Tracfone Unlimited vs PayGo Plans

Hello! I have a few questions about Tracfone's unlimited and paygo plans. I've read through several of the threads here and I am still not clear on just how those two work. This is my first postso hopefully someone can answer these few questions.

I currently have a paygo plan with minutesdataand text that will take me to the end date of my 1 year of service. I am trying to decide if it is going to be better to continue with the paygo with a renewalor if I should consider replacing that with an unlimited plan instead. I am planning to wait until I am very close to my renewal date before making any changesbut wanted to be sure I understood the implications of each.

I think I understand that all of the minutesdata and texts on that paygo plan will expire at the end of the service date and I will lose whatever is leftover - that accumulated paygo m/d/t do not carry over once the service period is reachedcorrect? If I choose to enroll in an unlimited plan when my current year of service is almost up - I just wanted to confirm that I will lose all of the accumulated minutesdata and texts when that end date is reached.

If I enroll in an unlimited plan - can I continue to renew it as an unlimited plan at the end of each service time? I generally do the paygo plans for a year - so I would probably do the same for the unlimited. Will that become my plan type from then on?

On an unlimited planminutes and texts are unlimitedso not a concern as to usage - but what about the data? I am looking at possibly a 1 year unlimited plan that includes 24GB data. How it that apportioned - is all 24 available at the start of the plan and lasts throughout the length of the planor is it limited to 2GB each month for the 12 months? If that is the case and I don't use 2GB in a monthdoes what wasn't used then apply to the next month - say I use 1 in the first month - will the second month then have 3GBor will there just be 23GB left for the year that I can use however I choose?

And what happens to the data at the end of the year if I renew with another unlimited plan? Does the leftover data from the year roll over to the next unlimited year? So if I used 14GB the first year - with 10GB leftoverand renew for another year at the same rate - will I have a total of 34GB that second year? And again - are those prorated one month at a time or is it all available at once and when it runs out I'd need to buy more GB?

Also - does buying different types of unlimited plans also have any effect - say I renew a 1 year unlimited plan for a 6 month plan the next timeand then at the end of that planrenew the unlimited for another 6 months at a different payment rate? Say a 1 year unlimited plan with 24GB followed by a 6 month unlimited plan with 18GB? Would the unused data from the first 1 year plan carry over into the second 6 month plan?

Right now with the paygo planif I renew it a week or two before the end dateit automatically extends it for 1 year from the end datenot the date I renew itand applies the new m/d/t right then - it doesn't "wait" until the end date. Does that work the same way for the unlimited? If i have an unlimited plan that expires say on May 1 and I renew it on April 15will it add the next year of service and GB to the total right thenor does it wait till the end of the first year to apply the new plan?

I am trying to avoid being caught with two types of plans for any length of time. I am mainly interested in having the minutes and textsbut can't quite get my head around how the data works on the unlimited and what happens to it when I'd renew that unlimited plan again.

I know that some of this may have been addressed beforebut I appreciate anyone who can help me understand the ins and outs of the unlimited plans and how the data is apportioned and rolled over. I'll be happy to answer any questions or clarify my concerns if need be!

Thanks!!
LH

If your paying outrightno rewardsfor the same packageU/U/24 you can get that at US MobileU/U/2gb a month for $120 a yr,
compared to TF’s $192 for the year.

TF you get the 24gb up front and ticks down per usage.

Just a thought.

LHiggins said:

I think I understand that all of the minutesdata and texts on that paygo plan will expire at the end of the service date and I will lose whatever is leftover - that accumulated paygo m/d/t do not carry over once the service period is reachedcorrect?

Click to expand...

I don't know much about the unlmited plans other than experiencing and witnessing trouble with their use especially when they are used along with paygo plans

I think the unlimited plan data does roll over with them as long as you keep the unlimited plan service end date extended. Maybe someone can confirm. I think when you have a paygo plan in reserveand the unlimited plan expiresthe unlimited data continues for one more month.

Generally thoughthe service end date is very important since you could lose accumulated bucketsservice and the line/phone number (there may be a short grace period) if you let your service end date come to pass.

With paygoif you add more service time via a year add-on or a plan that includes time (a monththree months etc) or a bundle that includes another year etc to your current paygo service at any time even today then your service end date witll increase by that amount and you will just accumulate more of the minutestexts and data in the paygo buckets which will roll over until the service end date. My service end date for example is currently out to 2029 with two lines. This as a result of doing a lot of bundle purchases from hsn and also from opening many lines and then combining them in. I have 50GB of data between them and it rolls over for 5 years (hopefully). I'm a light user so it works. If I added a year to them todaythey would be good till 2030. Or if I added a 30 day plan todayit would extend my current 2029 service end date by a month.

