Add-ons needed to use phone for 5 month while in USA

[Mimi33]

I want to use my plan while in the US for 5 consecutive months. I need to know what add ons I can pay for so that I can call and text US to US and US to Canada numbers. I am reading that add ons are for calls originating in Canada which won't work for me.

[ShawnC13]

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@darlicious wrote:

Here are the options: unlimited calling and incoming text with pm in US w/ roaming add ons $47 ($25 plan+3×$8 us roaming calling addon($24)=$49-$2 autopay=$47)  5 months=$235 unlimited incoming texts and calls and up to 600 min outgoing calling $42 ($15 plan+$5/500min calling add on (unused min roll over)+3×$8 us roam add on($24)=$44-$2 autopay=$42 5 months=$210 or $25 ($15plan+$12 ultramobile us SIM plan (Canada only plan+us unlimited calling/texting+min.4gb data+unlimited Canada roaming call+text and between countries calling/texting) $15+$12=$27-autopay=$25  5 months=$137 (suspend$15 plan 2x60 days save $60 ) 5 months=$77

Having the US SIM + plan you will save between $98 and $158 and still maintain your phone number in Canada.

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@darlicious, just wondering why you recommend the $25 plan over the $15 plan as your base plan is irrelevant once you are in the US as all the base plans are for when you are in Canada.  The $15 plan with the $5 addon for 500 minutes is for calls that originate in Canada and wouldn't work for them in the US

It is unfortunate @Mimi33  didn't come looking for a plan a couple of months ago the $60 plan would have worked perfect for this situation with 2GB of US data per 30 days as well.

[will13am]

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@darlicious wrote:

@popping  That phone has come highly recommended by @will13am  and I think he may have gotten it for $10 cheaper. Very good deal, great phone and camera earns top marks. There is a first time amazon.ca customer coupon out there and RBC avion rewards customers can convert points to Amazon gift cards and save 25%. Makes that phone about $100 cdn.

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I got it for the same price.  Since there is no tax on the purchase, we all enjoy the same price across the country. 

[GinYVR]

@Mimi33 @cavemantoronto suggestion is a good one, however do prepare to do some SIM gymnastics to achieve it.. to do that you will need to port the number you want to keep, out to another provider eg Bell (cheapest $4 for SIM card and day plan).. then port that number back into the $60 plan account once you have control over it. Public Mobile doesn't allow transfers of numbers between Public Mobile acounts.

The person who is selling you that account will loose control of both the account and the phone number that is attached to the account.

[cavemantoronto]

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@Mimi33 wrote:

Thank you so very much.  This is such a great informative response.  I did not realize that I could not have an add-on repeat like a plan.  Keeping my phone number in Canada is very important to me that is why I am adverse to getting US based sim card. I will try your idea and I am willing to purchase the add-on every 10 days. Still cheaper than any other solution for my situation.

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Too bad you didn't take the $60 plan that had roaming a few months ago. That would have been perfect. Look in classified ads for customers who sell this plan if they don't need it anymore.

[darlicious]

@popping  That phone has come highly recommended by @will13am  and I think he may have gotten it for $10 cheaper. Very good deal, great phone and camera earns top marks. There is a first time amazon.ca customer coupon out there and RBC avion rewards customers can convert points to Amazon gift cards and save 25%. Makes that phone about $100 cdn.

[popping]

For dual SIM phone sugested by @darlicious, I ordered an UMIDIGI A5 Pro Global version from Amazon.ca lighting deal yesterday for $131 no tax, free shipping.  BF in couple of weeks.  I am sure $131 lighting deal will be back again.  

[darlicious]

@AE_Collector  @Mimi33  I have read thru the thread again and I think I've got the main points correct...as well if this is a regular way you live...back and forth from Canada and the US you should consider the next time you purchase a phone to get a dual SIM phone. Anyhow....

You are currently with bell...overpaying and limited to 2 vacation holds a year $20 p/month.

You want to switch to public mobile to save money compared to what bell is charging you.

You are willing to buy US roaming add ons because it would still be cheaper than bell.

