Prepaid cell phone in China

[taterules]

Is there any prepaid cell phone plan that will work relatively inexpensively in China? I need a new phone anyway, so I thought I'd find out what others' experiences were.

 

[akcire]

You may find better answers, but my husband goes to China regularly for business. His bills average $3 a minute in China. He has researched other options and has not found any better rates with reliable service.

 

[Pakey]

I've got an iphone and I called and had an international call/text plan added for a month when I went to China in May. I had different tiers that I could get depending on how much I thought I'd use it-I think it was around $30. It didn't cover the cost of me checking my email or web browing in areas where I couldn't get free wi-fi but even those charges weren't as bad as I thought they'd be.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

My dh added an international plan to his cell phone, its tiered too as he has to cover siberia,auckland, New Zealand, Bejing, England, Sweeden and Denmark.

I always tell him to "talk fast". Next month its Bejing again. Last month was Siberia. I dont want to see that bill. He called me alot as I was experiencing a little medical crisis.

I dont know if the flyer talk website could help you too. Best of luck.

 

[CloveLeaf]

Do you need it to call back to the US or just need something to call Chinese phone number while in China? If you just need to make domestic calls in China, go to China and get a cheapest phone and a sim card from China Mobile or China Unicom. They both have plans like ￥0.2/min for incoming call ￥0.6/min for outgoing call. I have heard of free incoming calls, too. But I guess you will have to pay a monthly fee.

 

[minnie1928]

My best friends go to Taiwan at least once or twice/year. They bought a cheap sim card too. Not sure of the details, but I know that it's worked well for them.

 

[crazelion]

I would check out unlocked cell phones two. I know Nokia makes them.