Hopefully someone can give you more info about the unlimited plans.

It states here:

As far as the unlimited plan data goesI think you are given it all at once to use as you wish.

See this image here from another thread.. .I think it is the year plan.



If you added another unlimited plan tomorrowon top of thisany unlimited plan that includes datathe data bucket would increase that amount and the service end date would increase the amount of the plan. I think that's how it works. But maybe someone can confirm.

Any paygo service if it exists would go into reserveI think called the "Other Plan"as Unlimited plans are used first and are designated as the "Current Plan". When unlimited plan expirespaygo goes back in effect. Or should do anyway. I think the unlimited plan data bucket lives on for one more month. then dies if no unlimited plan is purchased.

@LHiggins
* If you start the Unlimited (UL) plan before your paygo service expireyou will NOT lose your current paygo balancesthey will be kept in Reseve and available for use when your UL plan expires. Let's say you current paygo service expires on 5/30/24. If you add a 1-yr UL plan on 5/20/24the service end date of your phone line will be extended to 5/30/25with the UL plan in effect from 5/20/24 to 5/20/25. If you don't add any more UL plan before 5/20/25then on 5/21/25 your paygo balances are back in use again until 5/30/25.
* The 24GB of Data from the UL plan is available all at once at the start of the UL planand is NOT divided out by month. If you keep renewing/adding UL planthen the Data balance of the UL plan keeps rolling forward. Once you no longer have an UL planyou have 30 days to use up any remaining Data from the UL plan. If you used up the Data from the UL plan before your UL plan expiresthen Data from your paygo balance will be used.
* If you add more UL plan before your current UL plan expiresthen the Data balance and service days of the additional UL plan will be added to you current UL plansimilar to how paygo works.

kaZZoo said:

If your paying outrightno rewardsfor the same packageU/U/24 you can get that at US MobileU/U/2gb a month for $120 a yr,
compared to TF’s $192 for the year.

TF you get the 24gb up front and ticks down per usage.

Just a thought.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that idea. We've been with Tracfone so long that I really hadn't given any thought to a different carrier. We've been happy with themand never had an issueso we'll probably stick with them for at least another year.

Good to know that the data - 24GB - will not be rationed out!

Thanks!!

tomseys said:

If you added another unlimited plan tomorrowon top of thisany unlimited plan that includes datathe data bucket would increase that amount and the service end date would increase the amount of the plan. I think that's how it works. But maybe someone can confirm.

Any paygo service if it exists would go into reserveI think called the "Other Plan"as Unlimited plans are used first and are designated as the "Current Plan". When unlimited plan expirespaygo goes back in effect. Or should do anyway. I think the unlimited plan data bucket lives on for one more month. then dies if no unlimited plan is purchased.

Click to expand...

Great to know - thanks! I think that is how it should workbut wanted to make sure!

hpham said:

@LHiggins
* If you start the Unlimited (UL) plan before your paygo service expireyou will NOT lose your current paygo balancesthey will be kept in Reseve and available for use when your UL plan expires. Let's say you current paygo service expires on 5/30/24. If you add a 1-yr UL plan on 5/20/24the service end date of your phone line will be extended to 5/30/25with the UL plan in effect from 5/20/24 to 5/20/25. If you don't add any more UL plan before 5/20/25then on 5/21/25 your paygo balances are back in use again until 5/30/25.
* The 24GB of Data from the UL plan is available all at once at the start of the UL planand is NOT divided out by month. If you keep renewing/adding UL planthen the Data balance of the UL plan keeps rolling forward. Once you no longer have an UL planyou have 30 days to use up any remaining Data from the UL plan. If you used up the Data from the UL plan before your UL plan expiresthen Data from your paygo balance will be used.
* If you add more UL plan before your current UL plan expiresthen the Data balance and service days of the additional UL plan will be added to you current UL plansimilar to how paygo works.

Click to expand...

Great explanation - thanks so much!

* If you add more UL plan before your current UL plan expiresthen the Data balance and service days of the additional UL plan will be added to you current UL plansimilar to how paygo works.

Click to expand...

That's what I really wanted to know - if the Unlimited works the same way as the paygo. Glad to hear it does! Thanks!

Just be careful when stacking unlimited plans. I redeemed points for an unlimited yearthen another yearthen an unlimited month (when you could add time for a friend)then another unlimited month (from a different friend account). When one of the months expiredmy unlimited talk/text disappeared and I could not make or receive calls and texts. This was a year and a half agoso I can't remember if data was affected as well. The expiration date remained correct. I had the best customer service experience ever on Tracfone where the agent immediately gave me buckets of 9999 texts and minutes. I never tried another unlimited plan again.

