Virgin (Prepaid by the month)

[davidA]

Having never used prepaid by the month before, as I will be travelling (and be in and out of the country) I am contemplating using a prepaid account (for at least a few months) and have been looking at what is being offered by the major providers.

Virgin have something called 'prepaid by the month' - how does this work (exactly) please?

Their base rate is $10 a month, which buys you local calls at 10 cents a minute. My question is 'what do you get for the $10 a month' ? Do you get 100 minutes for the $10, or is it a straight payment, whereby you have to add extra cash, in order to use your phone at the 10 cent a minute rate.

When in Europe I use prepaid SIM cards (with an unlocked phone) so am already covered. But what would be the best prepaid deal (regardless of provider) when I am in Canada. Currently I am coming off a contract with Telus, and am also thinking of staying with Telus (on a prepaid plan)

Many thanks.

David

[alexflint]

It's $10 for the plan + 10c per minute.

Think of your Pre-Paid account as a bank account. You pay $10 service fee to get the plan you want, plus you have to have money in your "bank" account to pay for the 10c per minute talk time and the 15c per text message.

The best plan with Virgin seems to be the $20 for 200 minutes, as you don't have to pay any per minute rate on top of the $20. And since their cards are sold in $15, $25 and $50, you can purchase a $25 card, get 200 minutes, plus have an extra $5 for texting. You also get Call Display and Voicemail included in all their pre-paid plans.

[davidA]

Many thanks for the reply Alex. It is much appreciated.