www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Masterpago changed their website. Here's a direct link: http://www.masterpago.com/recarga-autom%C3%A1tica

But you must first login: https://www.masterpago.com/login

And they have a Language option you can click at the top right corner of the page.

Thanks Orange, it worked smoothly today, but so did the old one--75% of the time. And some time it wouldn't work for a week at a time as you will remember.

Hopefully they've got the kinks worked out.

The english feature will be helpful. Still 1000 colones minimum recharge ($2 US), no service fee. So still better then the various "top off" sites which all had like a $10 min and I think a small service fee the last time I checked when MasterPago was down.

Still good to have someone in CR make a 25 colones deposit for you within every 4 months if you run out of time and the site is down. Matt at Amistad has made the kind offer to help guys out and make a small recharge for you if you contact him with your number.

For the new guys, your Kolbi sim/phone will not work after 90 days without having made a recharge deposit however small within 90 days, but you will not lose your tel# or your balance as long as you make a deposit within the next 30 days. Nice to have the same number and a sim card that's good to go as soon as the wheels are down. Don't have to make a point of re-telling your at home contacts of what new number you can be reached at when you get it the next day, and your friends in CR will already have you speed dialed.

Don't know what the policies are on the other majors, Claro and Movi.

And don't know if Kolbi has made registering/opening an account with them any easier. When I opened mine a few years ago it was a huge pain in the ass requiring scanning and emailing them my passport page and other non-sense, then waiting for a password which turned out to be 123456. Really a lot of time, all only to open a pre-paid account in which you use your own credit card.