Cheapest Way To Stay In Touch In The States

GR88038

I will be travelling to America twice for two weeks at a time over the coming months. I need to remain contactable while I am away as I run a business, but the mobile phone I have at the moment is just an old Nokia pay-as-you-go and isn't TRI Band.

I have considered using Skype to make my personal calls, but my clients need to be able to contact me and I may need to make calls to them, for which Skype probably isn't appropriate.

I have wondered whether I should buy a cheap TRI Band handset that I can put my existing SIM in (therefore retaining the phone number all my clients have). I have heard that it is more cost effective to buy an American SIM whilst out there and use that instead.

Any other suggestions about the cheapest ways to keep in touch would be greatly appreciated.

reggieq

I have been travelling fairly regularly to the US for the past few years and signed up for an account with VIP communications https://www.joinvip.com. You get a tollfree 1800 access number and a pin number so there is a lot of dialling but calls to UKlandlines. cost 8 cents a min and calls within the US also cost 8cents a minute. Always ask the hotel whether they charge for 1800 numbers.Over the past couple of years I have noticed that some of the callbox companies make a charge now for the access number.
When you call the access number and put in your pin you get a message telling you how much your credit is so you can in fact find the cost of each call. When phoning from a call box which makes a one off charge for the call you can make several calls by simply pressing on the # key twice before dialling a new number.
I have been using this for the past 10 years or so and it has been very reliable. Of course you can also use it from friends' phones with no cost to them.
Best way for people to phone you is to use 18185 only 1/2p per minute to a landline.Call them thro VIP to give them your number , if you are on the move , and get them to call you back with 18185.

GR88038

Thanks reggieq, I haven't come across that service before so I will look into it. Presumably though, I would still have to buy a TRI band handset if I wanted to use that service from a mobile while I'm on the move.

reggieq

I have never used a mobile in the US. There are phoneboxes everywhere there
and of course wherever you are staying the night.I don't know what the rates are from mobiles but look at their website

FelixTCat

GR88038,

Have a look at Tracfone http://www.tracfone.com

With Tracfone, you buy a special phone ($19.99 for a normal phone, $29.99 for a flip phone) and a started voucher for $9.99 (all plus local sales tax). Use an internet connection to register and each call costs 1 unit per minute (incoming and outgoing) - $9.99 buys 30 units. After 2 working days the phone will make international calls, also at 1 unit per minute (about 16p).

The units can be topped up on-line or by shop purchase.

When I bought one for holiday use in May, I received bonus units for signing up on-line and further bonus units for signing up for their electronic newsletter - since I've received only 2 communications from then since, I'm hardly being spammed as a result.

My phone will still be usable when I go back next year, though I will have to re-register with another $9.99 voucher.

To find shops selling the phones, put in the Zip code in the box in the top-right corner of the main page.

Provided you can live without international calls for the first 2 days of your first visit, this system will work for all your trips. As soon as your phone is registered, you can email all your contacts with the number. I haven't tried it, but I presume that you can forward calls from your normal UK number as well.

Regards,

Felix