US Cellular Review: Plans, Phones, Prepaid, Pros & Cons

Company overview

US Cellular is a wireless service provider based in Chicago, Illinois. Its business model is “Dynamic Organization”, which promises to deliver outstanding customer satisfaction results. It serves some 6.2 million customers in 26 states.

Prepaid plans

US Cellular Prepaid offers three monthly prepaid plans. All these plans include unlimited calls starting at 9 pm and unlimited incoming calls. There are also two Pay As You Go plans that charge a monthly access fee.

Pros and cons

Free incoming calls and text messages are a great help in managing your usage. The $ 60 and $ 80 plans include unlimited calling on weekends and holidays. However, the minutes do not carry over to the next cycle, so you need to check your minutes regularly to avoid wasting precious minutes. Also, there is no option to choose the phone you want, as US Cellular Prepaid only offers one phone model.

Characteristics

Minutes

The $ 45 plan has 350 minutes and charges 15 cents per minute for overages. The $ 60 plan includes 600 minutes and the overage charge is 10 cents per minute. The $ 80 plan has 1000 minutes and also charges 10 cents per minute for excess. The two Pay As You Go plans have a monthly access fee of $ 6 and $ 10 respectively. The $ 6 plan costs 15 cents per minute and the $ 10 plan costs 10 cents per minute.

 

Data

US Cellular does not provide access to the web.

Text and image

All incoming text messages are free and the informal rate for outgoing messages is 25 cents. There are three text messaging plans available. Text Messaging 250 costs $ 4.95 per month, Text Messaging 750 costs $ 9.95, and Unlimited Text Messaging costs $ 14.95 per month. The surpluses of the first two text messaging plans cost 25 cents per message.

 

International

US Cellular Prepaid offers international calling and the rates are added to the monthly plan. Check the website for detailed rates for specific countries.

 

Call functions

Features included in US cell phones are Call Waiting, Caller ID, National Long Distance, and 3-Way Calling.

Long distance

You can call any location in the US at no additional cost.

911

Yes.

 

Payment options

You can top up the minutes in two ways: cash top up and automatic top up. Cash Refill is simply purchasing minutes at any US Cellular retailer via cash, credit card, or money order. Automatic recharge is done online or simply by dialing the recharge menu from your phone. You can also choose to set a specific day in a month that your account will automatically recharge. Or you can have the system automatically recharge your minutes whenever the balance is less than $ 5.

 

Roaming charge

Roaming charges on all monthly plans are 69 cents per minute. This occurs in areas that do not have US cell towers.

Activation fee

There is a one-time activation fee of $ 30.00 for monthly plans. The same applies when you activate any compatible mobile phone. For Pay As You Go plans, the activation fee is $ 50.00. The activation fee offsets the retail price of the phone.

 

Minute expiration rules

The minutes included in each monthly plan expire on the last day of the cycle. Each cycle lasts for 30 days and the monthly charge date follows the last day of the cycle. You can only recharge your minutes if you have paid the monthly fee before the billing date.

 

Customer service

Customer service is available through the toll-free number or email found on the US Cellular website.

The telephones

The only phone model available for US Cellular Wireless is the LG UX145 Black. This phone is pretty basic with limited features.