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Does anybody have a recommendation for a prepaid plan, which would be utilized for only one or two one to two minute calls per day? I've been looking around and T-Mobile with their $100 prepaid minutes seems good. Net10 seems also okay in terms of cost, but they don't tell me how local (Bay Area) coverage is. They only show a vague map. Oh, I prefer no roaming charges. Rollover minutes are nice. Help me please, cell phone gurus!
Keep in mind this is all just my opinions/experience. However, as a low number of minutes cell user myself, I think "TracFone" is worth a look, because they give decent basic cell coverage (in the USA only), for very little per month as long as you don't use a lot of minutes (it's very easy to do under $10/month with low usage). They are available in many stores (including Walmart), but it will often save you a lot of money (especially for the initial "phone purchase") by ordering over their web site (as they frequently run web site only "specials").
I've had them as my only "cell phone" for years (and no, I'm not still on the old analog phone I got from them when I first started). In fact, whenever my phone gets too old (or I just want a newer/smaller phone), I just buy another phone from their web site (often taking advantage of a web site special on the phone), and then just call customer service up to move my existing rollover minutes to the new phone I just bought (and then put the old phone in a phone recycling bin at the local health clinic). So I think I'm now on my 3rd or 4th phone from them.
IMHO they are a good choice for exactly what you asked for (a low minute/month basic phone, with good coverage). They are clearly NOT a good choice for people that use a lot of minutes (as their per minute charges are higher than the competition), nor are they a good choice for people that want the latest and greatest phones (because TracPhone seems to use older model phones from the surplus market). But for basic short phone calls, TracFone seems to work well in my experience. And with very pervasive roaming in the USA (and apparently no roaming charges anymore), the phone seems to usually work when you need it to.
NOTE:
IMHO the easiest way to keep your line active is to either put a small minute "card" in every 90 days (a little less than $20 for the smallest minute "card" that will also add 90 days of service), or just bite the bullet and buy a 1-year service card (for a little less than $100), and be good for the entire year. However, you can sometimes keep your service active for even less than that, by paying attention to some of the specials on their web site.
BTW:
I haven't bothered spending the $50 yet to get their "double minutes for the life of your phone" service (or $140 to get the double for life + 800 minutes of talk + a full year's of service). However, that looks like a decent deal if you use more minutes than I do. And if you really want extra minutes, the best deal is to first get on a double-minute plan (for the life of the phone), than make sure whenever you put extra minutes on you use the biggest minute cards (because the larger minute cards cost less per minute, thereby giving you the most possible minutes for your money). But for simple "emergency phones", doing the opposite (just keep buying small minute cards, just to keep your service/number active) is the best way to go.
Again, TracFone is IMHO a good choice for an occasional/emergency phone. But they are a very bad choice if you use a lot of minutes. So if you average say over 100 minutes/month, you should look elsewhere. However, if you are like me (only using a few minutes/month, except on long trips), the fact that the bundled minutes you have to buy anyway (to keep your service active) will "roll over" really works in your favor. Because it means that your low monthly cost cell phone will likely have a built-up stash of minutes to use when you really need those extra minutes!
