How to Get a Free Cell Phone With Free Minutes

The quick answer is yes.In the United States, under an F.C.C. program, over 20 million households are eligible for a free cell phone.

Almost everyone today considers a cell phone a necessity, if for no other reason than for emergency use in the case of vehicular breakdowns.

The American government apparently agrees because they have made it very easy for people with low and moderate incomes to obtain one at no charge.

How do I qualify?

If you are in the SNAP program (Food Stamps), then you will qualify for the free phone and free minutes. There are other ways to eligibility, but participation in SNAP guarantees you approval.

Once you are enrolled in a program, you will get a free cell phone and free monthly minutes. This program is funded by fees paid by the various telephone companies.

Here are some details on two of the companies offering Service

Assurance Wireless

Assurance is a division of Sprint/Nextel, operated in the U.S. by Virgin Mobil. When approved by Assurance you will get a free phone within ten business days. You will have 250 free minutes every month for local and long distance calls. For $5.00 a month, you can get a total of 500 minutes.

You get voicemail, call waiting and caller ID. You get access to 911.

If you need more than 500 minutes you can have 1000 minutes and 1000 texts for $20 per month.

There are no contracts involved. You can opt out at any time; but at the low price of ‘free’, not many people do.

SafeLink

Safe Link, with almost 4 million users, is a company similar to Assurance Wireless. They also have 250 minutes. There are no contracts or credit checks. If you are in the Snap Program or get SSI, you will qualify for your free phone and minues.

You can go to either company’s website to get more details and to apply.

Assurancewireless.com

Or Safelink.com

Assurance and Safelink may not yet be in all states. If not available in your area, they probably will be soon. In the meantime read below for an additional cost effective program.

Another Low Cost Option

If you do not qualify for the free phone and minutes, but are getting croaked every month by your wireless bill, here’s another choice.

Walmart has a program called Straight Talk. For $20 a month you can get a free phone, 1000 minutes, 1000 texts and internet. There are no hidden fees, no extra costs, and no contracts. Go to ‘straight talk.com’ for details. They have several plans so you may have to search a bit to find the 20 dollar one.

If 1000 is not enough minutes, you can get unlimited calling for around $40 per month.

Hopefully one of these plans will get you good cell phone service and save you lots of money.