How can I get a US SIM card?
 

I will be visiting the US for a month soon. I looked up the AT&T website, and their prepaid card looks like it meets my requirements. But what do I have to do to buy one? Can I just walk into a phone store and get it? What kind of documentation will they ask for? I can't find any contact information on the AT&T website that can be used by an overseas non-customer!

Also, are there any other service providers besides AT&T whose services I should consider?

I'll be travelling in CT, MD, NY, and PA. I don't expect to use more than 250 minutes.

When I lived in the US (until a couple of years ago) I had Cingular-AT&T. T-Mobile coverage in NY and PA was terrible.

Any suggestions or recommendations will be helpful.

moe

PS - I just joined FlyerTalk. Apologies if I'm repeating a question that has been answered elsewhere. If so, please direct me to the relevant thread.

If you plan on only calling the US, you may want to consider getting a prepaid phone (Tracfone is a brand that comes to mind).

Even if you need to call Europe/outside of the US, you could get a reasonably cheap calling card and still use the Tracfone.

Just a thought.

JP

Tmo
 

Two options from TMO:

1. phone that includes a prepaid sim account, with about 30 minutes loaded, price varies from as low as $29.99 plus tax to $89.99. I recently purchased two Motorola V195s quadband clam shell for $29.99 plus tax - had several visitors from overseas office for a one week and it worked fine.

2. prepaid sim account (w/out phone) for $6.99 on line price or $9.99 if you walk into TMO store, again comes with about 30 minutes loaded.

TMO has two prepaid plans:

1. Pay per day: $1.00 per day, $0.10 per min per call (so once you make first call, you've paid for up to 10 minutes). Good thing about this is free calls after 7 pm and free TMO-TMO.

2. Pay by minutes: you get 15% discount on refills for this plan.

Both systems the number is good for 90 days and can be extended with additional refills/top-ups.


Go to www.t-mobile.com > plans > prepaid for complete details.

dtsm and JP, thanks for the Tracfone and TMO information - it's a great help! I'll check if their coverage is good where I'll be traveling.

Yes, I want a SIM only for domestic (US) use. And I want just a SIM, not another handset.

If anyone knows about documentation required for a prepaid or pay-as-you-go plan, I'd appreciate any tips. I've only ever signed 2-year cell phone contracts in the US before, when I had proof of a US address. This time I'll have just a passport and visa.

If there are any security regulations that could make it difficult for a foreign visitor to get a SIM cards, I'd prefer to add international roaming to my current plan before leaving my country.

moe

For TMO, no documentation needed - walk into store, buy sim and leave. There is always eBay. You can get prepaid sim before you arrive and if there's enough time even get it posted to you before you leave.

I bought my t-mobile 2 go SIM online for $5, with 10 minutes of airtime.

There was no documentation required to activate it.

-David

Strange how different countries operate. In most Asian countries, need to show passport or local ID (except China:p)

The only restriction TMO has is 2 accounts per 120 days per credit card - no security checks, etc. If all you need is sim card, suggest you purchase at TMO store (check their coverage maps to make sure it works for you), top-off with $15 refill and as long as you have a credit card, can refill on the fly from your phone.

I assume AT&T must have a comparable plan.....

You can then either dispose of the sim card, send to a fellow FT'er in need or put up on eBay.

Good luck

T-Mobile and a number of resellers also offer prepaid cell phone service.
See: http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm

You can buy T-Mobile, AT&T, and some other prepaid cell phone kits and refills at Target or Wal Mart (which are large stores commonly found at suburban malls). Cell phone stores should also have them. Some of them also sell off of their web sites.

Thanks for providing a summary of the responses so far. :)

Thank you all!
 

Wow, now I know everything I need to know :D

Thanks, everyone!

These forums are a great resource.

I visit the US regularly from the UK and the best deal at the moment seems to be...

www.net10.com

No daily fee, all calls 10c/min and you can currently get a $29.99 starter handset which is bundled with $30 airtime so that would be all you need!

However...

I use T-Mobile To-Go Prepaid service. You can also pick up a handset in Best Buy, Target etc for $30 but will need to add some airtime. $25 gives you 120 mins and $50 gives you $400 mins. This works better for me as the T-Mobile service lets you text back to the UK whereas the Net10 one doesn't. Texts are currently 10c but I think these are due to double shortly to 20c :(

Don't use either to make international calls. T-Mob, example, is $1.50/min!! I use a CVS (Pharmacy) Sprint calling card. I have used a few in my time but the Sprint card is the only one that charges the same 6c/min for calls to UK Mobiles as well as landlines. Others charge extra for Mobile calls.

So I can make a call from my US mobile to a UK mobile for the mobile networks 10c and add on the calling card 6c. Works great for me.

Now if only the US had a decent data plan for Pay as you Go. In the UK you can pay £10 and get 1GB data on the "3" network. Something like that in the US would be superb!

Rich

I agree, they offer great deals. My colleagues are sending me back the two phones I bought from them and will try to see if they can be unlocked for future use in states and abroad.

Pls don't ask for too much, we're still in the stone age here in the New World :D

I just got back from the US and had a pre-paid T-mobile SIM card that I plugged into my GSM handset.

The SIM card was like $7.50, and then I topped up for like $200.

It worked fine in Las Vegas, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana.

at&t medianet on payg is $20 for 30 days of unlimited data. $5 for 1 meg and $10 for 5 meg are also available.

I bought a t-mobile SIM last week.

Now they have the following:

1$ per day activation fee

7am-7pm all calls 10 cent/min

7pm-7am all calls free

Texts 10 cent/sent + 5 cent/recieve.

That is a great deal in my eyes. I had a plan with them before and paid a fortune !