How to Make the Switch, Step-by-Step - See if you need a new phone
			Prepaid Reviews - Opinion and Ratings of the top Prepaid services
			Pros & Cons of Pay As You Go - Are you willing to make the trade-offs?
			Choosing the Best Prepaid Plan - Which is best for you?
			Prepaid Do's & Don'ts - Make changes without being surprised

How to Switch to Prepaid, Step by Step: 1. Check your options: -Can you use your old phone? -Which carrier has your most important features? -Read the Reviews and narrow your choices. 2. Deal with your old carrier: -Will you be charged an Early Termination Fee? (Can you avoid it?) -If you're keeping your old number, contact your new carrier to initiate the change, not the old carrier. Often this can be done online. 3. Sign up with the new Prepaid service. -Do you understand all of their charges, terms and conditions? -Start saving money! Use Your Old Phone? Options With Your Current Cellular Carrier: Select Your Current Cellular Service: Carrier Name Alltel AT&T Cricket Nextel Sprint T-Mobile Verizon Wireless If You Have: Alltel Option 1 - Stay with the ALLTEL network and Your Current Phone: Alltel's own Prepaid is a very good deal and includes more coverage than most other Prepaid plans. Alltel customers that have been acquired by Verizon Wireless may need to switch to Verizon Prepaid plans. Others may not need to switch. If Alltel in your area has been acquired by AT&T your phone may not work. However, you can now switch to GoPhone, AT&T's excellent prepaid service. Alltel Option 2 - Use Your Current Phone With A Different Service: Some Alltel phones can be used on Verizon Wireless which would qualify you for a Verizon Prepaid plan or potentially one of their re-sellers. Alltel Option 3 - A New Prepaid Phone If You Have: AT&T Option 1 - Stay with the AT&T network and Your Current Phone: You can switch to AT&T GoPhone. You can choose from a variety of plan options including Unlimited Talk and Text. You can add Text and Data features and roam in Mexico at a reasonable rate. You can just activate a new AT&T SIM and try it out. AT&T Option 2 - Use Your Current Phone With A Different Service: You can use your AT&T phone with almost any GSM Prepaid re-seller as long as that provider uses the AT&T network or if your phone is "Unlocked". AT&T will give you the Unlock code if you have fulfilled your 2-year contract, or if you convince them you need to unlock the phone to travel internationally. They will not give the Unlock code for a Blackberry or iPhone. Without the code your only choices are GoPhone which offers several levels of Prepaid options, and StarGate Mobile who can provide a SIM for your AT&T phone. If you can Unlock your AT&T phone, our favorite is T-Mobile Prepaid which actually allows more US Roaming than AT&T's GoPhone. Another choice for most unlocked GSM phones is SIMple Mobile. AT&T Option 3 - A New Prepaid Phone If You Have: Cricket Option 1 - Stay with the CRICKET network and Your Current Phone: Cricket is already a great value-priced service, but you can switch from their monthly pay-in-advance plans to PayGo. You get a choice of 3 levels of Unlimited service, and only pay for the days you use. You can also change which type of Unlimited you use on different days. Their Top-Up refills expire within a short period, but if you don't use your phone every day, you might save a little from Cricket's already low prices. Cricket Option 2 - If you use your phone a lot less, you might save with a New Prepaid Phone. If You Have: Nextel Option 1 - Stay with the NEXTEL network and Your Current Phone: Nextel does not offer a Prepaid option, but if you cancel your Nextel postpaid account, you can activate the same phone with Boost Mobile, operated by Sprint on the Nextel network. Boost offers different levels of prepaid including Unlimited Voice and Text. Sprint is now offering new Boost Mobile phones that operate on the Sprint PCS network. Sprint is converting the Nextel network to CDMA technology by 2013. Nextel Option 2 - A New Prepaid Phone If You Have: Sprint Option 1 - Use Your Current Phone With A Different Service: Sprint does not offer a Prepaid option so the only opportunity to use your current phone is to get it converted to another network. Metro PCS claims they can "flash" most CDMA phones to use their network. Metro PCS is a good choice in Prepaid and they offer different levels of unlimited service. Metro PCS offers service almost everywhere where Sprint is available. Sprint Option 2 - Stay on the SPRINT network With a Different Phone: Even though Sprint does not offer Prepaid plans and, in most cases, you can't use your Sprint phone with other cellular providers, you can still use the Sprint network. You can switch to a wireless company that uses the same network. The largest Prepaid service using the Sprint PCS network is Virgin Mobile which owned by Sprint. You must buy their phone and you cannot roam off of the Sprint network. Virgin offers an Unlimited plan. Sprint Option 3 - A New Prepaid Phone If You Have: T-Mobile Option 1 - Stay with the T-MOBILE network and Your Current Phone: With T-Mobile Prepaid, you can switch to "Pay As You Go" or "Pay by the Day". Once you pass the $100 amount in your Pay As You Go account you are eligible for T-Mobile's "Gold Rewards." You begin with an initial rate of .10 per call and a 1-year expiration date. Subsequent yearly renewals can be less than $100 a year, but at the $100 amount, you keep the .10 a minute rate. You also get free access to a limited selection of web sites. There are no extra charges for roaming off T-Mobile's network, and roaming is available in almost all the same areas as postpaid accounts. You can also buy a new T-Mobile SIM and try it out. T-Mobile Option 2 - Use Your Current Phone With A Different Service: While we strongly recommend T-Mobile's own excellent prepaid options, if you just don't want to deal with T-Mobile, you can switch to SIMple Mobile who uses the T-Mobile network, with a few handset exceptions. You can get a SIMple Mobile SIM and try it out, first. If you want to "Unlock" your GSM phone, T-Mobile will provide that unlock code after you have been a paying subscriber for at least 6 months. Once unlocked, you can also activate your phone with AT&T GoPhone. Before you make any switch, make sure the new carrier has coverage where you need it. Most options don't have as extensive coverage as T-Mobile Prepaid, especially in the west. T-Mobile Option 3 - A New Prepaid Phone If You Have: Verizon Option 1 - Stay with the VERIZON network and Use Your Current Phone: Verizon Wireless lets you switch to their own Prepaid plans with multiple levels of payment. On days you don't use your phone, you don't pay. Your number of features determines the rate you pay on those days you do use the phone, including different types of Unlimited minutes. You also get access to most of Verizon's unique features. Roaming off the Verizon network gets you roaming charges. Fortunately, Verizon's network is extensive enough to make off-network roaming rare. There are some Verizon phone models that the carrier will not activate on Prepaid. If you run into that obstacle, try Option 2 or 3. Verizon Option 2 - Use Your Current Phone With A Different Service: You can take your Verizon Wireless phone to one of several cellular re-sellers, the best of which is Page Plus Cellular, available through Page Plus agents. Page Plus offers most of the same features as Verizon, but on a pay as you go basis. Their refills expire after 120 days (about 4 months), $80 refills are good for a full year. Like Verizon's Prepaid plans, Page Plus users are limited to the Verizon network, which is extensive, but off-network roaming is possible at a higher rate, including roaming in Mexico. Verizon Option 3 - A New Prepaid Phone