What to do with an old flip phone?

Donate to a women’s shelter.

If it were mine and I didn’t mind just letting it go, I’d probably look around for someone whose family is very far away, and just give it to them. Invite them to call home, let the kids talk to Grandma halfway around the world.

Alternatively post it for sale at a low price on a neighborhood e-list.

Could that $400 balance be used to make any kind of purchases or only for phone calls? If it could function like a gift card, that opens up other possibilities.

I can’t say what to do about the $400. I don’t know where that number came from, or how it got to be that large.

I can tell you that old phones are practically worthless. Like others said, you can give it away – but who ends up paying for the phone service? There is no trade-in value whatsoever.

I would give it to some inquisitive kid with a screwdriver and tell him/her to take it apart and learn how it all works inside.

I took the OP to mean it has $400 accrued credit on it that will expire when the next 3-month interval runs out.

@elbanditoroso The $400 is the accumulation of the payments I have been making. It is paid in advance calling minutes, but must be reactivated every 90 days with an additional payment.

$400 “worth” of “minutes” is only worth what minutes are otherwise worth to someone.

For people who have an unlimited calling plan available on some other phone, those minutes might be considered worthless.

For someone who has a hard time getting a phone, or whose phone is problematically associated with them and tracked, etc. that credit might be worth something, such as:

* someone who has low income and can’t afford more than that $25/90-day fee
* a woman in an abusive relationship whose phone records can be accessed by her abuser
* someone whom the phone companies won’t give a phone
* someone the government might be tracking
* a teenager whose parents try to track their communications
* someone who for whatever reason values their privacy
* etc.

You can keep it as an emergency phone.
Emergency numbers always work, regardless of whether you have an active plan, or even if there is no SIM card installed.

Oh wow. I just bought a phone for my mom. That sounds like a good deal. I’m sorry I missed it.

Do you have a group on Facebook for your community? I’d post in there.

I assume you are saying the next person would inherit the $400 worth of calling time.

If your new phone is with the same provider, ie Tracfone, contact them and switch the minutes to your new phone.

If you have switched providers you are out of luck as far as getting any value from the minutes are concerned.

Our police department collects them for the homeless and Women’s Victim Center, maybe you have some of those programs in your area.