Do you want a non-expiring French SIM card for travelling? €0.05/MB

diamonds

I'm in for two sims, so another 9 peeps !

NFH

I've received a PM from another forum member saying that even a card issued by a French bank was rejected by B&You (for delivery to a French address). I'm therefore evaluating whether a prepaid credit card from the French post office is the best option as I might load money on the card and be unable to spend it.

NFH

I managed to get through to B&You on the phone, by entering a failed order number (despite failed orders not usually giving an order number). They assured me that any physical French Visa card or MasterCard (not an e-Carte Bleue for example) should work. I am therefore planning to buy a Trans Cash prepaid Visa card for €9.90, which has the crucial French BIN. Fortunately I now have a French address at which I can receive post (but addressed only in my name), so I can make sure the Visa card works before paying for the mail forwarding service for everyone else's SIM cards. The disadvantage of the Trans Cash card is that they charge 3% for loading money on to it, but the advantage is that it's reloadable unlike La Poste's Carte Cadeau.

If you would like a B&You SIM card and haven't yet PM'd me with your e-mail address, please do so now.

NFH

There's now a French resident in the Prepaid GSM forums offering the necessary €5 as a virtual credit card (e-Carte Bleue) for €6, i.e. a modest €1 profit for his time and effort. I've used it to buy myself a second B&You SIM card and everything worked smoothly.

Jamcj191266

TrYing to find where I can purchase one of these sim, any help would be apreciated.
Regards john

NFH

Jamcj191266 wrote: »

TrYing to find where I can purchase one of these sim, any help would be apreciated.
Regards john

The answer is in post 17, just above your post.

etsac

B&You is designed for French residents who will use the card virtually exclusively within France - hence the need for the somewhat convoluted methods some of you are trying to go to get hold of one. If you need to call out of France, as most visitors will, the the rates are very high eg calls at 0.50€/min and SMS 0.30€ each.
'Horses for courses' really - if data within France is important to you, or calls to other folk in France, then B&You is fairly unbeatable. But, if as most visitors to France, you will want to call abroad then there are many other cheaper options available - and easier to get hold of!!
Regards.

NFH

When calling back to the UK, I always use Viber, Skype or FaceTime. With apps like O2's Tu Go, and EE reportedly working on a similar app for launch later this year , one can use one's UK mobile tariff while abroad to call the UK from one's inclusive minutes. A local SIM card can therefore be used only for data and national calls within the visited country.

JerryW

NFH wrote: »

When calling back to the UK, I always use Viber, Skype or FaceTime. With apps like O2's Tu Go, and EE reportedly working on a similar app for launch later this year , one can use one's UK mobile tariff while abroad to call the UK from one's inclusive minutes. A local SIM card can therefore be used only for data and national calls within the visited country.

But Tu Go will only work if you have wifi access, won't it?

NFH

JerryW wrote: »

But Tu Go will only work if you have wifi access, won't it?

No, you could also use it over mobile data with a local SIM card. This is particularly useful for receiving incoming calls on your UK number while using a local SIM card which has a different mobile number.