You want to maintain your phone number but actually using it in the US to call Canada or US to US is preferred but not a deal breaker.

Here are the options: unlimited calling and incoming text with pm in US w/ roaming add ons $47 ($25 plan+3×$8 us roaming calling addon($24)=$49-$2 autopay=$47)  5 months=$235 unlimited incoming texts and calls and up to 600 min outgoing calling $42 ($15 plan+$5/500min calling add on (unused min roll over)+3×$8 us roam add on($24)=$44-$2 autopay=$42 5 months=$210 or $25 ($15plan+$12 ultramobile us SIM plan (Canada only plan+us unlimited calling/texting+min.4gb data+unlimited Canada roaming call+text and between countries calling/texting) $15+$12=$27-autopay=$25  5 months=$137 (suspend$15 plan 2x60 days save $60 ) 5 months=$77

Having the US SIM + plan you will save between $98 and $158 and still maintain your phone number in Canada.

[AE_Collector]

OP has indicated that it is important that they keep existing Canadian number and do not have a US number. Thus even if there are better deals by purchasing a US SIM, that doesn't meet the requirement.

If calling only is needed then the 10 day calling add-on (no texting) is $8 so 30 days is $24. If this add-on is added to the $15 plan is he limited to the 100 minutes of outgoing calling that is a part of the $15 plan? If so, he may need to get the $25 plan if over 100 m8nutes ofboutgoing calling would be needed.

If calling out in the US becomes unlimited with the $8/add-on then the total cost for 30 days is $39 plus tax and minus $2 if autopay is set up for the plan. In this scenario I would think one would preload at least $24 for every 30 days that will be spent in the US if not the entire $39 per 30 days. This will make it easier to purchase the add-on every 10 days as funds won't have to be loaded each time, they will already be there. Allowing enough extra to cover the plan cost as well helps ensure against the slight possibility of an autopay renewal error taking service down. 

Is any more info available about the 10 day text expiry glitch? Only with the text add-on, not the straight voice add-on presumably? And is it only once one returns to Canada that no more texts will be received until having a moderator fix some glitch? IE: if skmeine buys multiple text only add-ons, one after another every 10 days while remaining in the US, if the add-on briefly expires before the next add-on is purchased, will texting lock up or only once one returns to Canada and the US text add-on expires does this problem come up? 

AE_Collector

[darlicious]

https://www.ultramobile.com/product/3gb-plan-sim-kit/?attribute_months=3%2Bmonth%2Bplan  

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@geopublic wrote:

@Mimi33  $25 per 30 days for a local US sim can  get you unlimited calling and texting to US and Canada and 8GB of LTE data.

Go to amazon.ca and search for US prepaid sim cards.

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@Mimi33   @geopublic  Has offered some great advice on how to find a reasonably priced plans for the US. Keeping an eye on redflagdeals is also a great way to find US phone plans for new customers. You can also try the link at the top....once in the US or if you already have a US address you can have the SIM card sent there to take advantage of the deal ultramobile is offering. Paying upfront for six month deal for about $12 cdn per month. It includes roaming in canada as well. airlo.com is another provider you can look into that offers affordable roaming packages in the US.

You say your paying bell to maintain your account...are you on a contract? At pm you can be on the $15 plan...let it suspend and reactivate on day 85 for 30 days suspend again til you get back.

[hairbag1]

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@hairbag1 wrote:

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@Mimi33 wrote:

Thank you so very much.  This is such a great informative response.  I did not realize that I could not have an add-on repeat like a plan.  Keeping my phone number in Canada is very important to me that is why I am adverse to getting US based sim card. I will try your idea and I am willing to purchase the add-on every 10 days. Still cheaper than any other solution for my situation.

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@Mimi33...before you go away, do your reading. There's a process to getting the add-on applied to your account. First you must add $$ to Available Funds, then you go back and actually "buy" the add-on you want. It's a 2 step process that can be confusing the first time you engage it...so make a few notes if that would help. If you do run into trouble, come back here and someone will guide you to success.

