If you are a TracFone user, chances are you have heard about their Triple Minutes for Life (TMFL) feature. Basically, you buy a TracFone smartphone featuring this, and you can get triple credit. In other words, you buy a TracFone with 60 minutes, you will get 180 minutes of talk time, 180 text messages and 180 MB of data. This has been an incredible deal for anyone who wants a phone at an inexpensive cost.
Fortunately TracFone’s newer smartphone-only plans will continue on that value-providing proposition. You can check our Triple Minutes vs. Smartphone-Only Plan comparison chart here. Smartphone-only plans do not triple in credit. These smartphone plans will work for both Android and iPhone users. To learn more about TracFone, check out our full review.
The Triple Minutes for Life (TMFL) feature plan has been phased out since 4/1/2017 for all new phone packages introduced afterwards, in favor of moving customers to their smartphone-only plans.
In general, their new prepaid smartphone-only plans offer a really good deal for customers. The main disadvantage is that the minimum monthly spend is now a $2 – $3 more a month. It’s probably unavoidable, with the rising costs of everything else. The smartphone-only plan’s minimum spend now works out to $10.42 a month before taxes and regulatory charges. It’s a great alternative to typical $40 a month unlimited plans if you aren’t using the phone as much.
What’s great is that these smartphone-only plans offer a lower cost on average when you break it down by per minute, text and MB of data. They also more accurately reflect the usage habits of smartphone users – allocating more airtime for texting and data vs. talking. Below is a comparison of the pros and cons.
Comparison Chart of Tracfone Smartphone-Only Plans vs Triple Minutes for Life (TMFL) Plans
| Cost | Service Days | Cost Per Month | Minutes | Text | MB | Talk Time (Cents Per min) | Text (Cents Per Text) | Data (Cents Per MB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TracFone Smartphone-Only and Unlimited Talk/Text Plans – Airtime Credit will not Triple | ||||||||
| $15 | 30 | 15 | 200 | 500 | 500 | 7.5 | 3 | 7.5 |
| $25 | 60 | 12.5 | 500 | 1000 | 500 | 5 | 2.5 | 5 |
| $45 | 90 | 15 | 750 | 1000 | 1500 | 6 | 4.5 | 3 |
| $125 | 365 | 10.42 | 1500 | 1500 | 1500 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| $20 | 30 | $20.0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1,000 | NA | NA | 2 |
| $25 | 30 | $25.0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2,000 | NA | NA | 1.25 |
| $30 | 30 | $30.0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3,000 | NA | NA | 1 |
| Old TracFone Airtime Cards – All Minutes/Text/ Data credit Tripled for comparison | ||||||||
| $20 | 90 | 6.67 | 180 | 180 | 180 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| $40 | 90 | 13.33 | 600 | 600 | 600 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| $100 | 365 | 8.33 | 1200 | 1200 | 1200 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
Minutes/Text/MB listed are the total airtime provided with each plan purchase, eg. $15 plan provides a total of 500 minutes, 500 texts and 500 MB of data.
$125 Annual Plan offers the lowest average monthly cost ($10.42) and longest active period (365 days). For low volume users who want the least hassle, this plan makes the most sense.
Unused talk/text/data credit carryover as long as phone service remains active and in use.
Need more data? $10 for 1 GB – add as you need. Unused data credits carryover.
How to get started? If you are currently a Tracfone smartphone user, you can get started on these plans by purchasing and activating their smartphone-only plan cards. If you are not yet a Tracfone customer, you can get started by purchasing and activating a TracFone smartphone through their website here. Alternatively, you can buy a compatible unlocked phone from Amazon or eBay and insert a TracFone SIM card (with plan) into the phone (see Tracfone bring your own phone post).
TracFone Per-Minute/Text/MB Spend Has Lowered
New $45 card for 90 days service with 750 min, 1000 texts and 1500 MB
New cost per minute: 6 cents/ minute, 4.5 cents/text, 3 cents/MB
New monthly cost $15 per month.
vs.
Old $40 card for 90 days service with 600 min, 600 texts and 600 MB (usage credits tripled)
Old cost per minute: 6.7 cents/ minute, 6.7 cents/text 6.7 cents/MB
Old monthly cost $13.33 per month
TracFone Per-Month Minimum Spend Has Increased
New $125 for an annual card with 1500 min, 1500 texts and 1500 MB vs.
Old $100 for an annual card with 1200 min, 1200 texts and 1200 MB (usage credits tripled)
Monthly cost increases from $8.33 per month to $10.42 per month.
Average cost per minute remains the same for annual plan. For all other plans, per minute/text/MB cost has decreased using new smartphone only plan (see examples above).
But Not If You Buy It Discounted…
There is a popular deal (while supplies last) that provides a steep discount on the $125 annual card – $125 75.99. This will reduce the cost of service back to under $7 per month. At $75.99 per year, it is less costly than the standard $99.99 annual plan. It also offers a higher level of airtime (1500 min, 1500 texts and 1500 MB).
Depending on the discounted deal you manage to purchase, the average cost per minute is reduced to a rock bottom 4 to 5 cents per minute. On a per unit basis, this is lower than going with a $99.99 annual card from the official Tracfone site, even if you get the full 1200 minutes assigned (after tripling) to your account. See comparison chart above.
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TracFone’s Smartphone-Only Plan More Accurately Reflects Current Talk, Text and Data Usage Habits
TracFone’s smartphone-only plans come with varying amounts of talk, text and data usage, unlike its traditional cards that standardizes the volume in each bucket. For example, it’s $25/ 60 daysplan provides for 500 minutes of talk time, but 1000 text messages. More and more users find themselves using text more often than making or receiving calls. Do you talk more or text more?
The traditional TracFone airtime cards were introduced in an era before texting and data use over a cell phone. Then prices lowered, and to address that, the Double Minutes For Life came about. Prices lowered further, and with the rise of smartphones, the Triple Minutes For Life. All these are based on a multiple of the underlying talk time (eg. 60 minutes gave rise to 60 texts and 60 MB etc). The new smartphone monthly plan allocates varying talk, text and data instead.
Just Need a Regular Non-Smartphone? Double Minutes Still Applies
Many people have no need for a smartphone or for the many different applications available. All they are interested in doing is making a telephone call. They have little to no interest in text messages, data plans, games and the like. Rare for certain, but there are some people like this still in the world.
If you don’t need a smartphone, you can still get on a similar deal with the double minutes.
What does this mean for the TracFone user who is interested in the triple minutes plan? You may still be in luck because of independent sellers who have stores on eBay and Amazon may have cards with triple minutes available for users of the TracFone.
The phase out of the Triple Minutes for Life (TMFL) feature system is a forgone conclusion. However, new or current users have much to look forward to with TracFone’s new Smartphone-only plans.
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If you are not yet a Tracfone customer and want to get started, check out our TracFone Review for guidance or get started on TracFone’s Official Website.
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