Which cellphone plan to get?
 

I am just about to move to the US from Canada. I have looked at all the major carriers and can't seem to find something that works for me.

I will use:

~ 200 minutes a month in total
~ 50 texts
~ voicemail, caller ID
~ about 100 minutes a month to Canada
~ will roam to Canada about twice a month

I basically don't use the phone that much. However, when I do use it, it will likely be on calls to Canada. I want something without a contract because I already have an unlocked phone that I want to keep. Pay as you go is fine too.

Does anyone know which carrier is the best for me?

Thanks!

I have been looking for a GSM service with roaming to Canada, but it seems it's not available for Pay As You Go - only for contracts. YMMV.

T-Mobile To Go prepaid does have roaming in Canada.

For the original poster, a T-Mobile To Go plan would cost, assuming the purchase of $100 refills that give airtime at $0.10 per minute:

100 minutes of calls to Canada: $0.20 or $0.50 per minute extra for $0.30 or $0.60 per minute = $30 or $60 (T-Mobile's web site has two pages which say different things: http://www.t-mobile.com/Internationa...eOverview.aspx and http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/prepaidrates.aspx )
100 minutes of calls within the US: $0.10 per minute = $10
50 texts: $0.10 to send, $0.05 to receive in the US or Canada = $2.50 to $5
roaming within Canada: $0.69 additional per minute for voice, text is no extra charge

So about $45 or $75 per month plus whatever roaming charges. However, you can bring the cost down a lot by texting instead of calling to or within Canada.

Of course, there may be other plans, either prepaid or postpaid, which have lower total costs for the usage pattern described (however, many prepaid plans do not have roaming to Canada).

How much does your Canadian cell phone plan cost to roam in the US or call the US? Depending on that, it may be worth keeping a Canadian plan as well as a US plan.

Since you say you have an unlocked phone, I am assuming you prefer GSM over CDMA?

I don't know if this will be useful for you or not, as it may be more than you need (and it's CDMA), but I use Telus both in Canada and in the US. When I am going to be in the US for a month or more, I switch from my local/Canadian calling plan to one of Telus' North American calling plans. The Talk North America 75 is usually sufficient for me, as it gives up to 250 mins calling anywhere in Canada and US and no roaming charges. The basic charge is $75/month. It's nice because you can use it from anywhere in Canada and the US to anywhere in Canada and the US, so if you are travelling back and forth between the two countries it simplifies things. However, you will have to have a Canadian number which will mean long distance for people calling you while in the US. However, it's nice to just have one number all the time.

If you were interested, Telus has a Pay & Talk prepaid option. Right now, you can get an LG245 for $69.99 which comes with a $50 credit you can apply when you activate the phone. You can then switch over to a month-to-month and transfer the credit. This is the phone I am using these days and it's been fine for me.

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, I prefer a GSM phone as I have all my contacts in my phone and I just switch SIM cards when I travel abroad.

The T-Mobile says (for roaming in Canada)

" Rate per minute: $0.49 plus applicable long distance charges
GPRS coverage: Yes"

Does anyone know what these "applicable long distance charges" would be?

Thanks!

You'll want to investigate this fairly carefully - the "cost" of sticking with your phone might be pretty high...

For example, T-Mobile to go if you only get a SIM charges something like $50 for the SIM with $10 "value" on it. however, they often offer you a special "package" with a phone + sim for $30 w/ $10 value. In my opinion, you'd be better off buying the package with the phone/sim for $30 - and then switch the SIM from your "new" phone to your "old" phone.

Regarding Canada - if you're going to be calling Canada frequently and roaming in Canada frequently (say more than a few times a year) - you really may be much better off getting into a "post-paid" contract with a carrier. They generally offer North America plans that include roaming in Canada (i.e. no extra charge) and often free or heavily discounted rates to call to Canada.

Again - you probably won't have to switch phones - and if you do you can get them to transfer your contacts from old to new phone generally for free.

Good luck.

