkYYC 0]

The others I haven't heard of, but I like Republik Wireless's idea. The reason I didn't go with them though is because if you are on a WIFI signal, and you move out of range of the WIFI, the call is dropped. So once you take a call, you basically can't move:(

I will let you know how Ting turns out!

Mark

[AugstAngelFelix 5]

I have an iPhone 5c with sprint and love it! You get unlimited everything for $65 a month for two lines it's $85 a month plus taxes depending where you live and to call to certain countries it's 20 cents per minutes and $4 a month it's good reliable unlimited coverage for an iPhone roaming is also included

[Canadian Bacon 6]

The others I haven't heard of, but I like Republik Wireless's idea. The reason I didn't go with them though is because if you are on a WIFI signal, and you move out of range of the WIFI, the call is dropped. So once you take a call, you basically can't move:(

I will let you know how Ting turns out!

Mark

Sorry for the late reply. Republic Wireless fixed that problem. Their new Moto X phone has perfect wifi to tower call transitioning now. Unless you get the $5/month plan - you have unlimited access to tower calling as well with no hang up/redail when moving out of and to wifi range.

[TheFantastics09 19]

We have Metro PCS and pay 80 per month. So far so good

[Tingbudong 12]

I now (end of first month) have a Moto X from republic wireless and Im pretty happy with my $25 unlimited everything (3G speed roaming data) plan. $40 for 4g speed roaming data.

Pretty sure I'll get my wife the same thing when she gets here.

Its $300 up front but no contract...

I do think the clarity of my calls is not always amazing but Im not sure if its my phone or just the wifi at work? Anyway for the money Im quite happy with it and I use txt and data far far more than I make actual voice calls. Skype to China is great on it from my home wifi.

Im tempted at times to go to the $10 a month no roaming data plan and then because they let you swap your plan for free twice a month, just turn on the wifi again if I find I need it. It doesn't seem thus far that I use this a lot though as Im in wifi at work all day and can't do much data roaming while Im driving my commute, then Im in wifi at home plus restaurants n bars, my gym all have it. Maybe Ill just turn it on if Im traveling etc.

Overall it get a 1 and 3/4 thumbs up for me for service and two thumbs plus two big, fat, hammer toes up for the price and the phone itself… I like this Moto X…

[MarkYYC 0]

BTW the iPhone 4s is an international phone, meaning that you can use a SIM card from another country when you travel!

[smoddydana 48]

I'm bumping this! Anyone else want to give advice? Husband just moved over here, and I have an AT&T contract, not sure if I can get out of it,

[Indyiale32 14]

I love metro pcs. They are awesome and use tmobile towers.

60 bucks all unlimited. Once fiance comes he is getting my cheap ### plan too.

[VOL 425]

If you are using Viber on your cellphone, you can now update it and be able to video chat also. Still free too.....

[aelix 2]

Just to add my 2c... my wife and I had unlocked smartphones from Australia already (Galaxy S2 and Nexus 4 respectively) so we wanted a carrier who would allow BYO device and provided a decent amount of data at low cost. BYO device eliminates Verizon and any Sprint-based providers because they use CDMA which doesn't have an insertable SIM card. So you're left with AT&T and T-Mobile plus the smaller providers that use those two networks.

We ended up with Cricket Wireless (wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T) on a really good deal: $32.50 each per month for unlimited talk and text plus 1GB high-speed data (throttled after that). The setup was 2x $40/mth "basic" plans = $80 but then $10 discount for 2 lines on one account and another $5 discount for using AutoPay = a final bill for BOTH phones of only $65/mth.

The only thing you need to check ahead of time is whether your device works on the right frequency bands. You need a GSM phone that can access at least one of the 700, 850, 1700, 1900 or 2300 MHz bands. These are common bands though, and most modern devices are quad- or penta-band phones anyway.

Edited October 17, 2014 by aelix

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

Pay for calls? Use LINE chat, WeChat, What'sApp or Viber and talk/text to your hearts conetnt over any wi-fi connection. If you have a smartphone look for the applications in your Google or Apple Store.