Verizon’s international plan can be worth it if you are getting your phone bill paid by a company and they don’t really care how much money they have to spend. All that they really care about is that they can reach you at your regular number no matter where in the world you happen to be. In any pretty much any other instance it’s going to be hard to make a case for it. The fact of the matter is you would have to pay a pretty large sum of money for subpar coverage.
Now, there are a couple of other options that you could potentially explore. Including the Pay as you go plan, and of course the Verizon International Travel Pass. These are, what we could, the official options, to be able to take your phone abroad and keep your number. If what is important to you is to be able to keep the same number while you are traveling there are a couple of ways that you can actually get coverage while you are abroad. The only thing that we would say is that you would have to rely on data and apps to be able to call and text. Usually, though that is the best way to find a low-cost option.
Before we get started then we want to give you a rundown of what we are going to be talking about in this article. Basically we are going to be exploring Verizon’s international plan, as well as all of the other options that Verizon offers for you to use your phone while traveling. Lastly, we are going to cover some of the other options that are out there, where you can keep your number, but pay less for coverage abroad!
- Verizon’s International Plan Rates
- Verizon Pay As You Go Plan
- Verizon International Travel Pass
- Using A Mobile Wifi-Spot
- Is Using A Foreign SIM Card An Option?
Verizon’s International Plan Rates
So if you haven’t heard Verizon has an international plan. The way that Verizon’s International plan works is that you pay a flat rate and you are able to get minutes, texts, and data for international usage. In paying that fee you essentially wouldn’t have to deal with the International Day pass or any of the other options out there. So, so far so good right? One flat fee, minutes, data, and texts virtually anywhere in the world. Here is the part where things can get a little bit interesting.
There are actually two versions of this plan. One version of Verizon’s international plan is going to cost you 70 dollars. For those whopping 70 dollars, you are going to be getting 100 minutes, you can send 100 texts and you can receive as many as you want. Finally, you will be getting an impressive .5GB of data. We are going to rewrite in case you missed where the point was. We are talking about 0.5 GB of data! That is not the worse part if you go over the .05 data range you’ll pay $25 for every 0.5GB of data you use outside of the plan. There is no question that some people could rack up a bill of over 200 dollars in just a couple of days.
The second option is a 130 dollar plan. For less than double the price, you are getting more than double the coverage. You’ll get 250 minutes, 1000 texts, and 2.5GB of data. We get it why it would make sense for a businessman on a short trip that is maybe flying private. These are usually not plans that are going to cater to the common man. Especially if you are traveling with your family and all of your kids are going to want coverage. That can be a recipe to pile up a nasty bill!
Verizon Pay As You Go Plan
There is no question that the Pay as You Go Plan can also help you rack up a nasty bill. In fact, the bill can be even worse than the one that we described with Verizon’s International Plan. We are not denying that at all! Hear us out though, and let us describe why we feel that this plan can actually be an option. The thing with Verizon’s International Plan is that you are already starting out 70 or 130 dollars in the red. Even after paying that money, you are going to want to be cautious about the amount of data that you spend and calls, and texts that you exchange.
With the Pay as you go plan, you start out at 0. Essentially it could be a good idea to just take this as the backup plan if all else fails option. Keep track of all of the things that you do with your phone. Ideally, don’t go on apps like Instagram or Youtube. These two are known for chewing up data like there was no tomorrow. We would say that certainly, the risk involved with doing this is much greater. Make sure that you are connected to the hotel wifi whenever you can and pretty much all of the rest of the time turn off the data usage.
The rates for the Verizon Pay as you go plan are as follows: About an average of 1.79 a minute per call, .50 cents for a text you send, .05 for everyone that you receive. To top it all off you are going to be paying 2.05 per MB! When you realize the amount of data that you typically use in a day you are going to see how easy it is to actually rack up a bill that would be out of this world. In many instances, this can seem like playing with fire. You don’t ever want to leave the data on at all! If you are ultra-cautious though there is a chance that you can make it work!
