Straight Talk from WalMart Review

Cell phone bills can easily get out of hand. With two teenagers in the house, we have four lines. Add in texting and data packages, and the cost easily exceeds $150 a month. One option we’ve covered in the past is prepaid cell phone plans. And one pay-as-you-go option worth considering comes from Straight Talk™.

How It Works

Because there are no long-term contracts required, getting started with Straight Talk is very easy. You simply pick your phone, transfer your existing cell phone number over or get a new one, and pick your plan.

The two key decisions are picking the cell phone and the best plan. Let’s start with the plans.

Straight Talk Plans

The first contract plan is called the “All You Need” Plan and costs $30 per month. This plan includes 1,000 nationwide minutes, 1,000 text messages, 30MB of data transfer for data phones and 411 at no additional charge for 30 days.

After 30 days, the $30 dollar plan expires. If you go with this plan, one nice feature is called Auto-Refill. You can register a credit or debit card with Walmart, and they will automatically renew your plan every month for as long as you want. If you use up all your minutes or texts before the 30 days are up, you can pay $30 dollars to refill on the Internet or by phoning Straight Talk directly.

If you’d prefer unlimited calls and texting, then the “Unlimited Plan” is the best option. It costs $45/month and includes unlimited nationwide calling, unlimited text and picture messages and unlimited data access as well as 411 service.

There is one important caveat. The terms and conditions prohibit “uploading, downloading or streaming of audio or video programming or games.” In other words, no Internet radio. Further, data access is limited to use of the Internet to programs loaded by Straight Talk and Walmart on the handset.

Regardless of which plan you choose, there is no fee to activate the Straight Talk service and no roaming charges.

Straight Talk Phones

Now on to the phones. Straight Talk offers handsets from the leading manufacturers such as Motorola, Nokia, LG and Samsung. The cost ranges from a low of about $20 for a phone like a reconditioned LG K31 Rebel to $1800 for an Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3.

Straight Talk phones and service plans are available at over 3,000 participating WalMart retailers nationwide. The Straight Talk products can be purchased at WalMart or on the Straight Talk website.