In another article on the site, we talked about some of the different ways that you could actually text internationally. In this particular article, we want to focus a lot more on the costs. Since this is one of those topics that is not as cut and dry as one could hope. The different ways that you decide to text and where you travel are going to largely affect the overall cost of the action. Also, different service providers have different rates and solutions. As you can probably guess there are a lot of different things that you should consider before pressing send. We know that for a lot of folks texting is the main way that they communicate. Therefore, it is probably going to be what they are most concerned about when they are traveling abroad. Not knowing what the overall cost of doing this though, could land you in some hot water once your next phone bill comes around.
Speaking of your phone bill, another thing that you are going to want to consider is changing your plan. The rates that you are going to have to pay are going to be in line with the type of plan that you have. So, reading your contract before you take off to another land can be a good strategy that is going to save you money in the end. If you have one phone or another you could get some benefits from that or suffer the consequences. The dual SIM capacity of some of the newer phones on the market today are going to make your life a lot easier. Again, if you know how to use their capabilities to your advantage. The following are some of the topics that we are going to cover in this article.
- Your plan is going to make all the difference
- Is it worth it to pay the international fee?
- Using a foreign SIM card to text
- Dual SIM phone and text messages
- Texting in Canada and Mexico
- Using apps to text pros and cons
- How much will it cost me to text internationally?
Your plan is going to make all the difference
Whether you have a prepaid plan or you have a long term deal, that is going to determine what you are going to be able to do. Obviously different service providers are going to offer different prices. We have T-Mobile for example that offers international data that can be accessed through your long term plan. If you have the Magenta Plus plan, for example, you are going to be able to text and use your data while abroad. There is a catch to this of course. That is why buying a local SIM card is an option. You are going to be getting 2G if you are lucky. That is going to be the top speed that you are going to be able to navigate with. Most apps and even web pages these days are going to take ages to load with that speed. Plus, you may not have coverage in every part of the country that you visit. Technically though, you are going to be able to text as you would normally. The only problem that you are going to have is that it is probably going to take a while longer for texts to get to your phone. At times they really don’t get there at all.
If you have a prepaid plan you can get the add on for 4G coverage in Canada or Mexico. You can add that to your monthly fee for whatever prepaid plan you have. This is on T-Mobile. The problem is that when you are traveling abroad with a prepaid plan you are not going to have a lot more options with your regular service provider other than activating the international fee per day option. Which, is something that we are going to talk about more in-depth here shortly.
Is it worth it to pay the international fee?
This is going to depend on where you travel and how much time you are going to be abroad. If you have read some of the other articles on the site you know that the first recommendation is not always to get a SIM card just for the heck of it. We understand that not all trips are created equal. For business trips that are going to last one or two days, the international fee is perfect. You are going to be paying 10 dollars for most of the world and 5 dollars for Mexico and Canada. With that, you can expect relatively decent coverage abroad. The problem is that if the days keep piling up you are going to end up paying a lot more money.
You have to really find the option that is going to be right for you. The “danger” that you are going to have of paying any type of international fee is that these days it is going to be pretty easy to accept the charges via a mobile app or even a text message from your provider. As the days keep piling up though you could end up raking up a pretty hefty bill. For a month abroad you could be paying around 300 dollars tops per line. This is aside from what your regular plan costs. So, yeah it can get pretty expensive. Paying 10 or 20 dollars for a couple of days though could save you time that you would have to spend setting up a foreign SIM.
Using a foreign SIM card to text
Just as a general rule it can be said that usually the basic foreign SIM card that you are going to be able to buy is not going to give you unlimited texting. Another thing about basic foreign SIM cards, especially the ones that are precisely designed for travelers is that they are going to have a quick expiration date. Meaning, you could get 200 text messages 500mb of data and x number of minutes, but you would have to use all of them in a matter of 5 days. If this is the exact amount of time that you are going to be in Europe then, it wouldn’t really matter.
There are these “basic” SIM cards that you are going to be able to get for under 10 dollars in Europe. The more complete plans start around 30 dollars. Especially if you happen to be in the UK. With that investment, you could search for a SIM card that is going to be able to offer you unlimited texting.
There is one key issue with using a foreign SIM card to text that you should probably keep in mind. Your phone number is going to change. At this point, it doesn’t matter if your phone has dual SIM capabilities. With the foreign SIM you are going to get a foreign phone number. This is something that you could solve relatively easily by giving whoever you are going to text a heads up through social media maybe. Otherwise, it could make for an interesting conversation. As you are going to have to essentially convince the person that you want to text that you are you. The last point here would be to make sure that you are reading the fine print before you buy a foreign SIM card. Some times texting to a phone that is not local could result in an extra fee per text. If you have a prepaid plan, then what is going to happen is that you are going to gobble up your text privileges very quickly.
