Cell phones - cheapest way to buy for visitors?

[Rachandgarry]

Hi,

Wondering how the US celphone system works and if it would be possible to get some US simcards to put in our 'phones while we are at WDW? Or, does such a thing exist as a cheap pay-as-you-go celphone in the US? (It does here in the UK).

Thanks in advance
Rachel

 

[sam_gordon]

There are a lot of pay as you go services. I think each provider (ATT, Verizon, Sprint) has their own. There's also Boost Mobile & Tracfone.

You can go to the respective web pages for more information.

 

[tzolkin]

There are many to choose from, but if you're only planning to use it for vacation I would go with the cheapest.

Some of the new phones are up to $80 (with no minutes included) because they have more features (keypad, touchscreen, camera, etc). Usually you can find a basic Net10 or Tracfone for $20-$30 and some will come with a bonus card for one month service and maybe 300 minutes.

 

[Rachandgarry]

There are many to choose from, but if you're only planning to use it for vacation I would go with the cheapest.

Some of the new phones are up to $80 (with no minutes included) because they have more features (keypad, touchscreen, camera, etc). Usually you can find a basic Net10 or Tracfone for $20-$30 and some will come with a bonus card for one month service and maybe 300 minutes.

Thank you.

So, if we were able to get like a basic celphone - do you then have to pay for service as well? Sorry if that sounds daft, but in the UK you don't have to pay a monthly service charge, you just buy the phone and top up with credit as you need to.

 

[KittyKitty]

I use Virgin Mobile, USA here. I noticed they had a phone for about $15.00 and minimum useage charge was $10-20. This is there PayLo program.

It has great coverage in Florida.

www.virginmobileusa.com

Have a great time

 

[mikehn]

Thank you.

So, if we were able to get like a basic celphone - do you then have to pay for service as well? Sorry if that sounds daft, but in the UK you don't have to pay a monthly service charge, you just buy the phone and top up with credit as you need to.

Yes, this is the same here in the USA for the "No Contract" cell phones. Just add credit as you need to.

When you go to the store, look for "No Contract" cell phones - Net 10, Tracfone, Boost, Cricket, Virgin

 

[Rachandgarry]

I use Virgin Mobile, USA here. I noticed they had a phone for about $15.00 and minimum useage charge was $10-20. This is there PayLo program.

It has great coverage in Florida.

www.virginmobileusa.com

Have a great time

Thanks! I'll have a look at that link.

Yes, this is the same here in the USA for the "No Contract" cell phones. Just add credit as you need to.

When you go to the store, look for "No Contract" cell phones - Net 10, Tracfone, Boost, Cricket, Virgin

Thanks!

Can I just clarify (and I know I'm sounding extra-stupid today ) do you have to pay for a 30-day service to activate them? I was looking at them on the Walmart website earlier and the phone seemed to be one price ($10 - $20) then you had to buy a 'Service Card' to activate it. The cheapest one of these was $30. As we would need two of these, it is coming out at like $120 for the two 'phones which really puts it out of the pricerange I was thinking. Here, I could walk in to a shop, purchase a phone for £10 and add £10 of credit, which would last 2 years or until I had used it up and needed more.

So confusing!

 

[mikehn]

Thanks! I'll have a look at that link.



Thanks!

Can I just clarify (and I know I'm sounding extra-stupid today ) do you have to pay for a 30-day service to activate them? I was looking at them on the Walmart website earlier and the phone seemed to be one price ($10 - $20) then you had to buy a 'Service Card' to activate it. The cheapest one of these was $30. As we would need two of these, it is coming out at like $120 for the two 'phones which really puts it out of the pricerange I was thinking. Here, I could walk in to a shop, purchase a phone for £10 and add £10 of credit, which would last 2 years or until I had used it up and needed more.

So confusing!

Correct, the 'service card' includes activation and minutes. For $30, you should have activation and about 100 minutes. However, there are some very basic cell phones that include the 'service card' in the package. This combination package may not be available online. You may have to arrive in the states then go into the store, like Best Buy.

 

[mikehn]

Go to Net10 website. Go to Buy Net 10 Phone. Search zipcode 32827 (Orlando). Recondition Samsung T401G, for $25 includes everything - phone, activation, and 750 minutes, and free shipping. That is cheap! Only problem is, I dont know if they ship to UK. Maybe ship to your hotel.

 

[Rachandgarry]

Go to Net10 website. Go to Buy Net 10 Phone. Search zipcode 32827 (Orlando). Recondition Samsung T401G, for $25 includes everything - phone, activation, and 750 minutes, and free shipping. That is cheap! Only problem is, I dont know if they ship to UK. Maybe ship to your hotel.

Oh wow, that is exactly the sort of thing I would be looking for. Thank you so much for looking that up. I'm normally quite reasonable with technology but this just had me beat, lol.

Thanks again, really appreciate your efforts.