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Your 10 days start the minute you click "Buy". If you get it at 10pm...that's day 1...so plan ahead.

Safe travels.

[Mimi33]

Right now I have my cell on vacation hold with Bell at $20 per month. I can only use the vacation hold once a year so for 2 months until we fly home for Christmas I pay my regular plan of $79 per month and the phone is shut down. We fly back 10 days later and my phone goes on suspension at $20 per month.  When I return to Canada I get to keep my phone number but not my plan.  3 years ago my plan for unlimited calling texting in Canada only and 1 G of data was $45 per month. The next year the lowest plan was $60 per month. When we returned to Canada last April my plan had gone up to $79 per month so just having PM while in Canada saves me $39 per month and the $20 vacation hold fee can go towards the add-on.

[hairbag1]

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@Mimi33 wrote:

Thank you so very much.  This is such a great informative response.  I did not realize that I could not have an add-on repeat like a plan.  Keeping my phone number in Canada is very important to me that is why I am adverse to getting US based sim card. I will try your idea and I am willing to purchase the add-on every 10 days. Still cheaper than any other solution for my situation.

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@Mimi33...before you go away, do your reading. There's a process to getting the add-on applied to your account. First you must add $$ to Available Funds, then you go back and actually "buy" the add-on you want. It's a 2 step process that can be confusing the first time you engage it...so make a few notes if that would help. If you do run into trouble, come back here and someone will guide you to success.

[ShawnC13]

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@Mimi33 wrote:

Thank you so very much.  This is such a great informative response.  I did not realize that I could not have an add-on repeat like a plan.  Keeping my phone number in Canada is very important to me that is why I am adverse to getting US based sim card. I will try your idea and I am willing to purchase the add-on every 10 days. Still cheaper than any other solution for my situation.

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 @Mimi33  Are you sure it is still cheaper remember you will need to maintain a base plan for the add-ons to work.  You just can't have the add-on so even at the cheapest plan you are $15/30 days and then your add-ons

[Mimi33]

Thank you so very much.  This is such a great informative response.  I did not realize that I could not have an add-on repeat like a plan.  Keeping my phone number in Canada is very important to me that is why I am adverse to getting US based sim card. I will try your idea and I am willing to purchase the add-on every 10 days. Still cheaper than any other solution for my situation.

[ShawnC13]

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@Mimi33 wrote:

Thank you. It looks like a great plan. $30 US is equal to $40 Canadian. I had hoped to avoid more sim cards and worrying about my PM account going over the 89 days.  Currently paying $20 per month with Bell to suspend my account while away so willing to pay for add ons up to $30 Canadian as long as I know that the "international calling" add on does not have the same stipulation as the $50 plan which states calls have to originate from Canada

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You must remember that if you were to just buy add-ons for this time that they don't stack so you wouldn't be able to purchase the next add-on until the current one has expired also  there is the issue where after the expiry of a US addon you do not receive text messages for a period of time as well.  It is better off to purchase a local sim for that duration but now you have to decide how you are going to keep your current number if it is really important to you for when you come back to Canada

[hairbag1]

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@Mimi33 wrote:

Thank you. It looks like a great plan. $30 US is equal to $40 Canadian. I had hoped to avoid more sim cards and worrying about my PM account going over the 89 days.  Currently paying $20 per month with Bell to suspend my account while away so willing to pay for add ons up to $30 Canadian as long as I know that the "international calling" add on does not have the same stipulation as the $50 plan which states calls have to originate from Canada

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The only plans that PM can offer at this time is the 10 Day US Roaming Add-ons as shown below. They will allow you talk/text to Canada and USA while in USA...for 10 days. You've only mentioned talk...so the $8 add-on would work. Be aware that you couldn't buy another "talk" until the first one expired...but you could buy the "talk/text" bundle on day 9.

These are "add-ons" to your regular plan so you could downgrade to the cheapest PM plan for the time away to minimize costs.

