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Pay as You Go SIM cards for the USA

Negita43

By Negita43
in Thailand Travel Forum

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Negita43 Gold Member

Negita43

Posted
Posted

I expect to travel to the USA in October and I know in Europe you can buy USA SIM cards delivered to your home address before travel, Is this possible in Thailand?

If not, anyone have any advice on the best options for purchase in the USA (arrival in LA then road trip to New York via New Orleans and Miami- duration 1 month.

Thanks

craigt3365 Star Member

craigt3365

Posted
Posted

Will you need your sim immediately upon arrival? If not, easy to get one at almost any grocery or drug store. Either with a phone or without. I'd bet they are even available at the airport on arrival, but would think the price would be higher.

I've found wifi pretty widespread. Make sure you've got a device that can do that, get Skype, and you might be able to save some money???

Have a great trip!!!!!!!!!

JDGRUEN Platinum Member

JDGRUEN

Posted
Posted

Metro PCS in most any big city ... they have shops many places. Just find a way to get there without on and find a MetroPCS shop. There is no contract and you just pay a monthly prepaid fee. There is not guarantee your phone will work on a particular service providers signaling .

Get SKYPE == with Skype and WiFi and one of their calling plans you can call any number in the U.S. The receiving party -- mobile phone or landline does not use Skype in the call.. Only you use WiFi and Skype.

Negita43 Gold Member

Negita43

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks I already have Skype this would be an emergency backup only thats why I want pay as you go. My phone is a quad band including LTE

And also if you have Skype and a calling plan you need to be careful about the home country for the calling plan (or get a VPN)

Jiu-Jitsu Platinum Member

Jiu-Jitsu

Posted
Posted (edited)

Truemove h has a data roaming plan for the US that is unlimited and not bad for prepaid users. You can sign up easily and then be assured of having connectivity. Use google hangouts for free calls anywhere in the US then.

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/international_services/roaming_services/entry/2240

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/international_services/roaming_services/entry/2240?ln=en

499 baht per day... for a month?? 14970 baht/US$418 per month or 3000 baht/US$84 per week Not your finest moment.

Edited by Jiu-Jitsu
keemapoot Gold Member

keemapoot

Posted
Posted

Truemove h has a data roaming plan for the US that is unlimited and not bad for prepaid users. You can sign up easily and then be assured of having connectivity. Use google hangouts for free calls anywhere in the US then.

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/international_services/roaming_services/entry/2240

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/international_services/roaming_services/entry/2240?ln=en

280 baht per day... for a month?? 8400 baht/US$235 per month. Not your finest moment.

Yeah, you're right, I didn't see the month duration. I use it for short one weeks trips. For one month, I would go with the AT&T 4G prepaid sim plan, which you can get for about $60 at any AT&T store, best buy, etc., and their frequencies are 850 and 1900 which are Thai used frequencies, so Thai bought smartphones will usually work fine.

Jiu-Jitsu Platinum Member

Jiu-Jitsu

Posted
Posted

Truemove h has a data roaming plan for the US that is unlimited and not bad for prepaid users. You can sign up easily and then be assured of having connectivity. Use google hangouts for free calls anywhere in the US then.

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/international_services/roaming_services/entry/2240

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/international_services/roaming_services/entry/2240?ln=en

280 baht per day... for a month?? 8400 baht/US$235 per month. Not your finest moment.

Yeah, you're right, I didn't see the month duration. I use it for short one weeks trips. For one month, I would go with the AT&T 4G prepaid sim plan, which you can get for about $60 at any AT&T store, best buy, etc., and their frequencies are 850 and 1900 which are Thai used frequencies, so Thai bought smartphones will usually work fine.

Edited to show that it is in fact 500 baht per day. For a one week trip, 3000 baht. Too much.

keemapoot Gold Member

keemapoot

Posted
Posted (edited)

Truemove h has a data roaming plan for the US that is unlimited and not bad for prepaid users. You can sign up easily and then be assured of having connectivity. Use google hangouts for free calls anywhere in the US then.

