Going back to the United States & need to stay connected with your peeps in the states?
Renting a cell phone in the U.S. usually means 2 year contracts, expensive plans & if you get a Pre-Paid Phone - they can be EXPENSIVE . . . BUT - Net10 has a WONDERFUL plan that makes calls just 10¢ a minute & some of them INCLUDE a phone for just $30!!!
You can buy a brand new PrePaid Phone Card which comes WITH a Cell Phone it INCLUDES 300 minutes of airtime (at 10¢/minute withIN the U.S. )!!! The priced depends on which model you get but it ranges from just $30-$60 with http://Net10.com
YOU designate where you want the phone number to be for (by area code)!
NO need for credit cards or additional purchases (other than additional minutes), NO activation fees, NO Annual Contracts, NO monthly charges, NO credit checks, NO PINs or cards to buy.
INTERNATIONAL CALLS
You can make international calls to many countries (unfortunatelycurrently not Costa Rica) for just 15¢/minute (the regular 10¢ call charge + 5¢). Their Net10 International Neighbors plan gives you up to 3 Canadian or Mexican phone #s that you can give family/friends in those countries to call you on your Net10 phone! http://AurisTechnology.com/net10ild/index.asp?site=faq_neighbors#2
Want to stay in touch with your family/friends in Costa Rica (or other places not included)? They can get a U.S. number (of your choice) for just $18 for 3 months with http://Skype.com & you can call them on it. They'll have to be online to make/receive calls (hence they must have high-speed internet access).
As is normal in the states YOU ARE charged for ALL INCOMING calls as well as outgoing.
I get their most basic/cheapest model (which I LOVE as it's REALLY compact & has a blue screen!) which is the BEST VALUE because it also INCLUDES a FREE Accessory Kit with car charger, power charger, headset & case (note that a headset is CRUCIAL in many states) for JUST $30 (probably + tax)!!!
http://Net10-store.com/bpdirect/net10/PhoneDetails.do?action=view&productVariantExtensionId=3538792
WHERE CAN YOU FIND A NET10 CARD/PHONE:
You can pre-order one online at http://Net10.com to be delivered (for free) within 3 days to you in the States (this is good if you need to forward any calls from here to the states when you activate) OR at:
Walmart, Walgreens, Target, Radio Shack, KMart, Family Dollars, Dollar General, Circuit City
They have other cell phone models including 2 that are a VGA Camera Phone & one with Bluetooth® Wireless Technology for just $40 & $60 at:
http://net10-store.com/bpdirect/net10/Start.do?action=view&market=GSM5AT&zip=90035&AID=&VID=&VC=&SAHCID=&COM=&locale=en&siteType=TR&gotoPhonelist=true
Note: The pre-paid card is ONLY GOOD FOR 60 days & the cheapest new card you can get is $30 (so I ended up not using/throwing away a BUNCH of $ that I didn't use) & to reactivate it costs more money than buying a new one.
I JUST noticed they also had an Easy Minute plan with 400 Easy Minutes for $40/month (this would have worked best for me but I didn't know about it) along with a 250 (just $25/month for 250 minutes) & 150 plan (just $15/month for 150 minutes) & a Net10 Unlimited plan for $80 for the month with unlimited local/long distance & text messaging & NO ANNUAL CONTRACT!!!
Chat away!!
Vicki