Hybrid Prepaid Comparison Chart


Last Update: 03/06/2012 10:53 PM

Hybrid prepaid plans are the latest development. These are very similar to traditional wireless plans, except there is no contract. You still have to pay each month to keep the account active. Prices are higher than with regular plans. If you spend at least $30/month you usually get one special perk (airtime, m2m, nights or nights&weekends), but its never as good as a regular plan. Hybrid plans are NOT for you if you are looking at a prepaid plan to save money, or because you don't use the phone that often.

The advantages of this type of plan are:
    (1) there is no contract
    (2) you are not subject to a credit check
    (3) you use the phone quite often and are looking for night & weekend minutes
    (4) you can roam off-network (usually at an additional charge, but it's better than the phone being dead)
    (5) you may get a break on the price of a phone (eg: Verizon EasyPay users get phones at the 1-yr contract price)

Typically you have to pay taxes and fees on the monthly charge just like a regular plan. Minutes typically don't rollover. This type of plan is always more expensive (per minute) than a regular plan, and you will not get the super phone discounts that you get with a regular plan.

If you are interested in traditional prepay plans click here.

Check out any special offers on my special offers page.
 

^BB The recharge period is the number of days that the airtime is good for. If you recharge your account within this period your current account balance will carry over to the new period. Some plans include a grace period before losing minutes and phone number, but the phone will not work during that period.  For example, the grace period for Virgin Mobile is 60 days.
^CC SMS = Short Message Service (sending & receiving text messages). MMS = Multimedia (picture) Messaging Service.
^DD WAP = Wireless Application Protocol (surfing the web on the cell phone)
 

^AL1 Alltel U Pay-Per-Day allows you to select two of four free options: (1) Free Nights/Weekends, (2) Free Text, (3) Free M2M and (4) Free calling to/from one number.  I used the first two in the chart.



^BO1 Boost Mobile can be used in Baja Mexico for a surcharge of 10c/minute (same surcharge for DC). Boost DC will also work on Telus in Canada for a surcharge of 20c/minute (web works too), but voice does not work.
^BO2 An extra $10 a month will get you unlimited text and unlimited web.
 

AT&T GoPhone
^CG1 $29.99 / 200 anytime /      0       n&w / 0 m2m
     $39.99 / 300 anytime /  500        n&w / unlimited m2m
     $49.99 / 400 anytime /3000        n&w / unlimited  m2m
     $69.99 / 650 anytime / unlimited n&w / unlimited m2m
     Minutes will roll-over if you refill before the 30 days is up
     Overage causes monthly refill or service will suspend
^CG2  GoPhone rates do not include taxes and fees, those are additional (approx 15-20%)
^CG3  Packages available:
        Messaging Packs: $4.99/200; $9.99/1000; $19.99/unlimited text
        Media Net Packs: $4.99/1MB; $9.99/5MB; $14.99/10MB; $19.99/unlimited data (overages 1c/KB)


U.S. Cellular Trackerpack
^US1  $45.00 /  350 anytime / free incoming / free Nights Only / overage 15c/min
      $60.00 /  600 anytime / free incoming / free N&W / overage 10c/min
      $80.00 /  1000 anytime / free incoming / free N&W / overage 10c/min

 
Virgin Mobile
^VM1  $24.99 /  200 anytime /  500 7PM nights&weekends /        0 M2M / overage 20c/min
      $34.99 /  300 anytime / 1000 7PM nights&weekends /        0 M2M / overage 20c/min
      $49.99 /  300 anytime / UNLM 7PM nights&weekends /       0 M2M / overage 20c/min
      $59.99 /  600 anytime / UNLM 7PM nights&weekends / UNLM M2M / overage 20c/min
      $99.99 /1000 anytime / UNLM 7PM nights&weekends / UNLM M2M / overage 20c/min


Verizon
^VZ1 Lowest monthly cost is based on purchasing a $100 card good for a year
^VZ2 Rate depends on plan selected

Xtreme
^XT1 There is a 60c daily access fee ($18/month) which gives you the free nights and weekend minutes (zero anytime minute). All peak airtime costs 15c/minute



Account Info Options:
^AA1 Account Management available on-line
^AA2 Call History available on-line
^AA3 Account Balance available via SMS
^AA4 Account Balance available via WAP
^AA5 Account Balance available via the phone (611, 1-800, etc), you may pay airtime if you call from the cell
^AA6 Account Balance available on handset
^AA7 A recorded message tells you how many minutes are available at the beginning of a call
^AA8 A text message tells you how many minutes are available at the completion of a call


Refill Options:
^RF1 Refill card over the phone (611, 1-800, etc), you may pay airtime if you call from the cell
^RF2 Refill card via Website
^RF3 Refill card via WAP
^RF4 Credit/Debit card over the phone (611, 1-800, etc), you may pay airtime if you call from the cell
^RF5 Credit/Debit card via Website
^RF6 Credit/Debit card via WAP
^RF7 Cash (may be limited)
^RF8 Auto-recurring billing available