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/international_services/roaming_services/entry/2240

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/international_services/roaming_services/entry/2240?ln=en

280 baht per day... for a month?? 8400 baht/US$235 per month. Not your finest moment.

Yeah, you're right, I didn't see the month duration. I use it for short one weeks trips. For one month, I would go with the AT&T 4G prepaid sim plan, which you can get for about $60 at any AT&T store, best buy, etc., and their frequencies are 850 and 1900 which are Thai used frequencies, so Thai bought smartphones will usually work fine.

Edited to show that it is in fact 500 baht per day. For a one week trip, 3000 baht. Too much.

I use the 5 day unlimited package for 2400 baht (don't need a full 7 days with free airport wifi, etc.), and that works out about the same price as a one month plan with AT&T, BUT, you don't have the hassle of running around the US finding a store and swapping sims. If your time is valuable, the truemove h unlimited data roaming is the best bet for a short trip.

**other options like Ready Sim, etc., if you read reviews online, lots of connection problems, issues, and pissed off people.

Edited by keemapoot
Negita43 Gold Member

Negita43

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Actually, I think Keemapoot gave me a link for data packages if you look at the international calling package which is what I want where you can call Thailand from US I think it's cheaper

keemapoot Gold Member

keemapoot

Posted
Posted (edited)

T-Mobile works in my phone.

They also have $2 & $3 a day talk and data plans.

Their GSM network used to be fully compatible with frequencies used in Thailand before 3G and 4G. Their voice networks might still be. However, there is a reason Truemove uses AT&T for its roaming service for nationwide service exclusively.

**Walmart has just about every offering here:

http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=prepaid%20sim%20card%20unlimited&cat_id=0

Edited by keemapoot
keemapoot Gold Member

keemapoot

Posted
Posted

It's really senseless to use voice roaming when in the USA, as it's too expensive. The smart play today is have an unlimted data package, then use google hangouts for all USA calls for free. The only drawback is that you cannot get a USA number for people to call you on, unless you register for google voice, and use a USA address. With that combo, you have everything you need, unlimited 3G or 4G nationwide internet + unlimited voice calls + USA number.

mogandave Ruby Member

mogandave

Posted
Posted

T-Mobile works in my phone.

They also have $2 & $3 a day talk and data plans.

Their GSM network used to be fully compatible with frequencies used in Thailand before 3G and 4G. Their voice networks might still be. However, there is a reason Truemove uses AT&T for its roaming service for nationwide service exclusively.

**Walmart has just about every offering here:

http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=prepaid%20sim%20card%20unlimited&cat_id=0

It worked great this past July.

True has a deal with AT&T that nets them the most money. My AIS sim hooks up with AT&T, T-Mobile or whatever has the strongest signal.

keemapoot Gold Member

keemapoot

Posted
Posted

T-Mobile works in my phone.

They also have $2 & $3 a day talk and data plans.

Their GSM network used to be fully compatible with frequencies used in Thailand before 3G and 4G. Their voice networks might still be. However, there is a reason Truemove uses AT&T for its roaming service for nationwide service exclusively.

**Walmart has just about every offering here:

http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=prepaid%20sim%20card%20unlimited&cat_id=0

It worked great this past July.

True has a deal with AT&T that nets them the most money. My AIS sim hooks up with AT&T, T-Mobile or whatever has the strongest signal.

True does a deal that indeed nets them the most money and is compatible with phones and networks. I just visited the AIS global roaming page for prepaid one2call, and it is cheaper than Truemove h for 5 days, at 2,000 vs. 2400 for Truemove, but not by a great amount.

Perhaps postpaid roaming is cheaper, I didn't check, but I have several post and prepaid accounts, and prefer to use the prepaid data pakcage when roaming internationally.

http://www.ais.co.th/roaming/3g-prepaid/index.aspx?language=en

mogandave Ruby Member

mogandave

Posted
Posted

My AIS is post paid, they have a variety of options for travel. I don't get too caught up in it as it's just not that much in the scheme of things.