Dual SIM phone and text messages
Phones with Dual SIM capabilities are certainly on the rise. Whether it be through an eSIM feature or an actual two SIM insertion feature. Each operating system is going to have its own way to be able to actually activate the dual SIM feature. What is important for the most part, is to ensure that you are using the Data from the correct SIM and the correct number on the SIM. Even with dual SIM capabilities, you are going to essentially have two phone numbers. Really the main difference that you are going to have between regular phones and those with Dual SIM capabilities is that with regular phones you would have to fiscally insert the SIM card that you want to use. With dual SIM phones, you can use both numbers at the same time. You can actually have them both active at the same time. Which, means that you could potentially be getting phone calls on two different phone numbers with the same cellphone essentially.
When it comes to texting, you just need to make sure that you are using the right SIM card to do so. If you are abroad and you have a foreign SIM card that you have activated you need to make sure that you are using that phone number to send your text messages. The biggest trouble that we find with dual SIM phones is people forget to deactivate their domestic data. This could mean that even if you buy a foreign SIM you could still get roaming charges. In some cases, that means paying the international fee. Although, having the luxury of the dual SIM capability really does make your life easier it is really important to ensure that you are choosing the right number to text. Otherwise again, you run the risk of getting extra charges. Also, you texts won’t get through if you don’t have the right coverage.
Texting in Canada and Mexico
Most companies in the United States are going to offer up special plans for using your phone in Canada or Mexico. Whether you have Verizon. T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, or any other mobile carrier the most that you are probably going to have to pay is around 5 dollars a day. That is on the international coverage for a day plan. For most of the world, you would have to pay the 10 dollars a day fee to be able to get coverage. This fee usually sits around 5 dollars in Mexico and Canada. Now, most providers are going to allow you to add coverage in these countries for an extra fee within your regular plan. Even prepaid plans in T-Mobile and Verizon to name a few. Give you the ability to be able to add this coverage for an extra 10 dollars a month. This is going to allow you to talk and text pretty much as you would in the United States.
There is a catch to most of these international “opportunities” with your regular service provider. For the most part, you are not going to be able to obtain even 4G coverage while abroad. You are probably only going to be getting about 2G or 3G speeds. If this is fine for you and, all that you are going to be doing is texting, then it may be a good idea to search for that add on to your unlimited plan. Not having to worry about a foreign SIM card and all of the things that this entails, could certainly make your life easier. Especially, if these two countries are the ones that you frequent the most. For a lot of people though, paying that extra fee each month for only a couple of weeks of vacation a year may not be worth it! That is another issue that you would have to consider.
Using apps to text pros and cons
We have other articles on this particular issue. So, we are just going to talk about some of the basic things that you would need to know about these apps. So, let’s get right to the pros.
The Pros
The benefits that you can get from using these apps is that you are going to have unlimited texting, pretty much no matter what app you decide to go with. A lot of these apps, whether it be Whatsapp, Telegram or even Skype, are going to allow you to also make calls within the app. This is going to allow you then to not use up your minutes. Pretty much both talk and text are going to be completely free if you happen to be using your phone with wifi connection. Another one of the main benefits that you are going to have is that you can use some of the regular apps that you would always use. These days, you could even call people through Facebook. This is probably not something that you are going to do on a daily basis. Yet, you have the opportunity to use social media even, to call anyone that you want.
The Cons
The person that you are trying to contact has to have that same app and usually an account on that app active on their phones to be able to talk or text with you. This is just sort of a basic need. Perhaps, the most “silent” con is that these apps are going to be using up data. If you are trying to call outside of a wifi connection you could end up using a lot of data. So, even though, talk and text are “free” you are paying a price at the end of the day. A lot of times some service providers abroad have a pretty sketchy way to tally up the data that you use. In simple terms, you can never really know how much data you are going to use with these apps. So, this could also be something that sees you having to spend a lot of money on foreign SIM cards or more data for those prepaid plans.
How much will it cost me to text internationally?
We went through some of the options that you are going to have to be able to actually text abroad. Now, what we want to do is look at a scenario and actually give you a number as far as what you can expect to pay to be able to text abroad.
The first option is going with a local SIM card and using that number to text as you would regularly. Pretty much a card with decent coverage and unlimited texting in Europe could cost you around 50 or 60 dollars. In other places, that price can go down significantly. This is going to give you about a month of coverage.
The second option is going with your regular plan. There are exceptions, as we talked about with Canada or Mexico, but for the most part, this is going to be the most expensive option. Paying the daily international fee every day of your stay could see you paying over 200 to 300 dollars for a month. Even in Canada or Mexico doing that could see you pay over 100 dollars. There are different add-ons though, that you could use. Especially in prepaid plans that could see that number go lower.
The Final option has pretty much two parts. You could buy a cheap foreign SIM. For around 20 or 30 dollars. Make sure that you just use that for emergency purposes. Then just make your calls through apps with a Wifi connection inside your hotel. You can forgo the SIM card and just use the Wifi and apps idea. That would mean though that you would be without coverage outside your hotel room. If you want to go that route, then you would actually not pay anything extra!