Virgin mobile offers a free cell phone and free minutes to the tune of 200 minutes per month to eligible customers. As of this writing, the service is only available in eight US states. Those states are Florida, Michigan, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and Virginia.

According to their website Florida is newly added so double check to see if Assurance Wireless service is offered in your zip code.

What Virgin Mobil’s Assurance Wireless Has to Offer

Here’s a list of the free stuff you’ll get with Assurance Wireless:

• Free Assurance Wireless phone by Kyocera
• 200 free units a month (this is for both local and long-distance)
• The usual cell phone features such as voice mail, call waiting and caller ID.

For Additional Charge:

If you want extra minutes it’ll cost $.10 each. It also costs $.10 per text message. Assurance Wireless does offer a text messaging package which costs $5.00 for 200 messages. There is also an additional charge for international calling and 411 services.

Assurance Wireless Eligibility

Not everybody is eligible to receive the free Assurance Wireless cell phone and its accompanying features. Each state has its own eligibility requirements. For example, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia residents qualify if they are currently participating or receiving benefits from any of the following programs:

• Medicaid
• Food Stamps/SNAP
• TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
• SSI (Supplemental Security Income)
• LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program)
• FPHA (Federal public housing assistance) or Section 8
• NFLP (National Free Lunch Program)

-Or –

• a household income at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines

Florida, Michigan and Texas residents have can qualify for the Assurance Wireless phones if they participate in any of the above government programs but, the household income must be at or below 150% of the Federal poverty guidelines.

Maryland residents do not have a Federal poverty guidelines requirement. Participating in one of the above-mentioned programs is sufficient.

How to Apply for the Free Assurance Wireless Service

The first thing to do is check the Assurance Wireless website to ensure that the program is available in your area. Once you find that it is available in your area call Assurance Wireless at 1-888-898-4888 and one of their representatives will process an application for you.

Once your application is approved and you receive your Virgin Mobil Assurance Wireless phone (you will either receive the Kyocera Jax phone or Kyocera Marbl phone depending on your calling location.), visit their website to activate the phone. Every month you receive 200 free minutes on your cell phone for as long as you qualify.

Even better than a prepaid cell phone is a free cell phone and free cell phone service. Through the SafeLink wireless program, eligible participants can receive not only a free cell phone, but free airtime each month. There’s only one catch, you must be income-eligible to participate in the SafeLink free cell phone program.

Currently SafeLink is available in the following 27 states:

Alabama
Connecticut
DC
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Nevada
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia and
Wisconsin

If you live in one of the above states, visit the SafeLink wireless site and enter your zip code to see if it’s available in your area. Folks who already participate in certain government programs such as Family Assistance, Food Stamps, Medicaid, Veteran’s Disability Pension and a few other programs are eligible to participate in the SafeLink program.

Qualifying the Safelink Free Cell Phone Program

Those who don’t participate in the above programs but have a total household income at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Level can qualify. Checkout the Federal Poverty Guidelines to see if you qualify.

Qualifying is just half of the application process. You must be able to prove you qualify by providing information such as

• A Medicaid Statement,
• 4 months of consecutive pay stubs,
• Last year’s income tax returns
• Employer W-2 form
• Supplemental Security Income Statement
• A document that contains your program ID

Each state may have different application requirements so it’s best to visit the website at SafelinkWireless.com for your state’s particulars. It’s worth a try. After all, why pay for a cell phone and cell phone service if you are entitled to get it for free?