Tips to Get the Best Rate from Virgin Mobile

Cell phones are virtual necessities these days. However, many people would like a cell phone but don't want to sign up for a two year, $40 per month contract when they will only use a few minutes per month. For these people, prepaid cell phone plans are usually the best bet. Even heavy talkers can benefit from having a prepaid plan as long as they do enough research and pick out the best plan for them.

When it comes to prepaid cell phone providers, there are many choices. This guide aims to help you understand the plan options and payment options for one of your choices: Virgin Mobile USA. Virgin Mobile uses Sprint's network in the United States, and delivers generally good signal coverage. A map of Virgin Mobile's service area is available on their website.

Picking Your Plan

Virgin Mobile has several different plan options. Your choice of a plan should depend on how often you plan to use your phone for calls and text messaging.

Option 1: Pay By the Minute

Cost: 20 cents per minute

For: Talking Less than 70 Minutes per Month

Minimum Cost: $20 every 3 months/$80 per year

Virgin Mobile's Pay By the Minute Plan is best for those who only use their cellphones vary rarely. Minutes cost 20 cents to use at any time, and text messages cost 10 cents. Each time you use a minute, 20 cents are deducted from your cash balance on your account. As with all other Virgin Mobile plans, no contract is required, but you must put at least $20 into your account ("Topping-Up") every 90 days to avoid account deactivation.

Option 2: Pay By the Minute

Cost: 10 cents per minute plus $6.99/month

For: Talking between 70 and 130 minutes per month

Minimum Cost: $21 every 3 months/$84 per year

If you talk between 70-130 minutes every month, you'll get a better deal if you use this Pay By the Minute option. Just like in the previous plan, minutes cost 10 cents all the time, and the cost of your call is deducted from your balance once the call ends. A $6.99 charge is deducted from your account or charged to a credit card or PayPal every month to acquire the lower per-minute rate. You still need to top-up every 90 days to keep your service active.

Option 3: Minute Packs

Cost: $20 for 200 minutes/$30 for 400 minutes/$50 for 1000 minutes

For: If you expect to use somewhere near those amounts of minutes every month

Minimum Cost: $20 per month/$240 per year

These minute packs are Virgin Mobile's newest service option. For $20, you can purchase a pack of 200 minutes that last for 30 days. Any extra available minutes will roll forward into the next month as long as you buy another Minute Pack within those 30 days. Otherwise, those minutes would expire. If you are considering this option, make sure to look at the monthly plans as well to see if those would deliver a better value for your talking habits.

Option 4: Monthly Plans

Cost: Various, the cheapest being $24.99/month for 200 anytime minutes and 500 night and weekend minutes

For: If you want a good value plus the flexibility of night and weekend minutes

Minimum Yearly Cost: $24.99 per month/$300 per year

Virgin Mobile's monthly plans offer a good value in terms of minutes with the added benefit of requiring no contract. Unlike plans offered by other telecom companies, Virgin Mobile's plans can be changed at any time to conform to your usage, or even canceled with no penalties. You can choose whether to charge the monthly fee to your cash balance or to a credit card or PayPal, but you must have a credit card on file to use this service. If you are interested in these plans, check out the Virgin Mobile website to see which plan makes the most sense for you. The website also offers comparisons between Virgin Mobile's plans and those from other telecom companies

Plan 5: Unlimited Calling

Cost: $79.99/month

For: Unlimited talking with no limits

Minimum Yearly Cost: $80 per month/$960 per yaer

This plan is for the constant talker. It offers no restrictions on the number of calls you can make or the number of minutes that you can talk for. If you're looking for an unlimited plan, this plan actually compares very favorably to plans from other companies, with the additional benefit of not requiring a contract.

Picking Your Payment

As mentioned earlier, there are several ways to pay for your Virgin Mobile plan. "Top-Up Cards" are available at many retailers nationwide. They are available in several denominations, the lowest of which is $20. You can pay for a top-up card in cash, and be issued a PIN number that you can type into your phone to credit your account. Buying and applying a top-up card will extend your service by 90 days on a Pay By the Minute Plan or Minute Pack plan. The cards do not "stack" the service extension: for example, buying two $20 cards will extend your service only 90 days, not 180 days.

You can also pay for your monthly plans or purchase top-up cards online using a credit card, debit card, or PayPal.

Picking Your Phone

Virgin Mobile usually has about eight to ten phones available at any given time. Phones are available at many retailers, including RadioShack, Target, WalMart, and other electronics stores, as well as on the Virgin Mobile website. Phones can be found for as cheap as $10 or as expensive as $100. If you purchase your phone on the Virgin Mobile website, some phones are free when purchased with airtime, allowing you to start up your cell phone plan for as little as $9.99. Shipping and activation are always free on the Virgin Mobile web site as well.

Activating Your Phone

After you get your phone, charge it up using the included charger. Then, go online to Virgin Mobile's website and click Activate. You'll have to enter the phone serial number, which is available on a sticker located in the battery compartment. If you don't want to open up your phone, the serial number is also located on a sticker on the bottom of the outermost plastic clam shell package. After you enter the serial number, you'll enter some personal information about yourself and be issued a new phone number.

Conclusions

Virgin Mobile USA offers a variety of prepaid phone plans, many of which are a good value for either the person who wants to have a cell phone for emergencies only or for the heavy talker. Do the research to make sure you have the right phone and right plan picked out, and happy talking.