Customer Reviews

Virgin Mobile $20 Top-Up Card

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Virgin Mobile's prepaid service is pretty good, if not exactly cheap. It's definitely for people who don't make a lot of calls, since each call costs 25 cents per minute (10 cents after first 10 minutes each day). If you just want a phone only for needy cases (not for mindless chats), this is a good deal. Minimum refill is $20 (twenty) every 90 days, so you can keep a cell phone for only $80 (eighty) per year.

Pros:
- 90-day balance period, plus 60-day grace if you don't refill
- Free voicemail, unlike T-Mobile or AT&T Wireless or Verizon Wireless
- Stylish phones
- MTV content
- Uses Sprint PCS network, decent voice clarity, ok coverage
- Great customer service, resolves problems quickly
- Easy to activate and refill
- Easy (and free) to get balance on the phone
- No credit check, no taxes or surcharges, just flat fees
- You can stay completely anonymous if you want

Cons:
- Extremely annoying menu system when you call
- Very annoying website, slow and stupid and confusing
- Initial cost of phone is high (i.e., no subsidies)
- MTV content costs extra
- Sprint PCS not available in many rural areas
- Network can be busy in the evening

I really love Virgin Mobile. I bought a Virgin Mobile phone for my teen daughter and I love the way the system works... and it is easy to add minutes, easy to keep your phone active, and has a totally fair minute usage plan. Top-Up cards fill the account and the balance can be used for airtime (minutes) messaging, ringtone downloads, and other features known as Virgin Xtras. This is a great way to help ensure that your teen has a phone for emergencies, and personal use but an excellent way to control the expense, while teaching them the responsibility of cell phone usage. It is also an excellent choice for people who don't use their cell phone often. My brother-in-law doesn't use his cell phone much at all... only but a few monutes a month. He wastes $30.00 each month on cell phone service, but he will be switching to Virgin Mobile because with Virgin you only need to Top-Up with at least $20.00 every 90 days to keep your number active, and you don't lose those minutes. $20.00 every 90 days is much less than $30 every month! So he will waste less money with this plan.

The extra features are great!!

I too purchased a top up card with the expiration date of 12/31/04. I called Virgin Mobile and they said they extended the expiration date until 12/31/05. Just wanted to let people know the cards are still good!

While I love the Virgin Mobile service and the freedom of not having a contract, you should do your Top-Up through their website virginmobileusa.com instead of buying a card from a retailer. The card I received from Amazon is expired by six months! (As of this writing you can also get a fantastic deal on clearance phones at the Virgin site.)

When considering the cost of call time, which may seem high, keep in mind you are also paying for all associated taxes, caller ID service and voice mail! Makes it quite reasonable to pay 25 cents/minute for your first 10 minutes of the day and just 10 cents/minute thereafter. And there are no additional charges.

Bottom line: get the service, but don't buy the Top-Up card at Amazon.

I shopped around before deciding to go with Virgin Mobile. I was a previous Sprint PCS customer so I knew the Virgin Mobile Network would be adequate (they use the Sprint Network). The Virgin Mobile plan is simple and there are no hidden fees. Here is the breakdown...$0.25 a minute for the first 10 minutes of the day and $0.10 a minute after that. Or, $0.35 a day and $0.10 a minute. Text messaging is free to receive and $0.10 to send.

You have to top-off your Virgin Mobile phone at least $20.00 every 90 days. If you don't use your phone much, but enjoy the convenience of having it, it will only cost $6.66 a month to operate.

It thought I was saving time by buying my card online instead of having to go out to the store and get one, but I was WRONG! Don't get me wrong, the phone and cards are great, but be careful if you purchase your Top-Up cards online!! If it takes more than 72 hours between the time you order the card (activated by Amazon at time of purchase/shipping) and the time you receive it, the pin # will "go cold" and it shows up as an invalid pin # when you try to top-up. You won't be able to use it without faxing a bunch of information and a copy of the card to Virgin Mobile Customer Service. I went through this recently and it was a real PAIN! I'll be purchasing my cards at my local store from now on.

I got my phone (Vox 8500)in March and have been using it ever since I received it. It is a good phone plus the Top-Up card I received today has an experation date of Dec. 31, 2004 and I don't have to Top-Up again until June 13, 2004. The back of the card has a space for you to scratch off to reveal the pin number. I think it's good that it has a long lasting use by date since I can keep it until I need to Top-Up again to keep my account active. I only needed the phone for occassional use and it is good for this and inexpensive. The phone is clear and loud and easy to program and feature packed. Get this phone if you don't want a high cell phone bill but want a cell phone that you can use. I like the long experation date so I can buy them in advance and hold them until I need to use the card. Well worth it.

I have been a Virgin Mobile prepaid phone user since 2002.
I started with a Kyocera 2119b and about a year ago updated to the Kyocera Flasher V7 camera flip phone.

I am extremely happy with their service and especially, the price scheme. I am a low volume user and V. Mobile is still the least expensive prepaid plan I have found. If you use top up cards, you have to pay $20 per 90 days which is basically $80 per year.
However, if you register a credit card for top up, it will automatically be charged $15 every 90 days (or when your balance drops to $5, whichever comes first) Which means it is only $60 per year!

Oh yeah, you can send/receive short text emails for only 5 cents (256 characters). Each phone has a normal email address so you can get email from anyone! If your phone has a camera or video you can also send picture messages (higher cost per msg)

Recently, they have an alternate price plan which is a flat rate of 18 cents per minute no matter how many minutes you use.
The previous standard plan was 25 cents for the first 10 min and then 10 cents per minute after that.
I've switched to the 18 cents/minute plan which is cheaper than the other plan as long as you talk for less than 19 minutes per call.

I can't imagine why any low rate user would waste $30 per month for the contract type of cell phone - V. Mobile prepaid is the way to go.

Virgin Mobile is the best prepaid service provider. TracFone is just HORRIBLE (minutes go as high as $.50 a minute and text messages are $.30 each and I think you have to pay to receive text messages with TracFone. With Virgin Mobile, its $.25 a minutes for the first ten minutes of the day and $.10 a minute after that. Text messages are $.10 to send and free to receive. A lot of content is available at virginmobileusa.com for putting on your phone (ringtones, celebrity voicemail greetings, MTV and Comedy Central Content, and a lot more). You only have to play $20 every three month which is A LOT cheaper than most cell phone service providers. And best of all, NO CONTRACTS!!! Virgin Mobile is the way to go for prepaid phone service.

Bought my first $20.00 card on line the other day, easy instructions and in a coupla' minutes I had the extra 20 on my Virgin Mobile 8610 Cellphone.....But, I noticed today,WalMart is selling the same $20.00 card for $19.48