Bell Calling Plans for Florida or USA

[yosh12]

Hi,

I have been checking on the Bell websites for a calling plan to use for the US that we don't have to get charged for those darn roaming fees. Last year there was a plan called Connect USA or Connect Florida. I can't seem to find it there anymore.

Does anyone know if it is stil offered and if not...what type of plan is offered or what would you suggest we do.

Thanks

 

[canadaman]

Yes it is still offered. I used it during my trip in July. I just went into a Bell World store so i didn't have to deal with the stupid people on the phone. It costs $40 per month and you have to keep it for a full month. That gets you 150 min and i think it costs 30 cents a minutes after that.
It is kind of expensive, but we were really happy with the service we always had a signal when we wanted it.

 

[Northstar]

Just wanted to warn you, check very carefully what is covered. Last year, when I bought a similar plan from Aliant (I think this is our version of Bell out here), I discovered when my bill came that calls to 800 numbers were NOT included! Holy expensive Continental-Airlines-please-fix-my-messed-up-flights calls!

The fine print that made this huge loophole said something about long distance calls not in the US or Canada. So ask specifically about 800 numbers when you call to add your plan.

 

[Ham Ham]

Buy a pay as you go phone at the Virgin Store in Downtown Disney. Then pick up a 20$ air time card. It will be cheaper than any Canadian plan.

 

[pxlbarrel]

Bell Coverage and Travel

Click on "Features You Can Add" and you'll see the options for Connect USA and Connect Florida.

I just arranged for Connect USA since I'll be in Buffalo too. The stupid thing about these plans, which are usually great, are that if your billing date falls within your travel date, you're pretty much screwed. Do NOT let them tell you to split the coverage. They'll tell you that it'll be prorated so that you'll only pay for part of the month and then next month, you'll pay the rest. They neglect to tell you that your minutes are ALSO prorated.

For example: My billing date is on the 12th of each month. Let's say I travel from the Sept 6th to the Sept 13th. Bell tells me, they'll prorate me so I pay for a few days this month and part of the next month (coverage being from Sept 3 to Oct 3). Guess what, 100 minutes gets prorated too. So instead of having 100 minutes for your entire trip, you have 37 minutes for your entire trip and 63 minutes from the 13th on (ie, useless if you're back home)

Just beware of this. My actual travel dates are 5th to 12th and when I called to arrange it, she wanted to prorate me and I said are they still prorating the minutes and she said she didn't think so but she'd check. She came back and told me that they'll activate it NOW and have it expire on the 11th. I said that doesn't do me any good on the 12th, the actual travel date when you're probably using your phone the most. She put special instructions on my file that waived calls for the 12th.