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Monthly Plans

Monthly plans are also known as Bucket or Hybrid prepaid wireless plans.  These plans were introduced to offer greater value to prepaid wireless customers.  The term "hybrid" is often used because it's a cross between monthly postpaid plans and prepaid plans.  If you're willing to prepay a larger amount each month (for example $30 to $50 minimum), carriers are prepared to give you a better value for your dollar than if you simply pay-as-you-go (described above).  Basically, you get a certain number of minutes per month, and some included or unlimited services.  Here are some common features of these plans to look out for:

  • Number of monthly minutes included.  They typically don't rollover to the next month, but look out for that feature just in case.
  • After you run out of your included minutes, you'll be charged a per minute rate.  If you think that you may go over your minutes, be sure to understand how much it will cost you after that.
  • Mobile-to-mobile is sometimes included, which means that you won't use up your bucket of minutes when calling people that are on the same network.
  • Richer plans will also include unlimited services such as:
    • Unlimited nights and weekends
    • Unlimited text messaging
    • Unlimited wireless web
  • You'll typically get shut off (i.e. you won't be able to use your phone) if you miss your monthly payment.  So make sure you understand the rules around what happens when you miss your payment date so you're not surprised, left paying extra fees, or having your service completely cancelled such that you lose your phone number.

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