Rating: 
Summary: Great alternative as an emergency/convience cell phone
Review: My husband & I had a contract w/ Verizon that was $65 per month (780 per year!). He wanted me to have a cp in case of an emergency. I ended using the phone while driving just because I wanted to eat up minutes. Bad Idea. We gave up the verizon contract and got 2 tracfones before Christmas. It's working great for us. The per minute cost is high but if you use it as infrequently as we do, tracfone is a great option. Also they have a refer-a-friend program where if an exstisting tracfone user sends an email 'invitation' to the new tracfone user & he uses it to activate their phone - both parties get 100 free mins!! If you don't know someone who is an existing member - [...]
I want to add that you can purchase cards that allow your minutes to last a year or cards where they last 60 or more days. THIS IS NOT something you have to keep track of - when you turn your phone on, the date you need to add mins by is RIGHT there along w/ the current time, etc. Any unused mins you previously had on there get rolled over, as long as you don't go past the expiration date.
Lastly, when you buy the phone, in the package you will receive coupon books with codes for doubling your minutes when you buy airtime cards. I personally think it's a great way to go!! K.Goode
Rating: 
Summary: You can exchange "deactivated" cards for new ones.
Review: People who said they were stuck with their "worthless" deactivated Tracfone cards were not being truthful. You CAN exchange them for new ones. Last Christmas I bought ten 10-minute Tracfone cards from Amazon. I used four of them without problems. When I could not use the remaining cards, I called Tracfone Customer Service. They gave me an address to send in my six 10-minute cards. Within 3 weeks, I received back three 30-minute cards. So, I actually came out ahead with the exchange.
I'd have given Tracfone 5 stars if it hadn't taken a long wait to get to a Customer Service Rep.
Rating:
Summary: TracFone - an idea long overdue
Review: Recently read with interest that U.S. domestic cellphone revenue is only going to be about 9% of the world total, but unfortunately the major providers just don't seem to be willing to wake up to real consumer's needs. People just don't like having to get hooked into expensive contracts that charge whether you use the damned thing or not. The TracFone system goes a long ways toward providing a sensible pay-as-you-go service that never requires that you pay for time that's not used, and that was a big deciding factor for me. For those who don't expect to be heavy users, and those who despise the recurrent monthly costs associated with "conventional" plans, the TracFone idea is just about perfect. The phones themselves vary in price from nearly free to about $99, and come with a very limited amount of minutes (credits). Then you are expected to purchase cards in denominations of 10, 30, 60, 120, or 300 minutes. But the best deal is to buy the "Plus-3" card that gives 100 minutes + 120 bonus minutes, since this keeps your activation going for the entire year and costs under $100 (shop around). The best thing about TracFone is that you never lose the time you pay for, just so long as you keep it activated, and that can work out to less than $8/month. And remember to take full advantage of the generous bonus minutes during the first year after initial activation. This service is cheap enough that I bought phones for both my wife and myself, I don't know of any other service that even comes close.
Rating:
Summary: excellent deal
Review: This is a great price for a tracfeon card. I prefer the tracfone because you pay as you go. Only spend as much as you can afford, no need to go into debt for a cell phone. They have great CS and an awesome website !!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Deal
Review: This is probably the best deal on Tracfone that you can find...The tracfone service is excellent, I have used it in different places like Missoula Montana and Flagstaff, Arizona. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Buyer Beware of Tracfone!
Review: To anyone considering Tracfone, DON'T! They must be going bankrupt. I purchased three "Plus3" Tracfone airtime cards from Amazon last August 2001, when I tried to redeem one of the cards, it had been rendered "Invalid" by Tracfone. So, I called them, Tracfone informed me that they "discontinued" this card, along with several others, without any notice to purchasers. As a result, it was not possible to add the minutes I had PURCHASED to my phone, since Tracfone deactivated these cards! Tracfone also refused to replace the cards (which they rendered worthless), nor would they refund my money; instead, they referred me to Amazon.com...so now I'm in limbo, waiting...while my "Prepaid Tracfone Airtime" cards are worthless. I won't ever do business with Tracfone again.
