T-Mobile

Network: T-Mobile USA plus some GSM roaming (some roaming only available with 850MHz-compatible phones, some postpaid roaming not available)

Shop a phone: click here
Phone reviews: Coming Soon!

Airtime Refills : click here (up to 3% off)

Website: www.t-mobile.com/prepaid
Customer Service: 1-877-778-2106

Claim to fame: Gold Rewards makes all refills, even the $10 card, last a year. They also have a Sidekick plan for mobile web, texting and MMS for one low daily rate. Plus, with T-Mobile’s prepaid SIM kit, any T-Mobile compatible phone (unlocked phones included) can use T-Mobile’s prepaid service.

Overview: T-Mobile Prepaid has two different plans Pay As You Go or Pay By The Day..  For those customers that like to talk and text, the Side Kick $1 a day gets you unlimited nationwide calls from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am, unlimited mobile to mobile, text messages, IM and web access. The Gold Rewards program gets you a 15% bonus on all airtime refills after you have purchased $100 or more in airtime.

T-Mobile offers a wide selection of prepaid phones that start as low as $19.99, currently including a Free $25 Prepaid Card in the bundle. If you already have a GSM handset then all you need to buy is a T-Mobile Prepaid SIM Kit, pick a plan and you are all set to go.

Pros: You can use any unlocked GSM phone. The T-Mobile $1 a day prepaid plan is great value, especially with unlimited calls starting at 7:00 pm. You are only charged $1 on the days you use the phone. 

Cons: T-Mobile coverage is the smallest of the major carriers, so make sure that coverage is solid in your area. The lower price airtime refills have a higher cost per minute if used with the pay-as-you-go plan. Avoid making international calls and use 1-800-GOOG-411 for all your information calls.

Recommended: The Sidekick plan is a great value, especially if you use all of the available features. If you are not a bigger mobile user, the $100 plan is highly recommended with a 1-year expiration can cut your monthly costs down to as low as $8.33 a month, the best offer among the major carriers.

PLAN SELECTION
Pay per day – $1 per day (only on days phone is used), unlimited 7 p.m. nights and weekends and mobile-to-mobile, 10¢ per minute otherwise
Pay as you go – see airtime card listing for rates, 15% extra and 1-year expiration once $100 is spent on refills (Gold Rewards)
10¢ per text message sent, 5¢ per message received
25¢ per MMS

Airtime Cards (all refills except $100 expire in 90 days, $100 lasts 1 year)
$10 – 30 minutes (33.3¢ per minute)
$25 – 130 minutes (19.2¢ per minute)
$50 – 400 minutes (12.5¢ per minute)
$100 – 1000 minutes (10¢ per minute)

SIdekick plan – 15¢ per minute, unlimited text, web, IM, MMS for $1 per day

PHONE SELECTION (Online currently includes a $25 airtime card for free)
Samsung t239 (camera Bluetooth slider phone) – $59.99
Samsung t109 (flip phone) – $49.99
Samsung t349 (1.3 megapixel camera messaging bar phone with SureType keyboard and Bluetooth) – $99.99
Nokia 2760 (camera phone with Bluetooth) – $69.99
Nokia 1661 (bar phone with FM radio) – $19.99
Nokia 1680 (video-enabled camera bar phone) – $29.99
Nokia 1208 (basic bar phone) – $19.99
Motorola w233 Renew (enviro-friendly bar phone with music player) – $29.99
All camera phones have multimedia messaging, all phones have text messaging and speakerphone
Any T-Mobile USA phone (or unlocked phones with the 1900MHz band, with 850MHz preferred for additional domestic roaming) can be used with T-Mobile Prepaid; SIM kits can be purcahsed here for $6.99

Got a review or a question? Leave it in the comments!