With the T-mobile $3 a day plan I can make all my local calls in the U.S. and use it for a mobile hot-spot for the AIS phone so I don't burn through much data.

dddave Platinum Member

dddave

Posted
Posted (edited)

In the USA, I find it much cheaper to use my smartphone on WiFi only. For voice calls and text messaging I purchase a $10 TRACPHONE at Wallmart and load a $20 top up card which gives me 400 minutes nationwide calling for 90 days. Coverage is very good.

If you must have mobile data, they also sell low end smartphones for under $100 that will do what you need.

What sets Tracphone apart from other pre-pay providers is the 90 day expiration...most others are 30 days or they require your initial sign up to be for 3 months.

If you do decide to buy a SIM online, be very careful. My research into this revealed many cheap SIMs sold online, especially T-Mobile ones were originally issued for special promotions and are now difficult and often impossible to activate.

Also, be sure the SIM is the proper size for your phone...sellers on Amazon and Ebay sometimes ship a different sized card from what was illustrated in the ad.

Edited by dddave
mogandave Ruby Member

mogandave

Posted
Posted

In the USA, I find it much cheaper to use my smartphone on WiFi only. For voice calls and text messaging I purchase a $10 TRACPHONE at Wallmart and load a $20 top up card which gives me 400 minutes nationwide calling for 90 days. Coverage is very good.

If you must have mobile data, they also sell low end smartphones for under $100 that will do what you need.

What sets Tracphone apart from other pre-pay providers is the 90 day expiration...most others are 30 days or they require your initial sign up to be for 3 months.

If you do decide to buy a SIM online, be very careful. My research into this revealed many cheap SIMs sold online, especially T-Mobile ones were originally issued for special promotions and are now difficult and often impossible to activate.

Also, be sure the SIM is the proper size for your phone...sellers on Amazon and Ebay sometimes ship a different sized card from what was illustrated in the ad.

Actually you can get the TracPhone cards that are goo for a year.

I like the $3 a day voice/text/data with no expiration better.

dddave Platinum Member

dddave

Posted
Posted (edited)

Actually you can get the TracPhone cards that are goo for a year.

Yes, you can but they were pretty expensive, $99 w/1000 minutes if I recall correctly. Not a bad deal if you need for a year with moderate usage.

I like the $3 a day voice/text/data with no expiration better.

On Tracphone? I didn't know about that possibility. That would be better for me as I only go to the US for a few days at a time. I'll check it out, thanks.

Edited by dddave
mogandave Ruby Member

mogandave

Posted
Posted

Actually you can get the TracPhone cards that are goo for a year.

Yes, you can but they were pretty expensive, $99 w/1000 minutes if I recall correctly. Not a bad deal if you need for a year with moderate usage.

I like the $3 a day voice/text/data with no expiration better.

On Tracphone? I didn't know about that possibility. That would be better for me as I only go to the US for a few days at a time. I'll check it out, thanks.

No, on T-mobile.

I quit using Trac

Langsuan Man Platinum Member

Langsuan Man

Posted
Posted

You can get a Tracphone no contract phone for $9.99 and a card with 30 days and 30 minutes for around $9.99 for a total investment of $19.98.

The main advantage is that tracphones can be purchased almost anywhere, drug stores, 7-11, Walmart etc. where you would have to go to a free standing AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint store to get a SIM, thus limiting your choice

Unfortunately "bundles" are based upon zip code but go to this site and input 90045 as the LA zip code and see what is available in that area

http://www.tracfone.com/e_store.jsp?task=buyphone〈=en

Langsuan Man Platinum Member

Langsuan Man

Posted
Posted

30 minutes is not much time.

Enough to call 911 in case of an emergency, or a towing service or a motel for a reservation

I gave the lowest price, obviously more time can be purchased for more money

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