Originally Posted by
soitgoes
Analise, if you read through some of the threads I linked to you'll find some discussion of prepaid voice.
How long are you going to be in Germany and how much use of the phone do you want to do?
I'd recommend one of the discount cards, such as those sold at Aldi, Tchibo, or Lidl.
I wouldn't pay any attention to rates to the US. It will be cheaper to use a voip/calling card provider with a local German access number and call that from the cell.
I am going for one week and I plan to use my cell phone VERY SPARINGLY. I have a discount calling card with onesuite and plan to use that for my calls to the US unless I cannot find a payphone anywhere. The cell phone was to call my friends and let them know what time to meet and things like that. It is also for them to call me if they need to reach me. Again, I plan to be with them most of the time but I do plan to be on my own in the mornings at least. My husband may want to reach me from New York on my cell during the day.
So in theory, I really don't want to use the cell phone very much but it may depend on how plentiful payphones are.
Originally Posted by Non-NonRev
When I purchased my T-Mobile SIM about four or five years ago at Tegel Airport in Berlin, it cost about €15,00, of which €10 was airtime credit. The clerk at the T-Mobile store inserted the SIM into my unlocked U.S. phone and processed the activation - the phone was active and working before I left the airport.
That sounds quite good. I'll check that out and hopefully the rate won't be something like €1/minute!