How to Avoid Cellphone Bill Shock While Traveling Overseas
Phone calls, texts, and data usage on international roaming are expensive, and you may face difficulties trying to figure out what your service includes and what items you’ll pay as extras until it’s too late. Take some time to prevent those problems by taking charge of your overseas phone bill.
Sign Up for an International Plan
Check with your carrier to understand your available options. You can streamline this process by calling your carrier and asking a customer service rep to advise you on your particular situation. Many carriers have a variety of options available, so know your needs before you call.
How To Use Your Phone When Traveling Overseas For Cheap …
What countries will you visit? Will you be making phone calls mostly within that country, or will you need to make and receive calls back to the United States? Are you a heavy text user? What is your average data usage? International data is the budget killer, so prepaying for plenty of usage will spare your pocketbook some pain.
Use SIM Cards
If you have an unlocked phone, you can buy a prepaid SIM card in your destination country, insert the card into your phone, and not use your regular carrier at all. Some phones use SIM cards and some don’t, and not all phones can be unlocked.
Image via Flickr by incurable_hippie
The simplest way to learn about your phone’s capabilities is to stop by your carrier’s customer service desk and ask if your phone will accept SIM cards for travel. If the answer is yes, ask the staff member to show you how to access your SIM card.
Get an International Plan
Data usage can sneak up on you even if you’re not using data. Your phone will update software and run other data-burning operations in the background.
You don’t want to discover later that you’re facing a $500 phone bill because Candy Crush and Pokémon Go updated to newer versions while you were touring the Eiffel Tower.
A smartphone such as the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge on T-Mobile’s network, could save from you an unexpected bill. Networks like T-Mobile offer International plans, with no roaming charges. With T-Mobile, you’d never have to worry about coming home to ridiculously high charges.
Use Wi-Fi for Everything
With data roaming turned off, you’ll depend on Wi-Fi for all your data needs, such as uploading photos and researching restaurants. But you can also use Wi-Fi to take care of your calling and texting needs, too.
Apps such as Skype and Facetime allow you to place voice calls to phone numbers, so you can use them like a telephone. You can also sign up for a Skype phone number and receive calls over a Wi-Fi network.
Saving Money on Accidental Overseas Phone Bills
Use Facebook’s Messenger app or Google Voice for texting. Pro Tip: Did you know that GPS can work independently from data or Wi-Fi? Look into apps that allow you to preload maps so you can navigate while offline.
Set Up a Travel Phone
If you travel often, you can simplify your life by carrying a phone specifically for travel. Choose an inexpensive knock-around phone to decrease the risk of loss or theft.
Consider an old phone of your own or a used or refurbished model from eBay or Amazon. Make sure, though, you have an unlocked phone that can accept SIM cards. Load the phone with apps: Messenger for texting, Skype for making calls, an offline GPS app, and useful travel apps such as Google Translate, TripAdvisor, and Rome2Rio.
Pay for a Skype phone number, send your calls to the new number, drop in a SIM card when you arrive at each destination, and you are set.
Traveling with a cell phone doesn’t have to be scary or expensive. With some preplanning effort, you can take control of your costs and manage your bill. An hour or two of your time researching options could save you hundreds of dollars.
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Category: Travel
