BajaNomad

Telcel Prepaid ????

MrBillM - 5-29-2010 at 03:45 PM

About Six months or so back, I tried to make a U.S. call on my Telcel Prepaid and kept getting recordings to the effect that my balance was too low. About 275 pesos at the time.

Checking in with a vendor, I was told that the NEW Balance required to initiate a U.S. call was 300 pesos. Added enough and it worked.

UNTIL Now.

Receiving the same recording. HOWEVER, my balance is 665 Pesos.

Fortunately, the paranoia that caused me to purchase an ATT GO-phone during the "Registration" period has caused me to hang on to the ATT phone which is working fine. In fact, I called the Telcel phone from the ATT phone and, at the end of the call, the Telcel display flashed that my balance was becoming too low.

SO, is anybody aware of a change in Telcel minimum balance policy ? A Balance requirement in excess of 665 would seem pretty excessive.

Could be just a glitch. It IS Mexico, after all. I'll find out next week.

Mexicorn - 5-29-2010 at 06:19 PM

How much did you pay for the Go Phoner?
How much to call from Ensenada to San Diego?
Will the phone work when being operated by a Democrat that voted for Obama and believes that a National health care plan is a good idea and that open carry laws are nuts?

shari - 5-30-2010 at 07:51 AM

I had a similar problem...had sufficient minutes for the call I thought, but there is some glitch ...kind of a scam...something to the effect of you can only use CERTAIN minutes for certain calls...when you buy a card, they GIVE you extra minutes and these cant be used except on local calls so no long distance calls...really weird.

Velly Interesting

MrBillM - 5-30-2010 at 09:20 AM

Regarding the "Bonus" minutes.

For a LONG while now, using a "200" peso card results in an amount credited of around 260 (I think) whereas a "100" gave a straight 100. My preference has always been to use the 100s since I rarely use that much time, anyway, and just want to keep it current for the 60-days. HOWEVER, it became increasingly common that the various stores would only have the 200-peso and above since they offer a better bargain.

From what Shari is saying, those "bonus" minutes may only be usable for local calls and therefore, at some point, although you have a LOT of minutes, they may only be the accumulated LOCAL minutes. In my case, I'm having a difficult time believing that is the case since I typically don't use enough of the "Core" minutes for that to happen. But, Quien Sabe ?

Having a large balance carried forward has been a worry with Telcel since I've had two occasions in the past, although the last was probably three years ago, when a large balance (500+, 700+) "Vaporized" and I had "Cero".

FYI, I received an e-mail response from a Telcel Vendor in San Felipe who told me that the minimum balance required to initiate a U.S. call was 16 Pesos. Which conflicts with the 300-peso figure I was told last year. In that case, bumping above the 300 figure DID solve the problem.

Assuming it doesn't clear, I've got a prepaid card that will bump it back up and that may tell A, if not THE tale.

Hate to lose all of that "supposed" balance, but it looks like the Telcel could be headed for the trash.

GO-Phone works everywhere I go. $.25 per minute PERIOD. $15.00 refill every 30 days minimum AND it's anonymous. Bought for cash. Refills bought for cash. AND, the refill dates 30-days from the original activation date rather than a straight 30 Calendar days so that you're not penalized for renewing early.

It's a mystery, but I doubt this particular event has any Dem-Repub implications.

Tea-Party Maybe.

bajacrawler - 5-30-2010 at 11:55 AM

Dial *333. I think if you press 1 you get a total of all minutes bounus and regular. If you you press 3 you get a seperate amount of bounus minutes and a seperate amount of regular minutes. You can have 500 bounus minutes and cannot make a call to US because maybe you only have 3 regular minutes. If you have a very old telcel phone this does not apply. These rules apply to telcel phones purchased in the last 1 to 2 years. Hope this helps.

