Sim To use While in America!

Kaybenson

I am with giffgaff and to receive calls while cost £1 a minute.

Can someone suggest to me a sim to use over there? I wouldnt even mind an American sim.


Cheers Folks

grumbler

Feel At Home - Three

You'll need to buy a bundle to take advantage of it, and calls to US numbers aren't covered.


Also, have a look at http://www.togglemobile.co.uk/tariffs/en , but they aren't any good for data.

macman

If you use a local SIM, that will be cheaper for you, but very expensive for anyone calling you from outside the USA.
Depends who you want to call-USA or back home?

redux

macman wrote: »

If you use a local SIM, that will be cheaper for you, but very expensive for anyone calling you from outside the USA.
Depends who you want to call-USA or back home?

Not necessarily. It's possible to call USA for from a couple of pence a minute direct from some mobile brands, or using callthrough (with inclusive minute bundles) or VoIP for well under a penny a minute.

Someone with a Lycamobile UK SM can call Lycamobile USA for free, subject to conditions which vary from time to time, such as a recent top-up.

grumbler

macman wrote: »

If you use a local SIM, that will be cheaper for you, but very expensive for anyone calling you from outside the USA.

Not really. You can call to USA mobile for as little as 0.5p/min from a landline or, if from a mobile, pay 0.5-1p on the top of what you pay to call UK numbers. Not to mention Skype and similar.

Kaybenson

Basically to receive calls from London just to complement Hotel's one.

vanilla_twist

I usually just buy a local sim card from walmart when I arrive.
if you have access to free wifi then I would use an app working off wifi to call as completely free.

I have used a toggle sim before which are great if travelling as give you local number in each country you visit.

Personally unless it is business calls (get them to email), if just to ring home and check upon family then use WhatsApp or tango app off free wifi at a time to suit you.
V x

gjchester

Kaybenson wrote: »

I am with giffgaff and to receive calls while cost £1 a minute.

Can someone suggest to me a sim to use over there? I wouldnt even mind an American sim.


Cheers Folks

How much calling do you need?


US Mobile service is not as cheap as the UK and the PAYG offerings can be expensive, remember in the US you have to pay for incoming calls either via your credit or inclusive minutes, and most you need to have airtime credit and service credit sections.


It may even be cheaper to buy a simple US PAYG phone than a sim card if its just for receiving calls.


Remember both BT and Virgin have apps that let you call from home on a mobile via Wifi.

buglawton

With a UK Three pay as you go SIM (AKA'321'), topped up with a £10 data bundle, roaming internet in USA will cost 1p/MB. Calls/texts can be made to UK at UK cost. (Google 'Three Feel At Home'). On PAYG Feel At Home can be active immediately.

Three PAYG also offers calls to USA from UK for 1p/min by using the 424 prefix. I'd love to know if you can use Feel At Home and the 424 prefix while in the USA to make local calls there at 1p. Anyone tried this?

mrcamp

This has been discussed here quite a few times - Bottom line, for any extensive stay, get a local sim or just buy a sim+phone for next to nothing at target, walmart, etc. Also, you can get a free tmobile sim if you buy topup credit. Calling the USA should be very cheap from any country. Primarily because in the US folks pay to receive calls. The USA does not differentiate between cell and land lines. So it costs the same to call both. Again, it's usually quite cheap to call the US.

Tmobile sim cards are currently $0.99 online. They were free last week. Not sure they will post to UK though.

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/sim-card

SandLake

On Three 'Feel At Home' the 424 prefix can only be used while physically in the UK. There are other options, you can use Skype which comes out of the data. I used this very well in May this year in Florida although I did have a problem where I inadvertently strayed off the Three preferred network - I can't remember now which one that was.