Help with tourist data SIM USA.

[Kiwifan]

Hi you lot. I need a little help from the brains trust here if possible. We are headed to the good old USA next week and are looking for a micro sim data package from one of the Telcos. In the past we haven't bothered as it has been too hard to get one on prepay.

I have looked on the net at the big boys packages but can't see much for short term prepay contracts. Here in NZ you rock up to any Telco, servo, grocery or electronics store, flop out $5 for a sim, buy a $20 voucher and away you go, few terms or conditions. $20 gets you a gig of data.

I did see that T-Mobile had a stand in the mall in San Francisco last time I was there but had heard their coverage wasn't as good as AT&T and as we were heading up to Alaska I didn't bother getting any details.

Any help appreciated. (2 iPhones 5s)

Rusty.

[Insomniac]

My cousin was just here from India. He found a company there that provided the SIM card pre-activated with a plan and he gave it back to them when he returned. The most amazing part was that it was cheaper and a better than what AT&T sells it for here.

We have similar here, although the SIM card may cost more. You can prepay, the additional caveat we have is it will expire after 30 days. When I investigated for the aforementioned cousin AT&T and T-Mobile made the most sense. Verizon wanted a lot of money just for a SIM card.

[SteveH]

I'm no help as to how to procure a SIM card but this might help as to which network to select:
http://his-hers-alaska.com/surviving-alaska-will-my-cell-phone-work-in-alaska/

[devilmaster]

My cousin was just here from India. He found a company there that provided the SIM card pre-activated with a plan and he gave it back to them when he returned. The most amazing part was that it was cheaper and a better that what AT&T sells it for here.

We have similar here, although the SIM card may cost more. You can prepay, the additional caveat we have is it will expire after 30 days. When I investigated for the aforementioned cousin AT&T and T-Mobile made the most sense. Verizon wanted a lot of money just for a SIM card.

QFT. A buddy of mine went stateside camping for a week and bought a short term sim card that gives you a new number but is way cheaper than a data plan. I want to say 20 bucks a month gave him phone, sms and data. I'll ask tonite for particulars and get back to ya.

[TravelGal]

Wish I could help but I'm continually amazed at how poorly the US is set up for tourism. Inbound or outbound. I went to the bank to exchange from dollars for some euros and discovered you have to ORDER THEM 3-5 business days in advance. :rolleyes: Ugh.

[G.]

I thought that the cheap SIM providers were operating on the gray-market side of legit, so they're much harder to find in the US.

[Dvdb]

Travelgal, you can't expect all branch banks to carry Euros. There is very little demand for currency exchange at the local level.

[Kiwifan]

Thanks for the replies Team. I guess we really do rely on tourists Downunder as even in Aussie all the big Telcos sell the sims cheap then just charge for the data/calls.

Might just rock in to an AT&T store and try again and if I have no luck will rely on the hotels WIFI. Plus a VPN of course. :)

[Insomniac]

I thought that the cheap SIM providers were operating on the gray-market side of legit, so they're much harder to find in the US.

I can say at least for my cousin, it was 100% legit. He had AT&T prepaid. It just seems that the company had some type of pricing that was simply better than what would be sold here. It was geared specifically toward people travelling to the U.S. from India. They had unlimited minutes/text in the US, 1000 mins to India plus data (I forget the amount) and they were provided the SIM. I did the math here and it was in the $50-$60 range depending on the SIM price. He ended up paying $28 when converted to USD. So there was at least a way for him to arrive with a working phone for 30 days.

AT&T links:
http://www.att.com/cellphones/prepaidphones/sim-card-kit-phone-prepaid.html#sku=sku7420309
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/prepaidplans.html
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/byop.html

[Kiwifan]

I can say at least for my cousin, it was 100% legit. He had AT&T prepaid. It just seems that the company had some type of pricing that was simply better than what would be sold here. It was geared specifically toward people travelling to the U.S. from India. They had unlimited minutes/text in the US, 1000 mins to India plus data (I forget the amount) and they were provided the SIM. I did the math here and it was in the $50-$60 range depending on the SIM price. He ended up paying $28 when converted to USD. So there was at least a way for him to arrive with a working phone for 30 days.

AT&T links:
http://www.att.com/cellphones/prepaidphones/sim-card-kit-phone-prepaid.html#sku=sku7420309
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/prepaidplans.html
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/byop.html

Thank you for the links. Had to put in a zip code but ended up chatting with an AT&T rep and it looks as if the GoPhone SIM will be the one for me. It will be interesting to see if the shop assistants are as helpful as the online Rep. It "shouldn't" be so hard but maybe we are just lucky Downunder. :)

Thanks to everyone for their help.

Rusty.

[devilmaster]

So U need an unlocked phone and buy an h2o wireless sim card from target. It was 45 or 50 bucks w 2gb of data and unlimited calling and texting.

Maybe not what you're looking for, but that is what he did.

[Kiwifan]

So U need an unlocked phone and buy an h2o wireless sim card from target. It was 45 or 50 bucks w 2gb of data and unlimited calling and texting.

Maybe not what you're looking for, but that is what he did.

Cheers, might try that if no joy with AT&T.

When I was in YVR the staff at Rogers, Shaw and Fido were VERY pleasant but at $C10 for a SIM, $50 credit and $35 to activate the SIM.... thanks but no thanks! That's what happens when your forefathers came from Scotland. :D

[G.]

I thought that the cheap SIM providers were operating on the gray-market side of legit, so they're much harder to find in the US.

I can say at least for my cousin, it was 100% legit. He had AT&T prepaid. It just seems that the company had some type of pricing that was simply better than what would be sold here.


Yeah, well, I didn't say that I formed my beliefs with intelligence, did I? :p

Travelling the other direction, I can't seem to get out of the airport without several shady offers for SIMs. Cab drivers, coffee shop guys, florists - everybody is selling SIMs.

When your best deal is purchased in the kitchen of a dim sum restaurant, I'd guess that it's a bit shady...

[Insomniac]

Yeah, well, I didn't say that I formed my beliefs with intelligence, did I? :p

Travelling the other direction, I can't seem to get out of the airport without several shady offers for SIMs. Cab drivers, coffee shop guys, florists - everybody is selling SIMs.

When your best deal is purchased in the kitchen of a dim sum restaurant, I'd guess that it's a bit shady...

It seems the biggest difference between here and everywhere else is this whole thing with subsidized phones and contracts. Nearly everywhere else you pay full price for the phone and you pay month to month. I'd say also most are pre-paid, not post-paid as well. And that is what seems to make the availability of prepaid SIM cards so much different.

[TravelGal]

Travelgal, you can't expect all branch banks to carry Euros. There is very little demand for currency exchange at the local level.

Yes. That's my point. It's always better to exchange money in the country you're going to so I did just fine. Still, I was surprised that a Bank of America in Los Angeles would require you to order so many days in advance, not to mention already be an account holder. In counties with more tourism, any bank or hotel can change money, in addition to hundreds of currency seller shops.

[indyfan31]

Yes. That's my point. It's always better to exchange money in the country you're going to so I did just fine. Still, I was surprised that a Bank of America in Los Angeles would require you to order so many days in advance, not to mention already be an account holder. In counties with more tourism, any bank or hotel can change money, in addition to hundreds of currency seller shops.

That's exactly what we had to do when traveling to Italy. We went with BofA because they are tied to some European banks and allow you to use their ATMs to withdraw money from your US account, in Euros. It's not free but it works.