Jack

Hook - 5-31-2010 at 06:09 AM

I'm not sure if I'm talking about the same thing, but we have a "go-phone" type Mexican cell phone and we use Telcel. We load it with 500 pesos at a time which gives us a bonus of an additional 500 pesos worth of time. HOWEVER, after a specific amount of time (I think 60 days), the phone needs to be "recharged" with a small amount of pesos to regain access to the total amount of minutes/pesos left on it. This "recharge" is only good for about 2 weeks (we usually recharge it with 20 pesos), at which time it needs to be recharged again. Somewhat inconvenient, but you still can receive calls if you have forgotten the recharge. Recharging is extremely simply; we go into any number of retail outlets that do this (OXXOs and Extras especially), they put our phone no, into a computer, we pay, and in about 30 seconds, the phone lets out a series of tones and it's done.

This small inconvenience is the price we pay for not wanting to have a monthly contract. Of course, if these recharge outlets are not readily available, this would not be a small inconvenience.

surebought - 5-31-2010 at 09:01 AM

As a long time seller of the Telcel prepaid phone cards, the experience has caused me to be the last person in this world, to not have a Cel Phone. Yes, I am going to be the last man on Earth with no Cel Phone. Everybody complains about Telcel. But since Telcel was sort of the first in the market. The Mexican's stay with them as sort of a torture that they can all feel united about complaining about. Kind of like supporting the PRI all those years. The Americans can never understand the recordings, so they are always asking. But I just bought from you a $500 peso Phone Card. If anyone ever kept track of their minutes and the billing, they would be surprised at what a ripoff it is and its always changing. Now you can just buy time in the OXXOs, but don't give them the wrong phone number as they can't remedy the situation and they can't give you your money back. If you want to call me, its gotta be Skype. There is no one I want to talk that much to put up with Telcel. The locals are not built for confrontation for the most part and they just accept it.

The Grand Prize AWARD Goes To ..............

MrBillM - 5-31-2010 at 09:08 AM

BAJACRAWLER. Award should also acknowledge Shari who first mentioned the Bonus Minutes "Scam".

AND, the answer is: Those Bonus Minutes.

Although I've owned this Telcel Phone for 4-5 years now and have used *333 since DAY ONE, until now, NOBODY has ever mentioned option 3 (which isn't on the voice menu). I haven't seen it written anywhere, but it may be. Those that haven't ever mentioned it include two different Telcel Vendors in San Felipe. One of whom I've exchanged e-mails with in the past three days.

Once again, Baja Nomads shows its worth as an info resource on such things.

Powered up - keyed *333 (as usual) BUT instead of option 1 or 2, I hit 3 which broke down the current minutes as follows: 4.83 pesos regular minutes. 655.2 Bonus minutes.

Mystery Solved.


T-I-M.

Thanks.

As Far as the whole business, being a Rip-off, Well ..........

It has always been expensive. We started out with Baja Cellular (using a Bag-Phone and a 12db Yagi in Percebu) when it was the best in San Felipe until Movistar took over and drove it down. Telcel has been mostly satisfactory, but pricey. The appearance of the ATT GO-Phone has made it clear how expensive. ATT-GO (where you have coverage) is far cheaper (for International) using the same network. A straight 25 cents per minute. IF, however, you use your Cel phone a LOT locally, then ATT (still 25 cents) is higher than the local rate offered by Telcel. We don't, so it looks like ATT is the future.

[Edited on 5-31-2010 by MrBillM]

shari - 5-31-2010 at 09:22 AM

man oh man...glad it's the mexican math and not just my poor math skills....thanks for the #3 tip...i had no idea either and agree Nomad rocks for getting info like this.
Telcel is a very complicated system....I got sucked into the double your minutes scam...paid the money and didnt get the promised minutes.

Just to add another little useful tip...because I dont go into town every day sometimes if I need minutes I just buy them online through my internet banking...there is a section under pay services I think where you set up your number and you can put it under your frequent transactions like paying your phone or electric bill....convenient for those of you who dont live in near a store.

Also most of you are probably aware you can send another person minutes...I buy a 500 peso card and just give minutes to juan and sirena. You do this by going to the message screen..type in the number you want to send it to...including the area code...then a space.....then the amount of pesos you want to send...I think you can only send up to 99 pesos each time....then hit send and type in 7373 and send...you then receive a message about the saldo you sent and so does the person receiving it.

