So I have been a Verizon customer for around 15 years. I was fortunate (if you can call it that) to be grandfathered into an unlimited data plan. I now need a new phone, mine died. Verizon refuses to sell me a phone at a discount (with 2yr contract) unless I down grade to a 2gb data plan and a higher monthly bill insanity.
I can keep my current unlimited plan, but I must buy a phone at full retail or get a phone from eBay. ARGGGGGG!!!!!
My question has anyone else jumped the Verizon ship for a Straight talk plan? Do you like it? any quirks pro's con's from my research I can bring almost any unlocked phone or any at&t, sprint phone to straight talk and Im good to go. I do find it really strange that straight talk uses Verizon's towers but wants you to bring an at&t or sprint phone. In these current economic times I feel that 45$ for straight talk is worth giving serious consideration when Verizon is charging over double that.
Anyone else?
Replies
I have used Straight Talk for about 3 or 4 years now and swear by it!!!! You cant beat 45.00 a month unlimited EVERYTHING with no hidden fee's!! I just upgraded to the 129.00 Smart Phone with Android and it is amazing....plus, now I can get a credit card swiper (through other companies) to use at art shows! For 15.00 extra at the time of purchasing the phone at Walmart, two years insurance was included. Should anything happen to my phone, they will replace it for free. I checked with AT&T and Verison on their "prepaid plans" but found out there are a ton of extra costs for what I get for 45.00 from Straight Talk. I live way up North in the middle of nowhere really and get great reception....my phone picks up where 'contract phone' users pick up reception and I lose reception where they do too. I see no difference between their phones and my phone. I say go for it...you wont be disappointed...and you can switch your current phone number to your straight talk!
I use a square reader via IPAD with 20.00 per month access thru Verizon totally separate bill wouldn't change this for the world cheapest way to go. Talked with a supervisor today He explained that If i plan on keeping my unlimited data that I need to buy a new phone quick according to him Verizon is loosing money on these plans and most likely will not continue allow us to buy a phone outright to keep our unlimited service. He told me to look at spring of 2013 for this to take effect. I think I might get an unlocked iphone 5 to use with my Verizon then try my old droid on straight talk for one month to see how it works . Ill keep you all posted on my findings thanks for all the help and Happy Holidays
I am on Verizon and a year ago when I upgraded to the iPhone, I was able to keep my plan, but for 3 phones I do pay $200 a month for my service.
One word of caution though, if you use the credit card readers (square, intuit, etc). Not sure how they work with the straight talk phones.
You can always buy a phone from ebay, and then activate it to your plan.
I have tried several Verizon locations and spoken to 3 different people on the phone. all of them have said basically the same thing (we are sorry but we no longer offer your plan) unless I buy a phone at full retail its a no go for me. My wife and I have a current monthly bill of 150 per month NATIONWIDE UNLIMITED if I change plans My new bill will bump up to $210 per month and no nationwide unlimited. this is why straight talk or virgin mobile are looking so attractive 2 phones on an unlimited plan for $90 a month, don't get me wrong I love Verizon but $210 a month for less service seems salty to me. So I guess I'm looking for more artists or travelers who are using straight talk or virgin mobile. Most of us seem to use Verizon
This is a lot of money at 150 a month. I just upgraded to 1G with unlimited data for 89 a month and I get a 22% discount from my former employer. My plan also includes a lot of nationwide talk time, can't rememberhow many hours. Go online to check all their plans before you talk to them again. Verizon salespeople are not the brightest bulbs. Mine forgot to put the data plan on! All cell phone carriers now charge a $30.00 upgrade fee. What is that about? Why are they charging me money to buy a better phone. There are way to economize on downloading. Don't send pictures until you can download to your computer. Alway look for a free wireless connection before surfing the web or uploading or downloading.
martha
You might want to check out Page Plus Cellular too. I'm not sure about their service lately, but I used to use them on a prepaid phone. They now offer low cost plans, some with data. You would still have to buy a phone. Otherwise if it were me I'd just buy a phone online, stay with verizon and figure that the $60/month savings goes to paying off the phone.
Costco was mentioned, I bought my last phone/plan from Costco and saved about $100 over ATT's price. But I also extended my contract. I'm not sure how their prices compare for phone only.
I have an old boost iden phone which I love but they are discontinuing iden service and removing ther towers so I have to switch to a CDMA phone. So after a lot of research and the familiarity with my iPad using Skype I have found the Verizon service to be the most dependable and dependability and service area are much more imortant to me that the little savings you get from a third party phone company whose calls get bumped when towers are too busy. Straight talk does not have their own towers so you will find many times that you cannot make a call due to too many users. The same thing happens with boost which is owned by sprint. Boost has more reliable service than straight talk a larger service area and unlimited plans that are very affordable. The main reason I am switching to Verizon is my iPad and family plans which are pretty good.
If you have a Costco store near you (I think BJs and possibly Sams Clubs, also) check with their cell department. I got my Droid X from Costco for $50. They are an outside vendor that has booths in Costco and other places, and they sell Verizon plans and phones at much discounted rates.
Also, check two or three Verizon locations, or just call them several times. You will find different answers at different Verizon stores, mainly because a lot of them are really affiliated vendors. I've found with Verizon that if you call them 10 times, you will get 10 different answers. If you are lucky, you can get put through to a supervisor that can give you a better deal because they want to keep you as a customer.