The main advantage of prepaid services is the combination of freedom and control that they offer. With a prepaid cell phone, you’re not locked into a multi-year plan with a set number of minutes per month during specific calling times, additional charges if you exceed the limit and a costly fee if you break the contract.
You’re free to talk whenever you want, as long as you want, until you run out of minutes or data. And you don’t have to pay a monthly bill.
Talking more one month and less the next makes no difference, and leftover minutes will often roll over from one month to the next. Plus, if you want to change to a different type of plan, a prepaid phone gives you the freedom to switch whenever you want.
Because they don’t require a contract, prepaid phones are fast and easy to buy. They also are available at many locations, ready to use immediately and even disposable. These advantages make a prepaid phone work particularly well for the following instances.
Parents of Teenagers
If you don’t have any minutes left, you can’t make calls or send text messages, although you can still make calls for emergencies and, with some phones, receive messages stored until you have the minutes to view them.
Parents can buy a cheap cell phone for a teen and a set number of minutes or amount of data, leaving the teen to budget use and pay for additional minutes.
Occasional Cell Phone Users
If you only use a cell phone for emergencies and perhaps a few calls a week, you don’t need a fancy phone or a complicated billing plan. A prepaid phone may work well, but make sure you know about any time limit on unused minutes.
Short-term Users
No contract means no credit check or need for an address, making it ideal for making phone calls while traveling. If overseas, you can get a prepaid phone number for the duration of your stay.
Trial Users
Before committing to a long-term cell phone plan, use a prepaid phone for a month or two to gauge what your (or your teenager’s) actual usage will be. Then you can find a plan with the minutes and calling times to match.
Young Adults and Others With No Credit History or Credit Card Debt
Buying prepaid phones don’t require a long-term contract and credit check, so students with part-time jobs or older adults with no use of credit or a less-than-perfect credit record can get a phone easily.
