USA-UK Pay As You Go mobile sim card advice

bargain_hunter_jackie

Hi, hopefully someone can help me... We are going to Las Vegas in November and would like a money saving way of making calls to one another in Las Vegas but also home. Last year we used our UK mobiles to phone one another (when lost, etc!) and call home, as you can imagine, it cost a fortune. I have tried to research but there is so much information and it's not all that clear but I think the best thing for us to do is get our phones unlocked and buy either a T Mobile or AT&T pay as you go USA simcard that can be topped up at stores in Las Vegas when needed. I just need to know - if this is the best option then which company is better and if this isn't the best thing to do, then what should we do? Many thanks, Jackie.

eslick

we have bought a T mobile sim the last two times we have been, once off ebay and once from the t mobile store once we got there, the ebay ones werent around last time. we werent calling home and you couldnt on a t mobile sim but for local calls they were excellent, only trouble was having to pay to receive calls. there are other ways like buying a pay as you go phone when you are there from walmart of target but they were more expensive then buying the sims when we were there.

spalding

So whats the best way of calling home when in Las Vegas then?

M4RKM

i've had a t-mob sim, and i've changed it now to AT&T.

I've never had any issues with either, being able to call locally (within NYC) or home (to a UK number)

Both come with international dialling, so you should always be able to call UK number on either, but you do need to put that into the international version of the number.

I think AT&T win out slightly, with their 3g network, and they charge $1 access fee a day, and then all AT&T to AT&T calls are free, so that's really cheap..

calling back to the UK is more expensive, but it is always cheaper than using your UK mobile... maybe you can get people in the UK to call YOU, on your USA number, thus making it the cost of an incoming call only to you..


Now, there is a way to really reduce what you pay to call home, and that's for someone to register with a VOIP provider, that gives a USA number out. it might cost a few $$ to set it up, the company I use, charge $3 a month for the number, but for me it is great... then you get some free software on your computer, and you "phone" that...


M

bargain_hunter_jackie

Thank you to everyone who has replied - A few more things... am I right in thinking that the sim card idea is the best (either AT&T or T-Mobile)? Also will they call the UK (as long as I have an unlocked tri/quad band phone)

ratkarth

so where do i get the simms from?
sounds like a good idea jackie

M4RKM

I've not looked at any other option than a simcard.. i've had my NYC phone number now for years, however, you do have to top up $100 to keep it for a year.. and every year thereafter, it does expire unlike UK ones...

it's the easiest option tbh IMO..

M

bargain_hunter_jackie

Thank you again, I think that's what I am going to do, you can buy T Mobile USA sims on Ebay but I can't seem to find any for AT&T - I think they only come with phones.

jackieblack

eslick wrote: »

there are other ways like buying a pay as you go phone when you are there from walmart of target but they were more expensive then buying the sims when we were there.

Trac phones, $9.99 from walmart