Anyone have a no contract cell phone?

I was thinking of getting one of those no contract cell phones. Anyone here use one and any trouble loading up new minutes? Someone said that you have to activate it every 3 months --- is that true, and does that mean you have to load up new minutes even if you didn't use up all the minutes from the last top-off (load-up, or whatever it is called)? I can go months without using the cell phone. Any info is greatly appreciated.

I've had a tracfone for about a year, and I love it. Yea, you can get a card with 350 minutes for about 80 dollars, and so far that has lasted me 6 months, and I still have 150 minutes left. No monthly bills, no hassles. If you are the kind of person who does not us a cellphone a lot (like me), I think it's perfect. And one way to save minutes is to text message rather than call if you are just telling someone you'll be late or something. Each text is only a third of a minute cost, no matter how long it is.

I'm another with Tracphone and it's perfect for me. I've had it for about 3 years and I've never had the least bit of trouble loading the minutes and service time. I take advantage of sales that offer you double minutes if you buy a one year card.

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I used to have Virgin but now I basically pay nothing as part of my wife's plan

The good thing about pay as you go is you have no contract with the numerous add on fees.

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Have had a TRACFONE 376g for about a yr. LOVE it, but it's NOT for people who talk a lot. If you just want a cellphone for emergencies, etc., it's a fantastic deal, what with the current "double minutes for life", addt'l promos all the time (find them on google, etc.). For me, it avgs. out to about 7-10.00/month. I buy the lowest amt (card or on the Tracfone site - EASY!), $20.00, for about 90 minutes, automatically get double minutes (180 minutes), then usually get some fantastic promo for another 90 minutes. All this for 20 bucks, and, every time you buy more minutes, your'e activated for an addt'l 3 months! I use avg. 270 minutes every 3-4 months, but I'm not your avg. cell phone user. I still it's it's cheap, though. (It IS true, though, that their customer svce stinks, (but polite). It's situated in S. America and you can hardly hear them. However, I've only had to use it once and all was corrected.
GOOD INFO:
http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/motorola-w376g-tracfone-review-part-1/

Updated On: 4/19/09 at 02:31 PM

Thanks for all the feedback. I spent hours at the store today picking out a plan. I wish I had done the pay-as-you-go no-contract thing years ago, I could have saved so much money. I rarely use a cell phone, so I've been overpaying for years! I ended up doing the one-year thing, so that I wouldn't have to worry about loading up minutes every 30 or 90 days, LOL, especially since I might have the darn thing turned off for weeks at a time.