12 month SIM only with cheapest EU and USA Roaming bolt on (or inclusive)

g1ose

Hi everyone

I'm a long term Three customer who was nicely settled into a sub £10 per month 600 mins/unlimited text 12GB data package utilising Go Roam frequently.
My contract has expired and I'm now forced into a new contract where Go Roam is no longer included from May I believe.

Three's signal has always been a bit 'meh' for me especially in and around my house so given that and the fact they are now seemingly no better placed from a deal point of view I'm on the hunt for a new provider/deal.

Typically I use very little minutes or texts, maybe 500 each max but I do use between 5 and 10GB data per month.
On top of this I will typically be travelling for between 4 and 8 weeks a year in Europe (2-4 weeks) and USA (2-4 weeks)

After some research it seems most offer bolt on's for roaming but all at different levels/prices/caps.

Any advice for the best deal where it is either included or not extortionate as a bolt on for that sort of period?

I nearly took out an O2 contract recently but before the SIM even arrived I was told my price was increasing (to an undisclosed amount) from that in which I signed up for (amazing that can even happen really) so looking to see if there is something better out there

Any help is greatly appreciated!

BUFF

I thought that Three were not going to apply the daily roaming charges to Pay Monthly if you had a package over a certain amount (& iirc 12GB was the figure mentioned)?
afaik Three won't be applying the daily charge to PAYG sims at this time so that may still work out viable (cheaper than Pay Monthly) as a 2nd sim. That is what I have traditionally used for roaming in the USA (better deal than my normal O2 sim).

As you mention O2 say that they won't be increasing charges for roaming in Europe but they will charge for the USA (£5/day) if you don't have Travel Inclusive as your Extra (needs a 30GB/month or more sim).
Possibly virtual operators that use O2 may do similar (e.g. O2-owned giffgaff)?

also see https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6320534/best-mobile-option-for-4wks-in-usa#latest

g1ose

Hey,

Thank you for your reply. 

Three certainly told me for USA at least in May this would go away for my contract, maybe because mine is an old one? They didnt offer anything comparable with inclusive USA roaming.
I'll look into the sim only deals now, thanks. 

As for O2, I don't need a 30gb plus deal but have looked to see if overall it would work out cheaper than bolt ons. It's hard to tell as my travel is adhoc. 
EE seem to have the cheapest bolt on deal at £10 for a month, but there regular deals look pretty expensive compared to everyone else. 

The most frustrating part is last year I paid around £100 for the full year for UK, EU and USA roaming. I could pay this for just the bolt ons for a 3 week trip now. 

mobileron

If u have poor signal at home setup wifi calling,calls will now go via wifi router,had same prblem for years perfect now.
Even found it worked on hospital wifi in MKeynes,couldnt get a Bt mobile signal any where.

cx6

Probably a silly question, but would using something like Whatsapp over WiFi in the USA fulfil your needs - the people you are calling would obviously need to have Whatsapp as well. You get free calls and free video calls of course - although you would need to be connected to WiFi to avoid using mobile data.

g1ose

cx6 said:

Probably a silly question, but would using something like Whatsapp over WiFi in the USA fulfil your needs - the people you are calling would obviously need to have Whatsapp as well. You get free calls and free video calls of course - although you would need to be connected to WiFi to avoid using mobile data.

Not a silly question at all.

The main issue is when me and the wife are out, say at the shops/malls/beach and need to get hold of each other. Or we are travelling using google Maps for journeys. I really don't need that much, hence when looking at £5 a day for what might amount to 2 calls each and a map download or a few what's apps it get's pricey, that and it would be 2x£5 for me and the wife to be able to communicate!

mobileron said:

If u have poor signal at home setup wifi calling,calls will now go via wifi router,had same prblem for years perfect now.
Even found it worked on hospital wifi in MKeynes,couldnt get a Bt mobile signal any where.

I have this but it doesn't always work and I know about it the second the call drops, normally having been on hold for 40 minutes and the second they pick up my call drops

getmore4less

Wondering if the 3 data reward will get hit by 3 changes PAYG rates stayed a 321.

Our US data used to use the 50p day data top up on the regular sim to cover days away from wifi and car map but the Data reward does not have that option.

will need to find an alternative

skycatcher

I'm out of contract with 3 in early Feb and they sent me an email giving me a number of options.....
1) leave for another operator
2) take out another contrct (they list 2 options both of which had less data and were more expensive with no roaming
or
3) do nothing and roll over on the existing contract at the same price with the same mins/data and roaming still included. The only caevat would be a price increase each april of RPI (Ithink it was).

g1ose

skycatcher said:

I'm out of contract with 3 in early Feb and they sent me an email giving me a number of options.....
1) leave for another operator
2) take out another contrct (they list 2 options both of which had less data and were more expensive with no roaming
or
3) do nothing and roll over on the existing contract at the same price with the same mins/data and roaming still included. The only caevat would be a price increase each april of RPI (Ithink it was).

This is funny as this is what they told me.
I was on £8pm 12gb, so I let it roll over on the basis of point 3 above.
THEN my bill came in £19 per month ...
When questioned they said, well you are not on a 12 month contract now so you get charged the 30 day rolling cost... this is not how they explained it. So I said ok can I sign for 12 months, then they said essentially I'd be on point 2 with no roaming.
I think Three are in a bit of a mess at the moment as they are telling people incorrect messages.
It's an impossible solution.

skycatcher

g1ose said:

skycatcher said:

I'm out of contract with 3 in early Feb and they sent me an email giving me a number of options.....
1) leave for another operator
2) take out another contrct (they list 2 options both of which had less data and were more expensive with no roaming
or
3) do nothing and roll over on the existing contract at the same price with the same mins/data and roaming still included. The only caevat would be a price increase each april of RPI (Ithink it was).

This is funny as this is what they told me.
I was on £8pm 12gb, so I let it roll over on the basis of point 3 above.
THEN my bill came in £19 per month ...
When questioned they said, well you are not on a 12 month contract now so you get charged the 30 day rolling cost... this is not how they explained it. So I said ok can I sign for 12 months, then they said essentially I'd be on point 2 with no roaming.
I think Three are in a bit of a mess at the moment as they are telling people incorrect messages.
It's an impossible solution.

Thanks for that info...I shall watch out for my first non contract bill and if like you say I'll be off to smarty!