Sim Card For The Us

[rmicheald]

I am going back to the US for a month and want to buy a prepaid sim card. Anyone had any experience doing this? Is it best to buy it at the airport or before I go? Would prefer to have one available when I land in Seattle so I can call my family from there.

Thanks,

Micheal

[thaitot]

To my knowledge the sim card process is different in the usa

T-Mobile cingular and some other carriers use sim cards verizon does not.

I went to wallmart in the Us bought a cell phone that had the simm for $ 19.95 I then added 200 minutes for $19.95 no contract

you can add additional minutes at about 10 cents per minute

all your super stores will have these.

The brands are net 10 ,phone to go, t mobile ,verizon and there may be more they start @ $ 9.95 and include the phone

Plan on spending 40 -50 Dollars to get out the door with 200-300 minutes including the phone

Remember here your minutes are counted for incoming and out going

But to go buy a sim like thailand for 50 Baht its not going to happen.

My cell phone from the us would work with one to call but not dtac in Thailand

Have a good trip

[Lost in LOS]

To my knowledge the sim card process is different in the usa

T-Mobile cingular and some other carriers use sim cards verizon does not.

I went to wallmart in the Us bought a cell phone that had the simm for $ 19.95 I then added 200 minutes for $19.95 no contract

you can add additional minutes at about 10 cents per minute

all your super stores will have these.

The brands are net 10 ,phone to go, t mobile ,verizon and there may be more they start @ $ 9.95 and include the phone

Plan on spending 40 -50 Dollars to get out the door with 200-300 minutes including the phone

Remember here your minutes are counted for incoming and out going

But to go buy a sim like thailand for 50 Baht its not going to happen.

My cell phone from the us would work with one to call but not dtac in Thailand

Have a good trip

I brought a T-mobile sim card just like in thailand at a t-mobile store. had my own phone, no questions asked. i think the top up was 100 dollars for 1000 minutes. i keep it here and when i go to the states 2 weeks of the year i slip it into my phone, minutes good for a year

[mgjackson69]

Depending upon where you are going to be located in USA, GSM might not be the best bet. GSM coverage in USA is not as ubiquitous as in Thailand. In some places, you will get no GSM coverage at all.

I have a US GSM SIM (AT&T) but needed ANSI/CDMA coverage in a rural area where my mother lives. What i did was go to Best Buy and bought a Verizon Impulse (prepaid) phone ... 30-60 USD depending upon the phone, and a 10 USD top up card. After activation, you can add minutes online using a credit card. You have to put on 15 USD minimum, and the minutes are good for a month.

Prepaid service in USA is nothing like in Thailand as far as ease of use. Most plans in USA have some sort of monthly minimum or other fees. For example, on my Verizon prepaid phone, if I have any usage on a given day (originate or terminate a call or SMS), then I am charged the daily access fee (either 1 or 1.50 USD, I forget). Just having the phone on does not incur this daily fee. Also, as a previous poster mentioned, USA service (GSM and ANSI) is not "calling party pays"...both calling and called parties are charged for airtime.