There are essentially a few international plans that Verizon offers to its users when they want to travel abroad. If you’re asking for the cost of Verizon international plan referencing the Verizon international monthly plan the cost for that option is 100 dollars. The plan can be used in over 180 countries. Although the type of coverage that you’ll get can vary from country to country. We know that 100 dollars can sound like quite a bit of dough. Before you throw out the idea of getting this monthly option because of the cost of Verizon international plan we want to go over the perks that you’ll get with the plan. Not just what’s included, but some of the things that Verizon doesn’t necessarily promote, but can be an asset.
We’ve mentioned that Verizon isn’t exactly known for offering low cost international options. That being said, it could be considered the American wireless service provider that offers more international options. The international plan itself isn’t necessarily a concept that you’ll be able to book with other service providers. Granted, the cost of Verizon international plan may not make it an attractive feature, but at least you have the option. You also have the option of getting an international day pass for the number of days you’re going to be abroad. We’ll compare the perks of each option. Particularly at the ten day mark on each option. Since, that when you’ll have covered the total cost of the Verizon international plan with a day pass every day.
- Cost of Verizon International Plan – What The Plan Includes
- Be Very Careful About Overages
- What Are The Benefits of Staying On This Plan?
- Monthly International Plan vs International Day Pass
- Cost of Verizon International Plan – Cost of Getting Coverage On Airplanes
- Other Options To Be Able To Get Coverage Abroad
Cost of Verizon International Plan – What The Plan Includes
We’ve mentioned that the cost of Verizon international plan is 100 dollars. The plan includes,
- 250 minutes
- 1000 sent SMS
- Unlimited received SMS
- 5GB data
There are a couple of things to note here, the text messages that you send may be charged differently if they contain any type of media. Another thing to note about the cost of Verizon international plan is that it will stay the same in the countries that it’s available. That does not mean though that you’ll be able to get the same type of coverage wherever it is that you travel. One of the things that we’ve always cautioned about when trying to get coverage from your regular service provider internationally is that you may not be able to rely on the coverage.
One hundred dollars is a pretty penny. Particularly when you take into account that it’s the cost for the plan per line. Plus, you’ll have to add whatever the regular cost of your plan happens to be at the end of the month. So, that means that when you get back from your trip you’ll be looking at a bill that features an overall cost of around 135 to even 160 dollars per line! Depending on what your regular plan costs. If you get that rate when you’re back home you’re rather lucky. That means you didn’t incur in any overages. Those are where the real fun starts! Fun for Verizon of course, not its users.
Be Very Careful About Overages
If there’s one thing that you don’t want it’s to be hit with those overage fees. They can make your bill skyrocket real quickly. Particularly if you’re using a lot of data when you’re abroad. The overage fee for data for example, is 20 dollars per GB of coverage. That fee is insane and you can rack up a very nasty bill if you’re not using your data responsibly. What we’ve seen is that this can be a real problem. Particularly with people who are very accustomed to their unlimited plans. You just don’t monitor the amount of data that you use any more. Using up 5GB of data in a month for some people may not be a huge deal.
Your call rates are going to go to 25 cents a minute with overages. If you’re getting to the end of the allowance, you may want to look into other ways to get coverage. Even texting rates can jump off the page with these overages. You can expect to pay around 5 cents per text that you send. That’s going to be the rate that you’ll be expected to pay for every single text that you send after going over the 1000 limit on the monthly plan. The simple, yet effective word of advice that we’d have here, is that you should make sure that you keep tabs on the amount of things that you’re using up. Whether it’s minutes, data and even text messages. These overage fees are no fun at all.
What Are The Benefits of Staying On This Plan?
With the threat of overages certainly looming it may be hard to find a positive thing to say about this plan. Here are a couple of reasons though why we think it may make sense to get the Verizon international plan. For one, you’re able to keep your regular number. So that means that you’re going to be able to receive calls from people that maybe aren’t even aware of the fact that you’re abroad. A lot of people have mentioned that they’ve had a tough time with the 2 step verification process on some apps. With this plan again, you won’t have that problem. Since you’re going to be able to get those texts to access your email account or even your bank app.
When you’re traveling for more than just a couple of days then the 10 dollars for the travel pass can start piling up. Granted, it’s 100 dollars for this plan. Therefore, it kind of wouldn’t make a lot of sense to get this plan unless you are traveling for around 12 days at the minimum. Yes, we are aware of the fact that you’d reach the cost of the day pass at the 10 day mark. There are some benefits of the day pass that you don’t get with this monthly travel plan. We feel those benefits may certainly be worth 20 dollars or more.
