USA: Best options for multiple trips?

[snaimon]

Originally Posted by petkow

Thanks everyone. Just an open point for discussion: Can anyone shed some light onto why networks are so comparitevely miserly with validity period of credit in North America? I would have thought that as long as you keep a credit and are making some chargeable calls once in a while (either in or out) that you should automatically get extended like it appears to be the case in most other parts of the world!

To me it seems strange that only once you have passed a magical $100 threshold, everything gets so much easier, but before that any other topup .....

Have only LIMITED experience with prepay in US - TMO, VZW and Virgin. Believe Virgin (on Sprint network) has longer validity but is not GSM. Prepay is in my opinion NOT big in US. Most people I know have postpay. I think carriers make more money on postpay. Prepay is a way in -- say for teens or people with poor/no credit. Prepay is no good for heavy users like business people - just too expensive. Also, if they (business people) want to write-off their phone expenses, a monthly bill is easier than receipts for top-ups.

Earlier you asked if the 10 cents intl SMS would stay. Don't know. If the start losing money on that option from heavy use, it will go away.

Stan