Probably for international calls, since they charge extra for calls to numbers outside the US. I.e. if you use your US-based phone in Canada to call Canada, you may end up paying both the roaming charge and the call-to-Canada charge. Better to text message if possible, at least with T-Mobile. Or keep a Canadian SIM card (prepaid or postpaid, depending on which is best for your usage) for when you roam in Canada.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks. Does this mean that if I were to call the US from Canada, it would just be 0.49$ a minute?

Cheers

Probably $0.49 + regular charge (assume $0.10 if you are using $100 refills) = $0.59 per minute to call a US phone number while roaming in Canada. You may want to verify all roaming and international charges, since some of the T-Mobile web pages contradict each other (some of them say $0.69 for Canada roaming).

This simply is NOT true. You can pick up a TMo prepaid SIM on eBay for slightly less than the cost of the minutes on the card or for face value at any TMo stire.

Ebay for example has a $60 (300min) prepaid sim for approximately $20.

I have done this with no problem. You don't get to pick you phone number on the eBay sale, but I have had no problem changing the number by calling TMo .

Ahh - sorry forgot the ebay route. however, if you go to their store - they charge you a activation or something or the other fee - which is $36 in addition to the "time" - and it means that your FIRST SIM - you get way less than face value. If your experience is different - fair enough - but this is what I've seen the last 6 times that I've helped visitors for prepaid SIMs.

I don't understand this part. Why can't you just sign up for a contract, and then put the new SIM card that T-Mobile or ATT give you into your current, unlocked phone? I never used the phone that they gave my when signing up for my current rate plan.

I just feel that it is a waste since I won't be using the phone that I would receive if I entered a contract. I would prefer the flexibility to change providers over a free phone.

Cheers

Avoiding a 2-year contract means being able to switch without paying the early termination fee if the service becomes unsuitable for some reason (such as finding that you are spending a lot of time in an area where the reception is poor, or the plan is found out to be inappropriate for the usage pattern).

You can sign-up for a post paid plan without incurring a 1 or 2 year commitment. Both ATT and TMo will do this. You won't get a new phone and can drop the plan at anytime. That could be a cheaper alternative to a pre-paid SIM.

FlexPlay
 

Thanks again for all the replies. Until I figure out which monthly plan I want, I am using AT&T Go Phone - which is terrible. I have used up $35 of credit in 6 days but at least know more about what my calling habits are.

~ 300 minutes a month in total including Canada (about 100 nights and 50 weekends + 150 regular)
~ 100 texts
~ voicemail, caller ID
~ about 100 minutes a month to Canada (75 nights and weekends + 25 regular)
~ will roam to Canada about once a month.

I think I will choose the T-Mobile plan; the clerk today told me about FlexPay but I don't really understand it. Is it just a monthly plan without a contract when you pay beforehand?

I don't mind leaving the deposit ($500 :eek:) for a monthly plan but with the way the US$ is going, when I convert the $500 back to CAD$ after 12 months I will have probably lost quite a bit of money.

Also - if I am not on a contract can I "skip" months? i.e. have my plan from Sept-Jun only?

Thanks!

bump - thanks!

The best website I found to research phones and plans is howardforums.com. Or is it howardforum.com???? If it weren't for the Canadian calls or roaming, I would recommend Sprint sero plan. Do a search at the howardforums website. Good luck. Carrie

Do the math
 

Pay-as-you-go is only beneficial if you don't use the phone. For most people, a $30 plan (with free gear) is much better than buying a few minutes at a time.

T-Mobile offers free unlimited nights and weekends and free calls to other customers, as well as a US-to-Canada rate.

If you join T-Mo at Wirefly, you can score a free $350 DASH (quad GSM/GPRS/SmartPhone) and a $50 rebate.

Obviously, if you might have to bail, a contract won't work for you. But T-MobileWeb at $5.99/mo is pretty sweet. Unlimited WAP internet access, including gmail.com/app

I ended up going with FlexPay T Mobile Basic Plus. I didn't need a contract or credit check so I can stop payments during the summer when I am travelling. I just came back from Canada and rang up $4.50 in roaming charges over 4 days (I am not sure if that is good or bad) but texts while roaming come out of my bundle which is amazing.^ The roaming rate in Canada is $0.69 a minute which is high, but lower than AT&T's $0.79 a minute.

Thanks again for all the replies :)

Cheers,