Riom - 5-31-2010 at 10:04 AM

One point to watch about the transferring a balance that Shari mentioned: it arrives in the "to" account as a "regalo" (gift) balance so is treated as a bonus balance, cannot be used for international calls or the "unimited" internet. Like Shari I normally recharge online from a Bancomer account.

The easiest way to get all three balances (regular, regalo/gift,acumulado/total) and the expiry date is to key *133# then send. Result is in text on the phone. It costs 0.85 pesos (same as the per minute charge on *333).

Hook, by recharging with a minimum 100 pesos you get another 60 days. Amounts under that get, as you have found, much shorter expiry, simpler to go for the 100 pesos minimum.

I mainly use the Telcel for incoming calls (so people can reach me locally), there are much better solutions for international calls.

Rob

tiotomasbcs - 5-31-2010 at 10:31 AM

Movie Star uses the same bonus minutes scam. You can end up with 500 mins or more and no long distance. I have also had my accrued local minutes "vaporized"!! Beam me up, Scotty!:spingrin:

Hook - 5-31-2010 at 07:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Riom
One point to watch about the transferring a balance that Shari mentioned: it arrives in the "to" account as a "regalo" (gift) balance so is treated as a bonus balance, cannot be used for international calls or the "unimited" internet. Like Shari I normally recharge online from a Bancomer account.

The easiest way to get all three balances (regular, regalo/gift,acumulado/total) and the expiry date is to key *133# then send. Result is in text on the phone. It costs 0.85 pesos (same as the per minute charge on *333).

Hook, by recharging with a minimum 100 pesos you get another 60 days. Amounts under that get, as you have found, much shorter expiry, simpler to go for the 100 pesos minimum.

I mainly use the Telcel for incoming calls (so people can reach me locally), there are much better solutions for international calls.

Rob


Thanks for the tip, Rob. I will use it.

A LAST Thought

MrBillM - 6-1-2010 at 09:33 AM

After adding 200 pesos (260 Minutes inc Bonus scam), I placed a one-minute (actual 47 seconds) call to the U.S. to determine current Telcel prepaid cost. Balance down by 8.78 pesos. Deducting cost for *333 check, approximate one-minute cost = over 7.5 pesos = approx $0.55 (depending on exchange rate).

ATT GO = $0.25. $0.30 per minute cheaper.

As stated above, it looks like the BEST choice for the Telcel is to reserve its use for sending/receiving local calls.

Assuming, of course, that one does enough calling to justify the (Approx) $20.00 per month required for the two phones (ATT $15/Telcel 50 pesos).

Riom - 6-1-2010 at 03:27 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM
Assuming, of course, that one does enough calling to justify the (Approx) $20.00 per month required for the two phones (ATT $15/Telcel 50 pesos).


Recharges of $25 or more for the Go Phone have 90 days validity, which brings the cost down to $8.33/mo. So combined cost is around $13/mo, all of it usable for phone calls (no rent). Beats most "plans", for low usage.

Rob

Keri - 6-1-2010 at 08:13 PM

How much does a Go Phone cost initially . Where does one get it. Can you recharge your go phone onlineor would I have to go to the states once a month to recharge. Can you have your own like the number I use for boost.How far in baja have you used it. Does it roam to telcel or moviestar if so what is that cost.k:?:

GO ATT

MrBillM - 6-2-2010 at 08:48 AM

Bought mine at (U.S.) Walmart. Available in store, online and site-to-store. I'm sure they're available at many other discounters.

I bought the Bottom-Level Nokia. $29.99 which includes the first $15.00 (good for 30 days from activation-no restrictions). Renewal required each 30 days (min $15), but another here said that the larger cards (starting at $25) have a longer renewal interval. As I said earlier, the renewals date from the time of activation rather than a straight 30 days from EACH renewal so you don't lose days if you renew early.

The next step up in choices was a phone with addl features at $49.99 (inc $15 card).

A Flat per minute charge (U.S. and Mexico) of $0.25.

There is NO "Registration" as such SO, for those Paranoids, you can pay cash for the phone, cash for the cards and you remain anonymous. So Far.

You CAN recharge online, though.