Rating:
Summary: By far the best TracFone Deal per Minute
Review: TracFones certainly have their place. I bought one for my husband, to keep in touch with the children when he's away (he's in the Navy and works on a ship so phones aren't always handy, yet he doesn't "need" a cell phone for constant, continual use). I also bought one for our babysitter. She's in her early 20's and (I'm a cautious mommy), want her to be able to have access to a telephone full time, especially when she takes my children on walks or to the park, so that I can reach her and so that she can reach me at any time.For uses like this, it doesn't make sense to purchase into a standard cell phone contract. I was stuck for a high school graduation gift for my nephew and the TracFone made perfect sense as well. If his car were to break, or if he were at a party and needed a ride home, not to mention for the sake of having a phone in case of any emergency or just to "keep in touch" as he leaves for college, the TracFone fit the bill. His birthday was just a month later and everyone tucked TracFone cards into his birthday cards. They are easily purchased and easy to mail. Too, you'll never have problems finding the "perfect gift" for someone who has a TracFone as the TracFone cards are necessary for TracFone use. Do check the TracFone website as they are always running TracFone promotions, 10 units (each unit equals a minute of phone time), for registering. Often offering minutes or money back on rebates, etc. The mathematics (units per dollar) add up to savings on minutes when you purchase units in higher denominations. Right now, 300 minutes for $100 is the best that TracFone offers. I imagine though, that as TracFones increase in popularity they may become competitive with standard cell phone services. Great gift idea! You give someone a TracFone, which is a real cell phone (and a nice cell phone at that!), you register it and are provided with a local phone number (or whichever area code you need or choose, but if it is a long distance phone number you will be subject to roaming fees [time or units rather, deducted as it connects to a local cell]), and that's that! You need not provide any credit information nor are you locked into ANY contracts, but you do have piece of mind.
Rating:
Summary: good work
Review: We have two teenage kids, both of them have a tracfone now. It works great on keeping in touch with them as they are out. My oldest had a ATT phone with a major phone bill each month, but this phone has solved the problem. They are learning to control there minutes. I think the 300 minutes is a great card.
Rating:
Summary: Good bye Tracfone
Review: Where do I start? Tracfone minutes are very expensive! For 3 (maybe 4) years we've owned two Tracfones and only use in emergencies. You say Trcfone has no contract, well how wrong you are. You may not have a signed contract but you have an implied contract. We've gathered 360 minutes of airtime on my wife's phone and 163 minutes on my phone. I forgot to buy airtime on my phone and it languished in my portfolio. I wanted to redeem time in December but I got very sick with the flu and also the Holiday's took center stage. Today, on 1/4/2004 I just now bought 30 minutes of airtime for my phone. I had to reactivate (you do that if you don't buy each month) and after reactivating I noticed that instead of the 193 minutes of airtime I expected to see, I only had 30 minutes. Customer service advised me that I went too long without purchasing new airtime. The Rep. so proudly said, it says so on the box. I had to remind this person, do you remember I've had the phone for years and my BOX is long gone! That my friends is your implied contract, you must always be purchasing airtime and if you fall short of their purchase arrangement you lose your minutes. In my case it cost $163 (163 minutes of airtime). If my wife lost hers it would be almost $400. THe Service Rep. went to her floor manager (so she said) and the Tracfone Corporation didn't recognize that I was a long term customer and I will not give an inch. So I'll GIVE THEM THEIR WALKING PAPERS. I'll sell my wife's phone (minutes included), throw my little 30 minutes in the trash and go with a carrier that has cheaper minutes. It may cost more a month but I will be paying for value. I'll also use this wonderful Internet to pass along my story. ALl they had to do was a small offer, a recognition of a long time customer and I would have stayed with them. Instead they take a hard line and offered no customer service. I've been in business for twenty years and there are days I feel I am the only one that still says, "the customer is right".
Rating:
Summary: Good bye Tracfone
Review: Where do I start? Tracfone minutes are very expensive! For 3 (maybe 4) years we've owned two Tracfones and only use in emergencies. You say Trcfone has no contract, well how wrong you are. You may not have a signed contract but you have an implied contract. We've gathered 360 minutes of airtime on my wife's phone and 163 minutes on my phone. I forgot to buy airtime on my phone and it languished in my portfolio. I wanted to redeem time in December but I got very sick with the flu and also the Holiday's took center stage. Today, on 1/4/2004 I just now bought 30 minutes of airtime for my phone. I had to reactivate (you do that if you don't buy each month) and after reactivating I noticed that instead of the 193 minutes of airtime I expected to see, I only had 30 minutes. Customer service advised me that I went too long without purchasing new airtime. The Rep. so proudly said, it says so on the box. I had to remind this person, do you remember I've had the phone for years and my BOX is long gone! That my friends is your implied contract, you must always be purchasing airtime and if you fall short of their purchase arrangement you lose your minutes. In my case it cost $163 (163 minutes of airtime). If my wife lost hers it would be almost $400. THe Service Rep. went to her floor manager (so she said) and the Tracfone Corporation didn't recognize that I was a long term customer and I will not give an inch. So I'll GIVE THEM THEIR WALKING PAPERS. I'll sell my wife's phone (minutes included), throw my little 30 minutes in the trash and go with a carrier that has cheaper minutes. It may cost more a month but I will be paying for value. I'll also use this wonderful Internet to pass along my story. ALl they had to do was a small offer, a recognition of a long time customer and I would have stayed with them. Instead they take a hard line and offered no customer service. I've been in business for twenty years and there are days I feel I am the only one that still says, "the customer is right".
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