I tried Boost and took it back the next day! Piece of trash!!! Wasted $50. Then I took clarks advise and tried Straight Talk and kept my old phone active. I like straight talk BUT when I went to move my old Verizon number over they wanted to remove all the minutes I had just paid for. That would be another $30 out the window! I told then it sounds like you are charging me to move the phone number over. I got no help from cust no service in some foreign country.

I previously was a Metro PCS customer, and went to visit my daughter in Radcliff/Ft. Knox Kentucky. On 8/26/09 I purchased the Straight Talk phone and activation card in Louisville since they didn't carry them at the local Walmart. Before purchasing I called Straight Talk to make sure that they had coverage in Radcliff and I was assured by their customer service rep that they did. Five hours later with their customer service after purchasing the phone and they could not activate it, they inform me that they did not have Verizon coverage in Radcliff. (Funny though I was talking to them on my daughter's Verizon phone, but apparently Straight Talk only works off of the towers, and not extended Verizon coverage.) I was instructed by the Straight Talk supervisor to return to the Walmart where I purchased the card to get their assistance with the refund on the $45.00 card. Their assistant manager spent two hours on the phone with Straight Talk's non-customer service and finally they gave him an address for the TracPhone Return Center for me to mail the card and my receipt to get my refund. As of 11/4/09 I still had not received my refund so I called their non-customer service and after explaining the entire story to the rep and giving him my refund information number he explained that they could not give me a refund. I politely requested to speak to a supervisor, and for at least five minutes the rep argued with me that he couldn't give me a refund. I finally got angry and used some choice words, then the rep laid the phone down for five more minutes before finally getting a supervisor for me who after checking into it said that it might take fifteen working days to cut a check for my refund, so who knows if I will actually get a refund. Straight Talk has the worst customer service I have ever encountered, so hopefully you will not have to deal with them.

On your recommendation I switched to the $30. plan that you reported on TV one evening today.

Tried to get "customer No serv" to "code" the new phone they shipped to me - however they have a "known issue" with this Samsung phone & will have to ship me another.
Their customer "no serv" is in the Phillipines & I contacted the corporate office in Miame & was given the same run around that their policy did not allow "overnite serv & that it would be 3-5 days before Iget another (defective) phone?

Buyer beware-this customer serv stinks!!

I appears that Straight Talk is CDMA, not GSM. Also, it appears that data in the unlimited plan not truely unlimited, but is strictly defined. I found out about this at http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/2705

Talk Away and Page Plus both charge $39.95/mo. for unlimited talk, text, and 20 MB data transfer. They charge the same fees, and both operate on the Verizon network and has roaming capabilities. Two cavets: Page Plus charge almost 60 cents/minute for roaming; whereas, Talk Away doesn't. Page Plus does not charge an activation fee when done on their website; whereas, Talk Away charge $9.99 activation fee.

Straight Talk charges $45.00/mo. and even though on VW network it doesn't have roaming capabilities. In fact, it won't work when in roaming area.

Verdict: You do a lot of travelling go with Talk Away.

If anyone can please share anymore companies, it would be greatly appreciated. I get slammed with $400.00/mo. with Verizon. :( Thank you in advance.

I have had Straight Talk's unlimited $45/month plan for about 2 months now and am very satisfied.

Page Plus Cellular is a better value than Straight Talk .

ST has givin me so many problems!
Over Billed me 2 times, changed my number 2 times, very very bad service!!!
Hate them. Do Not use them, nothing but head aches to save $20 a month!!

This is the first time Clark I have seen endorse any plan from Tracfone!

I have been using the pay-as-you-go Tracfone plan for more than 2 years at an average cost of less than $20 per month. That is just the way this senior uses a phone.

Sort of like the toll road business model. I like it!

I know someone that has Page Plus Cellular and it uses the same exact covarage map as Verizon Wireless since it uses Verizons network. So why has Clark Howard not heard of this? And yes they do offer a better plan that Straight Talk and you can bring any phone from Verizon Wireless to Page Plus without it being illegal which is awsome!

Straight Talk will be introducing no less then Five new phones along with their upgraded unlimited everything plan. They will have three LGs, including a slider and a flip along with two Samsungs. One is the R451G qwerty keyboard one. The other is the Straight Talk version of the Touchscreen Samsung Finesse.

As for flashing phones to Straight Talk. That is illegal as no phone that is not originally for Straight Talk is allowed. The only way that can be done with current ST policies is to clone an esn , which is illegal.

Page Plus though, does allow outside phones on their network, has a better priced 29.95 1200 minute/mms/50 meg plan compared to ST 1000. The Straight Talk unlimited plan is better value then the Page Plus unlimited talk/text/20 megs for 39.95 though.
Also, expect Metro and Cricket to merge if Project Black is real.