International SIM cards: worth it?
 

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about getting an International SIM card and was wondering if I could get some feedback on the existing cards.

Since I travel a lot due to the nature of my work, I've been thinking if my current local SIM card is worth it or not (in Portugal). I work with a company in the UK and they send me on several assignments across the world (Europe, Africa, etc.) so I can go anywhere at any time.

I'm also considering getting a Dual SIM phone in which the International SIM would become my main permanent number and then have a second SIM card of whichever country I might get sent to work in for as long as I stay there and then discard it.

There seem to be so many International SIM cards nowadays that I'm having a hard time deciding on what to do. Does anyone have any recommendations on a particular brand for these types of SIM cards? Any advice at all?

Thanks!

Get a local SIM card from the country where you live, which I think is UK, or is it Portugal? A bit confused there, either way get a number from the country that you live in, make that your permanent and get a local SIM card to wherever you get sent for assignments.

International SIM cards are kinda crap. There used to be one called SIM4Travel, but that went out of business. I have one from WorldSIM, and it's horrible. Their customer support team doesn't even understand basic terms and their service doesn't work very well outside the EU and the UK.
My dad has one too and he tried using it in Nairobi, UAE and Qatar, calls kept dropping and sometimes I wouldn't be able to call him either, it'd go straight to voicemail instead.

Hi and thanks for the reply!

I live in Portugal, my employer is in the UK and I get sent to work in other countries.

Sometimes it happens that I am, for example, in Denmark on an assignment and need to call the UK office with my Portuguese SIM card. For some reason sometimes it doesn't work and I can't reach them, I just get a "the number you're trying to reach is not available to you" message.

Shame to read about International SIM cards not being worth it, but I kind of expected that by now.

In Portugal the main SIM cards are from:

• MEO
• NOS
• Vodafone

I need to find out which one works the best internationally, I guess. Any idea how I can find that out? any website that compares mobile networks?

In particular, I believe a bunch of UK postpaid SIM operators have packages that let you use your UK SIM in many countries at little or no extra charge. 3 comes to mind.

If you'd prefer to maintain a Portuguese SIM as your primary, check out the offers from Portuguese companies. I bet Vodafone has something decent. Have you checked the websites of the three Portuguese companies you mention?

Generally I suspect you'll have better luck with postpaid plans, since the companies tend to be more flexible with what they let you do since htey know they can bill you.

This may fit your needs http://www.vodafone.pt/main/particul...arifarios/red/

With the EU set to drop intra-EU roaming rates, a domestic SIM is your best bet from the countries you are listing. Some companies offer other countries as well, e.g. Australia, the US, Hong Kong, in their no roaming zone. I think you need to start by listing the countries you are going to visit.

Thanks for the input everyone.
Guess I'll stick with a local SIM and get others from the countries I will go to work.

Thanks!

Unless you are routinely somewhere without internet access, don't forget that Skype and any number of other such VOIP services often of higher quality and are anywhere from free to dirt cheap. No need to mess around with swapping SIM cards and different numbers. You can reach others and they can reach you.