Traveling to United States in July/August and looking for a deal on a SIM, one each for Mrs B and me.
I have been before and used one of the local brands, like AT&T or T Mobile, and just installed a SIM in my unlocked phone. Here is the thing; that is a deal similar to Telstra or Optus would provide here, ie $30 for a month's prepaid, with some calls thrown in and minimal data allowance (400mb or so).
And this is OzBargain so, surely, we can do better than that? I mean, this is where we get alerted to deals that see a $30 prepaid SIM going for $10.
Even something like Woolworths deal, $29 for 45 days with 5GB is better than the deals on offer from the Telcos. We will be mostly on east coast (first stop NYC, then Philly and Washington DC) and stopping in California on the way home (all on cheap fares and travel deals alerted to by OB!)
Where should I start looking for SIM deals? All suggestions welcome.
Many thanks, fellow Bargaineers.
Mobile phones in USA
Comments
I usually check the Prepaid data wiki before going overseas. I was over in the US last month and used Simple Mobile. Walked into the store and it was all tourists doing the same thing. Mostly Aussies! $50 for all you can eat for a month. You can't tether unfortunately.
I used to use T-Mobile but they changed their plans. It's $70 unlimited for a month. Too pricey now.
You are not going to get sim deals in the US, the way we do here. Prepaid and even contractless mobile plans are virtually non-existant. They are getting better but still a few years off.
one each for Mrs B and me.
Sounds like she is your teacher.
No. I am Mr B, she is Mrs B. As the meerkat says, simples!
First things first, you need to find a network that will be compatible with your phones…
I'm no expert, but I think T-Mobile is the only network that uses GSM, so that's your only choice. I believe AT&T and Sprint both use CDMA.AT&T will work.
Sprint and Verizon (biggest network) won't.
And this is OzBargain so, surely, we can do better than that? I mean, this is where we get alerted to deals that see a $30 prepaid SIM going for $10.
Very hard to compare based purely on monthly fee. US rates are lower per call, but you also pay for incoming calls. As a good OzBer you need to look at all the details. You can get some prepaid where it's a dollar a day unlimited on same network. Although plans change all the time.
ATT like Neil says is GSM, but coverage gets patchy when you get away from urban areas.
Also are you looking at phone for local (US use) or for calls home? If its the latter then maybe a voip or skype service might be better and get a sim with more data.
Also look at two different plans one for local, - missus (or you) where that is set up for calls to other phone eg unlimited to same network, while the other has more flexibility. Another potential way to save.
Also look online before you go, often Walmart, target etc used to (still?)have cheap phones with sim (<$20) which was less than just buying the sim. Again depends on how dependent you are on your phone and its features
also look at whirlpool for advice as well http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/149
I'm literally waiting to get on a plane home from the US after being here for 5 months.
I used T-Mobile to start with, since they have a $30 unlimited text/data and 100 Min talk plan. Unfortunately I could only get EDGE coverage with my Galaxy Siii due to the bands T-Mobile use.
I then switched to Straight Talk who have a $45 unlimited everything plan. They offer at&t sim cards so I could get fast data.
Unfortunately both of these plans are only available online, so you will have to be really organised to get them.
I heard of LYCA MOBILE (US), can get free sim via online order.
Call free to Lyca to Lyca ( local and AU to US, vice versa).
Google it, if want to learn more.
I never used this.
Lyca looks promising, $39 plan is $10 off at the moment and available from a shop near my hotel in NYC. Folks, we may have a winner. Thanks for the heads-up!
Was in US last year and lived off the T-Mobile $30 plan. You only get 100 minutes of talk time, which includes incoming calls, but has unlimited text and data - though drops to 2G speed after 5GB. It worked great with Google Voice.
dddddd
I was in the states recently and used t-mobile's pay by the day: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/pay-by-the-day-cell-phone…
The internet was only 2g as previously mentioned because of the band they use but it worked well for me. They will mail you a sim card for free if you have a friend in the US or can send it to the hotel you will be staying at. It is $2 a day for unlimited phone, text and internet but the internet is slow. It was adequate for me.I have also used H20 wireless: https://www.h2owirelessnow.com/pageControl.php?page=plans&ca…
They offer $10 for 200 minutes but not much data. I did not buy the sim from them directly, I got it very cheap from Amazon. I would definitely recommend getting a sim card from Amazon, they are very cheap and there are lots of options. They will not mail it to Australia so you will have to find soemwhere in the US to send it to. They do have some other good plans you could have a look at.How often will you be using your phones? There are plenty of places in the states with free wi-fi (Starbucks, Macy's, Apple stores, etc). One option could be to use Skype instead?
I went into Walmart and they wouldn't sell me a sim on its own.
I think I tried Target maybe too. I also tried Best Buy. No luck. They would sell me a phone with a sim but no standalone sim.
I had to go to AT&T to get one and it was a bit of a pain. Of course, you could try one of the other phone providers but I was really surprised at how hard it was.