Verizon International Travel Pass
We’ve explored the Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile International passes in the past on the site. You probably already know the drill. You are going to be paying a set fee for “unlimited” coverage for a full day while abroad. If you are visiting Mexico or Canada you are going to be able to get coverage for 5 dollars a day. In virtually the rest of the world where you can actually get coverage, you are going to be asked to pay 10 dollars a day! It’s pretty simple, but we actually happened to believe that this can the better of the 3 options including Verizon’s international plan.
Why do we say that it’s the better of the three options that we’ve covered so far? It’s pretty simple; it’s the one that gives you the most coverage without you having to worry about how much data you are actually using. Which, actually is one of the main complaints that people have with pay as you go plans. A lot of times the thought is that there is no clear way to be able to actually measure how much data, and how many minutes you’re using. You may get charged for phone calls that people don’t pick up and things of that nature. This, of course, upsets more than a few people.
The way that we see it, you could potentially wifi hunt your way through life. Let’s be honest about this, that is exactly what you would ideally though with the other two options that we mentioned. You can plan the way that you are going to be using this coverage though in advance. Pick and choose the days that you are going to use the daily travel pass and wifi hunt the rest of the other days. In doing this you will be 100% clear on what you are going to be paying for the coverage. Something that you won’t have the luxury of in the other options!
Using A Mobile Wifi-Spot
The only reason why people actually consider the options that we’ve listed above is because you get to keep your same number active. What these options provide is a way to allow you to continue to operate as you normally would. There is a lot of value to that, there is no denying that. Using a mobile wifi-spot is one of those things that we could say is a bit of a cheat way to keep using “your same number” without having to pay exorbitant fees. The reason we put quotes around the fact that you are using the same number is that you have the same number, but you essentially wouldn’t be calling and texting.
With a mobile wifi-spot, you would have to base your communications around mobile apps. The cost of these devices is still quite a bit on the high end. If you are traveling with a larger group they can make a bit more sense. Actually you could potentially mix and match using a mobile wifi spot with some of the other options listed above. You can use the mobile wifi spot basically for all of the daily needs if you need to receive a couple of texts you can pay Verizon’s international plan. When things add up it’s going to be an expensive bill, but some people just have to stay connected.
Where would we rank this option? We can give it maybe a 5 or 6 out of 10. If you are traveling with a larger group maybe even an 8 out of ten. It does allow us to see a reality that many people are still choosing to ignore especially in the US. If you are an international traveler or you talk or text with people from all over the world you should probably move the bulk of your communications through mobile apps. It’s harder to get mobile coverage than it is to get wifi.
Is Using A Foreign SIM Card An Option?
Is your goal to keep your same phone number while you are abroad? If so then using a foreign SIM card is just not going to make much sense. Unless you happen to be using a data-only SIM card and you are able to keep the same accounts logged in, to mobile apps where you communicate with other people. We go back to what we mentioned before if you base your communication through mobile apps that can be a great option.
There is actually another instance where it can make total sense. This is actually something that many people have been doing for years. If you travel a lot to one particular company you can have a set SIM card for that country. So the people that you contact regularly essentially won’t be surprised by the fact that you have a new number. Instead, they’ll know that they can reach at another number when you are abroad. You can actually accomplish this by buying a SIM card that has a high credit validity. This means that your credit and number are going to be valid for a year. The other thing that you can do is keep a cheap plan in the country that you visit often. Then just switch SIM cards every time that you travel.
This is usually going to be the less costly option. Even if you decide that you want the SIM card with the most coverage or the most expensive plan you could be paying around 70 dollars a month tops, much less in many parts of the world. With that, you could have virtually unlimited coverage in any country. Where you travel and how you travel though, could make this plan ineffective. That is essentially why we save this particular idea for last. You don’t get to keep your phone number, but it is probably the most cost-effective option of the ones that we’ve explored.
Is Verizon’s International Plan Worth It?
In very unique circumstances it can be worth it. These circumstances are usually going to involve you needing minimal coverage for a couple of days while you’re abroad. If that is the case it also has to be imperative to you that you keep your same phone number so that you can receive calls or texts to it. The reason why we said that you would need coverage for a couple of days is that if you only need coverage for one or two days abroad Verizon’s International Day pass option is far superior to Verizon’s International Plan. We hope that the information that we shared with you actually helps you make a better decision at the end of the day!