Rachel x

 

[NotUrsula]

Here, I could walk in to a shop, purchase a phone for £10 and add £10 of credit, which would last 2 years or until I had used it up and needed more.

That's essentially accurate for US prepaid no-contract phones except for one thing; the credit doesn't last 2 years. With a smaller minute-card purchase like that, the minutes will expire in no more than 90 days, depending on the vendor. (US prepaid providers are more heavily marketing their monthly-fee unlimited-use accounts rather than the more traditional design where you deduct minutes from your total credit. This is because prepaids were very slow to catch on here, and most Americans are used to paying by the month and not having to keep track of how much time they have used.)

Generally, buying the phones online direct from the service provider is the cheapest option; stores don't always carry the very cheapest phones that a provider might offer.

If you wanted to go the SIM route there is only one US carrier that can do it: T-Mobile. Here is the website for their pre-paid US SIM cards: http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Packages/ValuePackages.aspx
Each one will cost you about $50 for a month's service, but there is unlimited data included in that.

Be careful re: texting; not all of the very cheapest pay-by-the-minute accounts offer it, and it is invaluable in the parks because of all the background noise.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I'm an expat American who just moved back to the States after living in Turkey for seven years - so I am somewhat familiar with traveling with cell phones here, there and everywhere. I remember seeing a thread about this on the UK board as well. I think the way to go is to buy a Tracfone when you get here at Walmart - I think the cheapest is $9.99 - you can get double minutes for the life of the phone as well if you make sure you purchase one with double or triple minutes - it will say on the box. It will come will some minutes on the phone - maybe 10 or so. You can add minutes by buying an airtime card at Walmart and other retailer or by adding minutes online - the cheapest airtime card is $20 and the cheapest online add on is $10. Each time you add a card you will add service days and minutes. When the minutes/service days on the phone expire the phone will no longer have service but you can reactivate it at a later time - next time you make a trip. At least I think I remember hearing that some UK visitors do this often. Anyway - worth a look I think! Good luck!

 

[Rachandgarry]

That's essentially accurate for US prepaid no-contract phones except for one thing; the credit doesn't last 2 years. With a smaller minute-card purchase like that, the minutes will expire in no more than 90 days, depending on the vendor. (US prepaid providers are more heavily marketing their monthly-fee unlimited-use accounts rather than the more traditional design where you deduct minutes from your total credit. This is because prepaids were very slow to catch on here, and most Americans are used to paying by the month and not having to keep track of how much time they have used.)

Generally, buying the phones online direct from the service provider is the cheapest option; stores don't always carry the very cheapest phones that a provider might offer.

If you wanted to go the SIM route there is only one US carrier that can do it: T-Mobile. Here is the website for their pre-paid US SIM cards: http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Packages/ValuePackages.aspx
Each one will cost you about $50 for a month's service, but there is unlimited data included in that.

Be careful re: texting; not all of the very cheapest pay-by-the-minute accounts offer it, and it is invaluable in the parks because of all the background noise.

Hi there,

Thank you for all that information, I will have a look in to the SIM route. Thanks for the note about texting, I hadn't thought of how noisy it would be so how useful that will be. I will make sure to keep that in mind.

Rachel x

I'm an expat American who just moved back to the States after living in Turkey for seven years - so I am somewhat familiar with traveling with cell phones here, there and everywhere. I remember seeing a thread about this on the UK board as well. I think the way to go is to buy a Tracfone when you get here at Walmart - I think the cheapest is $9.99 - you can get double minutes for the life of the phone as well if you make sure you purchase one with double or triple minutes - it will say on the box. It will come will some minutes on the phone - maybe 10 or so. You can add minutes by buying an airtime card at Walmart and other retailer or by adding minutes online - the cheapest airtime card is $20 and the cheapest online add on is $10. Each time you add a card you will add service days and minutes. When the minutes/service days on the phone expire the phone will no longer have service but you can reactivate it at a later time - next time you make a trip. At least I think I remember hearing that some UK visitors do this often. Anyway - worth a look I think! Good luck!

Hi!

It sounds so easy... I bet I can mess it up though This sounds like a good option for us, so I will look in to it.

Thanks for your help!

Rachel x

 

[mrodgers]

If you wanted to go the SIM route there is only one US carrier that can do it: T-Mobile. Here is the website for their pre-paid US SIM cards: http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Packages/ValuePackages.aspx
Each one will cost you about $50 for a month's service, but there is unlimited data included in that.

Be careful re: texting; not all of the very cheapest pay-by-the-minute accounts offer it, and it is invaluable in the parks because of all the background noise.

AT&T GoPhones use a SIM card. People cancel their $200/month iPhones and get a GoPhone SIM card from AT&T.

Texts - $5 for 200, $10 for 1000, $20 for unlimited

Voice - I just use $0.10/minute since I don't use the phone for talk. I think you get 250 minutes for $25?

Data - $5 for 10mb, $10 for 100mb, or $25 for 500mb.

This would be active for 30 days. The non-used rolls over if kept active.