How To Choose The Best Plan For You There are a plethora of cell phone plans in existence, so how do you pick which plan is best for you and your personal situation? There are numerous cell phone companies offering numerous cell phone plans. In order to choose the best plan of all of the cell phone plans, you should consider some basic things. As you consider your needs, think about pre-paid cell phone plans, as well as post-paid (billed) plans; how many minutes will you need?; when will you be using your phone the most (what time of day)?; where will you be using the phone?; and what extra charges and/or penalties are there that may not be specified with the original, advertised sign on rate? Pre-Paid Plans Vs. Post-Paid: A pre-paid plan for your cell phone is a plan where you pay in advance for a specific number of minutes. Once these pre-paid minutes run out, you have the option to purchase more. This type of plan will generally not have a contract for you to sign. Make sure you look at the details and/or ask about how the minutes are calculated, and how long distance charges are accounted for. Sometimes with pre-paid cell phone plans, you will have to add a certain amount of money to your account every month or the months you use the plan. Post-paid cell phone plans are bill-like, where you pay after you have used the minutes. Many post-paid cell phone plans offer the customer unlimited minutes, whether all the time or only on nights and weekends. Many people find post-paid cell phone plans appealing, since the individual may use the cell phone at various times of the day, and have an inconsistent number of minutes month to month. Rollover Cell Phone Plans: This type of plan allows the cell phone customer to use leftover minutes from month to month. Not all plans offer this option, so if you think your monthly usage will vary, ask the sales representative if the company offers such a option. Long Distance Vs. Roaming: The cell phone term known as roaming can be defined as calling from your cell phone when you are physically outside of your coverage area. The term long distance means you are calling from inside your coverage area to a location outside of this area. Some plans will charge for these services, so if you are a traveler or will be using your phone in remote places, you should ask the price per minute on various cell phone plans. Local Coverage Vs. Nationwide: Cell phone plans will always have a coverage or network area. Nationwide coverage allows you to make a call to anywhere in the United States where your carrier reaches. Local coverage, on the other hand, covers your local area only. Different providers offer different coverage areas, so check their maps to see what the network coverage area is. Contracts Most likely, if you purchase a post-paid plan for your cell phone, you will have to sign a contract. This contract means that you agree to stay with that specific provider and phone plan for a pre-specified amount of time. Typically contracts are for one or two years. If for any reason you decide to cancel your service, you will have repercussions, such as a fee to pay per phone cancelled. This termination fee can be up to $200 or more. Make sure you choose a plan you like and feel comfortable sticking too. If you spend time to shop carefully for the ideal plan and phone, you will find more satisfaction with your purchase. |
