Originally Posted by cicsman
The one question I have is how long the SIM will last (with credit on it) if not in regular use. I'm not going to be returning to the UK until September and don't really want to lose the number that everyone has for me when I'm over there. Emails to the Virgin help desk were never answered.
Your account should expire after ~6 months of no usage. Making an outgoing calls or sending an SMS message resets the clock.
Since Virgin Mobile now now allows US roaming on its prepaid accounts (on T-Mobile US: Outgoing 1.40 GBP/min; Incoming 0.80 GBP/min; 0.35 GBP/SMS), you should be able to keep the account alive by sending an SMS messages once every 6 months.