Hoping to start hobbying in January but need to do some research first.  I was wondering if a hobby phone is needed and options for it.  My regular phone is part of a family plan; it's just cheaper that way and nobody would care who I called.  And I do not have a S.O.  

For the past year I use to have my sister's old iphone until at&t said I have to buy a dataplan.  So, I'm back to a "dumbphone".  

I was thinking of getting a dual sim smartphone overseas.  (Not sure if it's true but the mei would not be on file?  I would end up getting a phone from a company no one has ever heard of anyway.)  I missed having a smartphone and while it may be off topic, I think dataplans are a scam.  You see, I was connecting to internet via home router or via wifi hotspots.  I was not using data at all.  So paying extra makes no sense to me.  I had the option disabled but the mei is reg. with at&t.  (I'm actually surprised it took them a year to figure it out.)

I need a new phone and instead of buying that one and a hobby phone......  I was thinking of a dual-sim smartphone.  It seems to make sense?

But how would I get minutes on the other sim card?  Now, I see that they have those plans for 20 dollars a month, but it looks like the min . expire the following month.  I plan on hobbying on and off not regulary. and paying 20dollars for essentially 2 phone calls or so seems expensive.

Do I really need one and what are my other options?

All you need is a phone that has texting capabilities as some women tend to use texts rather than voice.  Very easy to get one at Walmart. I have a $20.00 tracfone.

Now whether you want to spend extra money on a phone totally depends on you and your hobbying patterns, along with your risk tolerance. Keep in mind that the activity is illegal in US. If things go wrong with the provider, your phone number can find its way on Blacklist boards. Can you afford to have your phone number leak on the Internet?  Some high profile people can't.
Also, do you hobby with agencies? If agencies get busted, and they get busted a lot, LE will and always does confiscate PCs and cell phones.  If your phone number is in their contact list, you can land on the Internet. Just search Desert Divas in google.

Some people like to take the extra step and get a hobby phone. If I were to advice you, I would say get one. Some people don't give a shit either way.  

Which one are you, only you can decide.

Cheap disposable hobby phone that bought with cash, refilled with cash (when you're in the hobby spirit) and can be thrown away at the first time of trouble or lost without a second thought. Use this phone exclusively for voice or text contact with a provider.

Your regular phone with a data plan you can use for emailing if necessary up to the time when email is no longer viable and then switch to voice or text on your hobby phone.

When it's appointment time, you can leave everything but cash and your hobby phone in the car. If you get your ass beat by a pimp or stopped by a cop. You're lose is minimal. Oh don't forget to clear the phone's memory after each appt.

10 years. It costs $20 every 3 months to "top up". The phone and the top-up cards are bought with cash and registered online with a public computer (library, health club, etc.) in john doe's name.

Like others have said...  20 bucks, bought with cash.  20 bucks every 3 months for service, you can add service/minutes through the handset, you don't need an online account.  If you can afford to play, you can afford the phone.  If you re-up before the service expires, the minutes roll over (on TF).  Shut it off when not needed.  This is my second TF...  a couple of years old now...  holds a charge well when not in use, much better than the older one.  It's a flip phone like my regular phone, so I swap them in my belt carrier when on a 'date'.  
If you ever change your mind, the deniability & ability to walk away with no paper trail, is priceless.  
Some guys put fake male names to numbers in their phone book.  I prefer to clear the history while I'm with her.  But it means I need internet access to look up numbers.

I would not get a second phone.  I have no SO, and no one ever uses my phone but me, so I do not have one.  There are those out there who will tell you it's a necessity, I just don't agree under all circumstances.  If you are fairly young and might become involved with a sig other, then it might be worthwhile to have it.  For me, since the only ladies I have any contact with are providers, it's an expense I choose to forgo.  

Previous posters are right, you do not need a high end phone for a hobby phone.  The cheap, loadable ones are all you need.

Swim

If your main phone is a smartphone, you can get "google voice" on it. It will be a seperate phone number with texting and voice capabilities. It is free. You can make calls from that number (but on your regular phone) and the google number is the one that shows up on caller ID.

Other possible options.that I can think of would be wifi base, but what if I cannot get wifi?  So that's out.

I do not live alone.  If found out I have two phones, that would raise questions.    I currently have a dumbphone.

I do miss having a smartphone.  So I was originally thinking of upgrading to an imported dual sim smartphone, to bypass dataplan? (since I can do everything I want via wifi and not data).  And selecting witch sim card/phone number and do it that way.

Lets say I go to best buy and get a tracfone.  How do you refill anonymously?  I cannot just buy a simscard?  

If you’re penny pinching on a data plan even though you need data service on your phone, perhaps you should find a cheaper hobby.  Reputable ladies range from $300/hr to $600/hr in most markets.  That’s $5-10 per minute of session time.  I don’t see how you can afford to hobby if a $90/month cell phone plan is such a bother.

Most phones sold in the U.S. are locked, so you cannot just buy a sim card.  T-Mobile offers sim cards and prepaid plans (voice and data options) but I don’t know if you can purchase a sim and/or plan anonymously.  

Google Voice is the simplest solution.  It keeps your real phone number out of providers’ and agencies’ hands and has some cool features (like do not disturb and number blocking) that are very useful for managing your personal life or avoiding a crazy provider.

On anonymity, you should be concerned with keeping your personal info out of providers’ and agencies’ hands so that your activities remain secret from your friends and family.  Nothing in this hobby is truly anonymous.  No matter how many precautions you take, it’s still you walking through the hotel en route to a lady’s incall and probably no less than 10 cameras capture you walking from your car to her room.  If LE ever turns its attention to you and is serious about catching up with you, they will.  Hobby phone or no hobby phone.  They’re in the business of finding people.

The downside of Google voice is that Google knows who you are.  If the shit does hit the fan a la Desert Divas, LE may be able to get those records.  That's the beauty of the burners.  If you are careful, they really are anonymous.

As far as the worry about a discovery of two phones, it is a concern among those of us that are married.  My rule is that the phone is kept at my office.  If for some reason it does end up home with me, I keep the phone and the battery in separate locations.  If the phone is found then I just claim that I found it walking home and was going to see if I could get it running.  With no battery it cant even be turned on.  Previous advice about clearing contacts, messages, and logs immediately following appointment is so very important.

Bottom line: Never use your personal phone number.  Plenty of flaky shit goes down here, more than just LE.  Providers flake out, their SOs find out and start calling, jealous scary clients find your number in their ATF phone, etc.  You dont want that stuff coming in on your regular phone.

People need to understand what they are getting into here.  In the grand scheme of things, this crime is a minor violation – one that can only be successfully prosecuted if you are caught in the act.  You'd have to be very important for someone to waste their time worrying about illicit activities that they cannot prosecute you for.  LE doesn’t have the time or money.  

Burners are not always anonymous.  For example, Virgin Mobile requires new users to activate their phones online, regardless of how you pay.  I guarantee you that Virgin is recording your IP and MAC addresses when you register.

If you are important enough for LE to take the trouble to figure out who you are via Google Voice, then one can surmise that they’ll seek to find the owners of burners too.  I bet they’ll be find you too.  There’s too much data out there – video camera records from the places you buy phones and top up on minutes, cell tower records, video camera records from the incalls you visit, etc.

Regardless of how many precautions you take, you need to understand that you are taking a risk.