How to Buy a Sprint Prepaid Cell Phone

A Sprint prepaid cell phone is an excellent alternative for people who only need a cell phone temporarily or people who have difficulty securing cell phone service due to credit problems. When you have used the prepaid minutes on your Sprint cell phone, you can return it to the store where you purchased it, or continue to use it by adding minutes on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Visit a Sprint store, cell phone retailer or look for prepaid Sprint cell phone plans online. Review your plan options: generally, you will pay a flat monthly rate in advance in exchange for a predetermined number of anytime minutes. Evening and weekend minutes may be included in the plan, and you'll have options for adding more minutes if you exceed your plan's limit.

2. Choose the plan that offers the best combination of price and flexibility. Anticipate your cell phone use as best you can, and don't get drawn into the lure of paying a higher monthly fee to add daytime minutes you aren't sure you're going to use.

3. Make your initial monthly payment.

4. Have the cell phone vendor activate your cell phone for you, or follow his instructions to complete the activation process yourself. A Sprint customer service representative will confirm receipt of your payment and then change the phone's status to "active." You will be informed of your new phone number at this point.

5. Use your cell phone throughout the month. Try not to exceed the minute allowance on your plan, as any additional minutes you add will be included at a higher rate.

6. Renew your prepaid cell phone service by making another payment at the beginning of the next monthly billing cycle. If you do not make your payment, Sprint will assume you wish to cancel your service and your phone will be deactivated. You can reactivate it by making your monthly payment, though a reactivation fee may apply in some cases.

Tips & Warnings

• Shop for prepaid plans directly on Sprint's website (see Resources below).
• Prepaid and pay-as-you-go service generally comes at higher per-minute rates than regular cell phone plans. If you anticipate regular use of the cell phone and you have a good credit history, consider buying into a monthly plan to save money in the long run.

Resources

• For more on Sprint's prepaid cell phones

[shazy1103]

on 8/25/2008 This article was no help at all! I checked every resource and could not find out anything I wanted to know!