It uses the Telcel GSM network. It was said by others that it also utilizes the Movistar net. I don't know. The coverage map for the GO phone is a bit different (more limited) than the ATT regular coverage so anyone considering one should look at the map and decide whether it meets their needs.

[Edited on 6-2-2010 by MrBillM]

bajafam - 6-2-2010 at 06:57 PM

While the GO phone sounds like a good option, if you purchase in the US, don't you get a US number? We use our prepaid Telcel in Baja, mostly for our friends in Mexico to get in touch with us. Of course, we us it to call the US as well, but I can't imagine getting many locals to call us on a US number. Doesn't seem cost effective for them, or am I wrong?

As for the initial post, and the mysterious non-usable minutes....thank you for clearing that up. I have been scratching my head about that forever. Thank goodness I now know the reason :)

DianaT - 6-2-2010 at 07:13 PM

Crossed the border and tried the *333 --- 3 and was surprised. Never knew those bonus minutes were separate. Thanks bajacrawler---we never knew!

With our telcel phone what we find is calling a Mexican land line is really expensive. I will admit that we do not pay attention to all the details, or compare every option, but when we call the US, it seems not a lot of pesos are consumed. When we call another Tel Cel phone, not a lot of pesos are consumed. But when we call a Mexian land line----good bye pesos. A friend in BA said he found the same thing!

IF ......

MrBillM - 6-3-2010 at 09:07 AM

........ You RECEIVE a lot (or even a few) calls FROM Mexican phones, the GO is likely not a solo effective choice since the caller would be hesitent to call a U.S. number. We don't, but we'll probably keep the Telcel service for those instances. I did manage to buy some 100 peso cards to reduce my monthly Telcel cost and will probably try to stay ahead on cards because the 100s tend to be hard to find in San Felipe on a regular basis.

I again tried a one-minute call to the U.S. via Telcel and the result was "roughly" the same on the resulting balance. It appears that the charge is around $.55 per minute. I haven't ever tried to check the Mex Landline cost, but now I will.

Riom - 6-3-2010 at 05:01 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM
........ You RECEIVE a lot (or even a few) calls FROM Mexican phones, the GO is likely not a solo effective choice since the caller would be hesitent to call a U.S. number. We don't, but we'll probably keep the Telcel service for those instances.


I agree, a local phone is vey useful, essential really if you're having any building work done (or even if somebody needs to call for directions to the house, they don't want to call the US for that).
Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM I did manage to buy some 100 peso cards to reduce my monthly Telcel cost and will probably try to stay ahead on cards because the 100s tend to be hard to find in San Felipe on a regular basis.


You can put 100 pesos on at any Oxxo store without the cards. Online, including from outside Mexico, you can add 100 pesos online from a Bancomer peso account, or you can add 100 pesos (for US$10) at babblebug.com or prepaidwireless.com
Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM
I again tried a one-minute call to the U.S. via Telcel and the result was "roughly" the same on the resulting balance. It appears that the charge is around $.55 per minute. I haven't ever tried to check the Mex Landline cost, but now I will.


The rate depend on what tariff you are on. The basic Amigo rate (in border areas), unless you've switched to something else (or had something grandfathered in), is 14.27 pesos a minute to the US. I pay 11.43 pesos total for up to ten minutes, as I'm still on Cobra por Llamada.

There are about 8 different tariff options for Amigo which you can switch to, each have their different benefits. As I have details of all the charges for each, and some of the Telnor rates, I'll write a blog post (site below) on the rates sometime soon.

Rob

Velly Interesting

MrBillM - 6-3-2010 at 05:30 PM

As Charlie would say to Number One Son.

I think we've got all the details worked out.

For myself, the "Phone" Bounty Runneth over. ATT GO, Telcel, two U.S. Only CDMA prepaid phones and even my "Magic Jack" and "Skype" have been working more often than not on the Sat Link.

It's been a long journey from the time when we'd drive into San Felipe, go down to "Panaderia Linda" where they had a table with three phones and you paid them to place a call for you. Even farther from when the only phone service in San Felipe was local. I remember coming out of Arnold's (long gone too) one night and staring at the new Pay Phone (local only) as if it were an Alien force. Not sure that we're better off, but it is what it is.