Virgin Mobile

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Summary

Their prepaid wireless service emphasizes entertainment features or "hipness" by offering access to MTV and Comedy Central content among other things.

You can purchase their phones and airtimes cards from many major stores such as Walmart and Target or you can purchase them online where they have good deals on reconditioned phones and extra airtime units.

Virgin is generally known for taking a basic service like air travel or train travel (in the UK) and improving it with excellent customer service. Usually you pay a small premium for that extra level of service, but it can be worth it. We've actually tried and liked their plane (Virgin-Atlantic) to London) and trains (Virgin train) to Birmingham. I'm sure their future space flights will also feature excellent customer service. So, can you get the best of all worlds with a Virgin Mobile prepaid plan – cheap phones, good coverage, great rates and all the latest features?

Decide for yourself.

Coverage

Rates for Virgin Mobile Prepaid Plans

Pay-By-Minute Talk Plans
You can choose an 18 cents per minute flat rate or pay 6.99 per month to be charged 10 cents a minute. If you choose the the 6.99 monthly option then you also have to pay some taxes and surcharges in addition, so it really costs more than that. You start with a minimum initial balance of $20, and you have to add (or "top up" as they call it) $20 at least every 90 days. That comes to a minimum of approximately $80 a year. That's a minimum of 444 minutes (80 / $0.14 per minute). A pretty good deal, if you don't talk much on the phone. You can top up your minutes via online via Paypal, or with your debit or credit card. There is an automatic top up option that add $20 when your account get to below $5. You can also buy airtime cards, called "top-up" cards in stores like Walmart and Target or online at Amazon.com.

Pay-by-Month Talk plans
These are as expensive as standard cell phone plans but you prepay for them and there is no contract. Taxes and surcharge apply. The rates range from $14.99 per month for 100 minutes per month to 59.99 per month for 600 minutes and unlimited nights and weekends. This give a yearly cost between $180 and $720 per year. Additional minutes cost 18 cents per minutes but are charged in chunks of $4.50 at a time (i.e. for between 1 and 25 minutes over you're charged 4.50).

Day-2-Day
There doesn't appear to be a by-the-day plan anymore.

Phones

Additional Info

Text messaging

Virgin is one of few prepaid cell phone companies which offers a phones (the Switchback and the Wildcard) with a qwerty(typewriter)-based keypad to more easily compose and send text messages.

News and Entertainment

MTV

and

Comedy Central

There are a couple of new ones as well from the Associated Press:

AP Entertainment

CUBI

If you're into entertainment, you might enjoy a quick look at some Virgin Mobile commercials (I had some time on my hands).

Customer Service

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