Monthly International Plan vs International Day Pass
In simple terms we’d have to say that on a 10 day trip the cost of Verizon international plan is worth it because you’d be covering the cost of 10 days on the travel pass. So days 11 through 30 would pay for themselves right? The main thing to keep in mind here though, is that the travel pass more or less activates your unlimited plan abroad. There are obviously certain restrictions that come into play. Particularly when you take into account data speed. After x amount of data is used the speed will drop off. With the monthly international plan you’re always going to be on a limited plan! So just right of the bat you should be more mindful of the amount of data, minutes, and even texts that you use up on this plan.
We’ve basically done the month in the previous section already. The positive element of the monthly plan is that you’ll have coverage that you can manage. With the daily pass you’ll have better overall coverage or an allowance of coverage if you will. Once you stop paying the 10 dollar fee though, you’ll automatically be put on the pay as you go rates. Which, by the way, are equal to the overage fees that you’d pay as an added cost of Verizon international plan. Needless to say, the overage fees are like that area in the Lion King that the light doesn’t touch. You never want to go there Simba.
Cost of Verizon International Plan – Cost of Getting Coverage On Airplanes
Verizon also offers its users the possibility of getting coverage on an airplane. There are a couple of things to go over here, other than of course the cost. Which by the way is 20 dollars for 50MB of data. The first thing that we want to note here is that there are only select airlines offering this service. For the most part they are going to be American based airlines. You’re going to be able to use the data while in flight only. So essentially it’s 20 dollars to be able to use your phone on a plane. It may be worth it for a transatlantic trip. What you’ll be getting is phone data not wifi.
Again this is going to be an option that will only be available on select flights. There are other flights out there that are also going to offer wifi coverage for your flight. Those services are not going to be exclusive to Verizon users. If you want to make calls while in flight you’re going to have to call through an app or the Verizon app in some cases. It may be easier though to use your social media account to make the call, or an app like WhatsApp, Telegram. In fact, even Zoom and Skype can be good options. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll use up your data allowance through the trip anyway.
Other Options To Be Able To Get Coverage Abroad
There are other ways that you’re going to be able to get coverage abroad. All of them will certainly come with their pros and cons. One of the biggest issues with keeping your Verizon coverage while abroad doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the cost of Verizon international plan. The thing is, even if you still have coverage credit left on your plan there may be certain areas where coverage just isn’t available. As a general rule you can expect your regular coverage to be as broad as it is when you’re using your phone locally. To get a broader coverage area the best thing that you could potentially do is get a local SIM card. This option is essentially going to grant you access to the local network, at local rates. That equals better coverage, and rates, but that usually means getting a new number.
If you want to keep your regular number to be active on different apps, and you still want to save money, another option is to just take your regular phone, but only use it where you have wifi coverage. Your hotel and local coffee shops are great places to get “free wifi”. If you keep your regular data off then you won’t give Verizon the opportunity to charge you any roaming fees. The downside to this coverage option though is that you won’t be able to contact anyone unless you’re at a wifi spot. Also, making direct calls and sending SMS texts isn’t going to be possible.
Cost of Verizon International Plan Conclusion
At the 100 dollar rate which is the total cost of Verizon international plan, it’s hard to justify getting one. As we mentioned before you’d have to be in a very specific situation. Number one your trip has to be longer than 10 or 12 at the very least. Otherwise, you’d be able to get more and better overall coverage from the international day pass that Verizon offers. With the rates for both of these options being about the same. The second thing is that you’re going to want to be extra careful when using your phone on this plan. The overage fees can make your phone bill light up worse than your electric bill on Christmas lights.
Where are the situations where we feel it may make sense? Again, you’d have to be abroad for about 12 days minimum. Also, it is for people who literally can’t part ways with their cell phone number, even for a while. Since you may get a lot of calls. Still, there’s an argument to be made that if you were very diligent you could stick with the pay as you go rates to have access to your regular phone number. Plus, adding a local SIM card, and you could be paying less for better coverage. It’s 100 dollars for coverage that is essentially not worth that much cash. When push comes to shove only people who can’t disconnect themselves from a specific cell phone number will be in a position where this makes sense.