I need advice about pre-paid cell phones

Okay, you guys. I know someone out there might be able to help me. Here's the deal: I am taking my Mother on a cruise for her 80th BD in March. She lives in PA, I live in CT. We are flying separately into San Juan, my plane supposedly arriving 6 minutes ahead of hers. My sister is taking responsiblity for getting my Mom to the airport and to security safely.

My Mom has all her marbles, but she has never had a sense of direction. I'm figuring she can get to the gate okay. My worry is San Juan.

I'd like to get her a pre-paid cell phone so I can call her (or vice versa) when she arrives to figure out where to meet her. I have Verizon for a cell carrier and happen to have a spare Verizon phone. However, I asked at Verizon and the only way to do it through them is to pay a $25 activation fee plus $50 a month. That seems steep! This cell phone will probably only be used for a little bit that one week as my Mom is not a believer in cell phones. I could add her as another line, but I'd have to pay $9.99 a month. That doesn't seem like a good deal, either.

Does anyone have any other ideas as how to pull this off reasonably? Are there any other carriers out there that would service San Juan in a pre-paid service at a reasonable price?

I don't know about coverage in that particular area...

I have a tracfone and have been happy with it. You could probably check the website to see if the coverage in that area is good.

You can get money back on SR for buying a tracfone...

Faith

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Originally Posted by faithhope

I don't know about coverage in that particular area...

I have a tracfone and have been happy with it. You could probably check the website to see if the coverage in that area is good.

You can get money back on SR for buying a tracfone...

Faith

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That looks like a viable option. It looks like I can get a free phone with a 120 minute pre-paid card plus no activation fee for $29.99. That's a lot more in my price range. I'm definitely going to check further into it. It almost seems too good to be true! Thanks for the lead.:sunshine:

I have been using tracfone since 2001 and while not a great on the latest phone tech the service, one you find a phone that works good (see i live in what people would call a cell phone dead area so it took me many different phones to find one that would get even low service at my house).. is pretty good one reason i was with them for so long is that i do not use it much and i could get 6 months of active service for about 24 and a phone... they have stopped that deal but how it works now is that each of the 60 minute cards for $20 are good for 90 days of service and 60 minutes, but the great news is if you know where to look you can always get a promo code that will give you an extra 20-90 minutes on your 60 minute card or sometimes an extra 30 days service...

So to wrap that all up if tracfone has service where you will needed it it will be a great cheap phone that will do what you need...

BTW i know some airlines can send you updates to keep you updated as to where your plan is and what gate it landed at and the time, if the airline your mom is flying offers that singup to track her flight and have the txt updates sent to your phone so you know if her flight lands a different gate...

Bryan, what a cool idea! I always have my flight info sent to my cell phone, but why not my Mom's? After all, I booked her tickets and have all her info.

Thank you so much for the info about your experience with Tracfone and the idea about flight info!:sunshine:

I have a tracfone (dh) and a net10 and they are perfect for us! I just want to say 'ditto' to all said above about the prepaid phones. Having your mom's flight info texted to you sounds like the easiest way to go! I would not have thought of that. Good luck!!