snowbird confused re phone service while in USA

[Howard Kelly]

Hi
After reading a lot of info on phone services I  am really confused as to what to do.
Last year we picked up a phone at walmart ( NET TEN no contract )in the US to use in an emergency. Was  a real pain to get it activated and we were unable to make calls to Canada.
We have a land line at home.
We are looking for a better service ( no contract ) as we do not use it much. use email on our laptop for most things.
Would like to know WHAT other snowbirds use when south for 5 or 6 months.
Howard ( the confused one )  GRRRRRR  to many options

 

[harris155]

I was thinking of getting the same set up this winter.
What were the problems getting it activated.
It seems like everybody in America has one of these phones.
I wonder if any of the companies that offer those type of phones are better than others

We have our home phone set up in advance to roam in the States.
It does get rather expensive when using so it is only used in emergencies.
Around $3.00 a minute.

We also have an unlimited $20 long distance plan on our land line.
If you can find a working public phone you can use 1-800-555-1111 and it gets to Canada toll free in most cases.
We then dial the number and reverse the charges to our land line. Works in most cases we have found.
There is the odd  area that still seems to be private that we had an extra charge tagged on.
It is a Bell Canada account.

 

[PatrioticStabilist]

My husband has a quad phone, he can use it all over the world.  He just has T Mobile and we use prepaid minutes only.  Before he had to change Sim cards, this does a good job for him, he is currently working in Africa.

 

[Howard Kelly]

Hi Harris, it took a few days and a half dozen tries before we finally got it activated  The last and successful time was 3 hrs on the phone, thanks to the info center in Kanab who let us use their phone... Found out later from someone we met that had the same phone, that the sales person at wal mart where they bought their phone set it up for them and got them a way to phone Canada at no extra charge..... now hopefully I can find the same salesperson  LOL

 

[seilerbird]

I have been using Tracfone for years. It cost me $8 per month with no contract. I moved to a location that Tracfone doesn't work so I have switched to Verzion. I am surprised that I was able to get a Verizon pay as you go phone for $8 per month also. 25 cents per minute so that is 32 minutes a month which is enough for me since my phone is really for emergency only. There are a wide variety of pay as you go phone companies in America.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

What were the activation problems? Something to do with Canadian residence vs US?  Usually activation is more or less instant.

We have both a Verizon contract phone and a Tracfone with no contract. You can call Canada with a Tracfone, but you have to dial an international access number first.

http://www.best-prepaid-cell-phone-plans.com/tracfone.html

 

[Alfa38User]

We use AT&T prepaid, Simple rate plan (.10/min). The reason for our choice is:
1) that we already have an unlocked "emergency" cell phone (Nokia 2760) from Petro Canada, on the Rogers Network (a GSM network) in Canada and
2) We are to cheap to buy another telephone in USA!!!.

I simply buy an AT&T sim card on EBay for each season (5-6$ usually), remove our Petro  card and insert the AT&T one as we cross the border. This card can be activated over the Internet before leaving Canada. It can have up to a 90 day expiry limit on the time and it takes us, 1 more 25$ refill for the time we spend each winter. Total cost $60.00 US$ per season and usually have time left over that we try to burn up, but we also have a landline with DSL in our winter home, the trailer.

(The Petro Canada Card has a 180 day time expiry on it so we buy some time just before leaving to maintain the time and tel.# while we are away).

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-plans/pyg-cell-phone-plans.jsp?wtSlotClick=1-003YSM-0-1

On last edit: It looks like that link from Gary would do it for about the same cost if you could keep the phone over several years. We require a phone with Bluetooth as it is often unlawful to drive while talking and thus require a hands free capability at times.

 

[Hfx_Cdn]

    We're another Tracfone user.  It only works to make or receive calls in the continental US, but it costs between 8 to 10 cents a minute for local or long distance (anywhere in the world).  It has a pre-progam that allows up to 10 long distance numbers, or you need to dial a 1-800 number to get access to international calling.  But, we programmed the kids, and friends and it works fine.

Ed

 

[Howard Kelly]

Gary  Wish I knew what the problem was , but went through the process 4 times before the phone was actually activated. Why 3 hrs on the phone  again unknown . I thought we had a faulty phone. Not an experience I want to have again
Thanks all for the info  will have to decide soon as we leave on the 15 in search of the sun
Howard

 

[donn]

Might want to also check out cricket.  No contracts, free or cheap phones and pretty good coverage service.  I had one of their wifi cards for about a year and it was great.

 

[DearMissMermaid]

I keep in touch with my traveling friends all over the world. We use Skype.Com which you can use whenever you have Wifi or internet in the campgrounds. It's super cheap to call Canada.  Currently they are charging 2.3 cents per minute to call Canada, so you can talk almost an hour for just $1.

Just set up an account with Skype.Com and prepay them $5 or $10. It clicks off as you use the minutes and doesn't expire for a year or so.  There are no monthly fees, no contracts.

If your people in Canada will get Skype.Com too, then you both can call each other for FREE. 

I talk with my old sailing buddies in the Caribbean , UK and New Zealand, all for free this way, we both have skype.com

Skype.com is FREE to sign up for. No contracts, no monthly fees unless you want a dedicated incoming number for others to call from their regular phone to you on. It comes with free voice mail, I had an incoming number before I got a cell phone in the USA. My Skype phobic friends used to call me on it.

I've had Skype for years and just love it. 

 

[JackT]

We have Verizon cell phones but the cost of calling family in Canada is quite expensive.  My wife found this company called Digitz that offers incredibly cheap calls to Canada and elsewhere.  We use our cell phone, which has a Unlimited flat rate for domestic calls to dial a domestic 800 number, enter a numeric code and then the number in Canada.  We use it all the time and typically only have to add $20 a year.  There are some dropped calls, particularly at peak times but sound quality is good.  This does not solve the problem of which cell phone to buy but it might be a cheap alternative for calls.
--jack

 

[PatrioticStabilist]

We have Skype also Mermaid, and since hubby and I phone computer to computer it generally costs nothing extra at home.  I also use Skype to talk to son in K Korea, good service. I have AT&T internet and its not so good.  here I am in Florida, no signal so I'm paying the campground for internet service, bummer.  I thought they would be good but lots of places I get weak signal.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

AT&T cell service is mediocre outside of major metro areas. Most RVers choose Verizon for the broadest coverage and Sprint is the next best choice.