It's TF Jake.

Here's my theory on how the 1-year unlimited Talk-Text plus 24GB plan gets combined with Paygo:

From reading the several posts here (especially jet1000's posts)I think that the *1-year* unlimited plan is treated differently from the *monthly* unlimited plans. The data that comes with the *monthly* plans doesn't get combined correctly with Paygo databut the 1-year data does get combined correctly.

I think TF treats the 1-year 24GB data as a "paygo data bucket" even though it is an "unlimited" plan. So the 24GB data combines flawlessly with existing Paygo data.

I do not think the SNAFU TF systems deliver any consistency in this topic area.

Do not combine UNL at all if you want to be safe

wait to return to the underlying PayGo-only statusverify all is correct there

before adding the next UNL.

And realize that the Data GBs you get from UNL plans is not supposed to be "rollover forever" only supposed to last 30 days after your return to PayGo

Just my 2¢

i have always been a PayGo and not unlimited user

Do I understand correctly that if an unlimited plan is added on top of a paygo one and the unlimited plans data bucket is exhausted the line will have no more data until the unlimited plan expires and paygo plan is back in use ?

Or is the paygo data bucket able to be used to supplement the one included with the unlimited plan ?

robbyrobby said:

Do I understand correctly that if an unlimited plan is added on top of a paygo one and the unlimited plans data bucket is exhausted the line will have no more data until the unlimited plan expires and paygo plan is back in use ?

Or is the paygo data bucket able to be used to supplement the one included with the unlimited plan ?

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If you run out of Data from your UL plan before your UL plan expiresthen Data from your paygo bucket will be used.

Thanks for all of the replies and information.

So it does appear that the data I have in the paygo plan will expire when my year of service is up. I was mainly interested in how the Unlimited would work going forward once the paygo is done. If I go to unlimitedI am planning to try to be very close to my end dateand just "renew" with an unlimited plan at that pointand then have just unlimited which I will renew as each end date comes. I do not plan to go back to paygo once I'd make the switch to unlimited. I guess I'll just need to see what happensbut I don't "plan" to run out of data before I'd make the switchand just wondered if I continue with an unlimited plan for subsequent yearsif the data does roll over as the paygo plans do. By my figuringI was paying over $70/month for my landlineso a $192 yearly unlimited plan is a big savings - especially since I use it mainly for talk and text.

Thanks for all of the input!

LHiggins said:

By my figuringI was paying over $70/month for my landlineso a $192 yearly unlimited plan is a big savings - especially since I use it mainly for talk and text.

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We ditched the landline about 15 yrs ago. Not only the cost was high compared to cell phone servicebut cell phones are much more convenient.

I think you said you're happy with TF service so I'll understand if you don't want to switch to another provider. But if you want to cut cost furthergo with the US Mobile U/U/2GB for $120/year that KaZZoo suggested. You can also use the comparison tool at THIS SITE to shop for new providers. Plug in your estimated usage (put 1000 for talk/text to trigger the Unlimited Plans) and preferred carriers then click on Find Plans to see choices.

Yes - I have been happy with Tracfone - but thanks for the tip about USMobile in case things change and we decide to look for a different carrier.

LHiggins said:

I'll just need to see what happensbut I don't "plan" to run out of data before I'd make the switchand just wondered if I continue with an unlimited plan for subsequent yearsif the data does roll over as the paygo plans do.

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The 24GB year plans haven't been in existence for that long. So until someone tests one and actually rolls it over by adding another 24GB planyour question regarding roll over probably won't be answered with any certainty.

It's not documented online and you'd be wasting your time asking a rep as they would just be speculating as well. All I know is that I added a phone with a 24GB year plan to an existing Paygo line with about 53 GB of data and it all combined into one bucket immediately with no differentiation. What happens after the yearwon't be known until then but my days last well beyond the initial year of unlimited service.

The 24GB year plans haven't been in existence for that long. So until someone tests one and actually rolls it over by adding another 24GB planyour question regarding roll over probably won't be answered with any certainty.

It's not documented online and you'd be wasting your time asking a rep as they would just be speculating as well. All I know is that I added a phone with a 24GB year plan to an existing Paygo line with about 53 GB of data and it all combined into one bucket immediately with no differentiation. What happens after the yearwon't be known until then but my days last well beyond the initial year of unlimited service.

Click to expand...

Excellent points! I guess I'm going to need to make the change and see what happens. But glad to hear that your existing GB did combine with the new - so hopefully mine will do the samd.

Thanks!