U.S. Talk, Text and Data Bundle

Unlimited Talk, International Text and 250MB Data for just $20 for 10 days....$20

U.S. Talk and Text Bundle

Unlimited Talk and International Text for just $15 for 10 days....$15

U.S. Talk Only

Unlimited Talk for just $8 for 10 days....$8

U.S. Text Only

Unlimited International Text for just $8 for 10 days....$8

U.S. Data Only

250MB Data for $10, 500MB Data for $15 and 1GB Data for $20 for 10 days....From $10

[Mimi33]

Thank you. It looks like a great plan. $30 US is equal to $40 Canadian. I had hoped to avoid more sim cards and worrying about my PM account going over the 89 days.  Currently paying $20 per month with Bell to suspend my account while away so willing to pay for add ons up to $30 Canadian as long as I know that the "international calling" add on does not have the same stipulation as the $50 plan which states calls have to originate from Canada

[cellphoneuser1]

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@Mimi33 wrote:

Thanks.  I read this. I just need clarification that I can be in the USA and call Canada and or text Canada as well as the USA. A friend has a grandfathered plan for $20 a month.  PM cell phone works exactly the same in USA as in Canada.  I just want talk from USA to USA or USA to Canada. 

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There are no price plans currently that offer that. There was one before but it isn't around any more.

[geopublic]

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@Mimi33 wrote:

Thank you but the "local" is an issue.  I want to be able to call Canada with PM phone. 

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@Mimi33  here you go. You can call and text to Canada for free.

https://www.lycamobile.us/en/

[Mimi33]

Thanks.  I read this. I just need clarification that I can be in the USA and call Canada and or text Canada as well as the USA. A friend has a grandfathered plan for $20 a month.  PM cell phone works exactly the same in USA as in Canada.  I just want talk from USA to USA or USA to Canada. The $50 per month plan states calls have to originate from Canada 

[cellphoneuser1]

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@Mimi33 wrote:

I cannot see where I can buy US roaming add ons with PM. I have researched purchasing a US based phone with talk and text and for internationa texting and calling it is ove $55 US per month

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U.S. roaming add-on information is at https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/bc/plans

You can purchase them using your account in selflserve.publicmobile.ca.

[Mimi33]

Thank you but the "local" is an issue.  I want to be able to call Canada with PM phone. 

[Mimi33]

I cannot see where I can buy US roaming add ons with PM. I have researched purchasing a US based phone with talk and text and for internationa texting and calling it is ove $55 US per month

[geopublic]

@Lowufo  Incorrect the $50 plan on applies when in Canada. It does not on allow you to use your phone when in the US.

[geopublic · Accepted solution]

@Mimi33  $25 per 30 days for a local US sim can  get you unlimited calling and texting to US and Canada and 8GB of LTE data.

Go to amazon.ca and search for US prepaid sim cards.

[Lowufo]

Yeah your right I stand corrected

[cellphoneuser1]

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@Mimi33 wrote:

When I read the fine print in that plan it states that international calling has to originate from Canada

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Yes, but you can buy U.S. roaming add-ons. It's not realistic to do it for 5 months.

[Mimi33]

When I read the fine print in that plan it states that international calling has to originate from Canada

[popping]

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@Mimi33 wrote:

I want to use my plan while in the US for 5 consecutive months. I need to know what add ons I can pay for so that I can call and text US to US and US to Canada numbers. I am reading that add ons are for calls originating in Canada which won't work for me.

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PM 10 days US roaming add-ons.

U.S. Talk, Text and Data Bundle

Unlimited Talk, International Text and 250MB Data for just $20 for 10 days.  $20

U.S. Talk and Text Bundle

Unlimited Talk and International Text for just $15 for 10 days.  $15

U.S. Talk Only

Unlimited Talk for just $8 for 10 days  $8

U.S. Text Only

Unlimited International Text for just $8 for 10 days.  $8

U.S. Data Only

250MB Data for $10, 500MB Data for $15 and 1GB Data for $20 for 10 days.

[Mimi33]

I am willing to pay $8x3=$24 per month for calling which is cheaper than purchasing a local SIM card. I am confused with the explanations provided with the add ons.  If I pay the $24 per month can I call US to US phone numbers or do the calls have to originate from Canada