Soon my time is up, Plan options?

[MBNavion]

Well, my time at home in NL will soon be up on the 21st of Sept. ( present PM plan also ends on the 21st.  Travel time in Canada will be the 22nd and the 23rd,  arriving in the US on the 24th.  Unless someone suggests different I will be purchasing the $10.00 all Canada  with 50 minutes of talk to see me through the two days of travel in NL and NS. ( just for emergency communication if needed ) Additionally I will add the $8.00 US add on that will give me 10 days of talk once I hit the US. 

However, I do have a question for the community.  I am looking for the most cost effective way to keep my PM account and phone number over the winter until I return to NL next summer.  We usually arrive back in Canada on or near Canada Day.  Can anyone offer any suggestions on how I might accomplish this in the most least expensive way?  Seems like I read somewhere that I can go 90 days without an active plan, then renew for 30 days and keep my number and account open.  Then go another 90 days without a plan and reopen again for 30 days.  Anyone know anything about this?

I do not neccessarily need to be able to use the phone while in the US,  just keep the account and the phone number open.  I have a very inexpensive option other than PM while in the US.

I was thinking of the least expensive text only plan available to do this.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

[srlawren]

@MBNavion glad the mods took care of you.

For carrier selection--most phones will just pick up either AT&T or T-Mobile automatically.  But if you find you're not getting a signal once you head south, first try rebooting the phone.  If still no signal, go into your network options and turn off automatic network selection (or turn on manual network selection--the settings can vary a bit by phone model).  It will take a min or two to scan for available networks.  Try either AT&T or T-Mo, and if it's not working well for you, repeat the process and try the other one.

[MBNavion]

Followed z10user4's advice.

Mods took care of my mistake and all is well.

Lesson learned is that a purchase for use in Canada can be made and set to go into effect when a present in use plan expires.  HOWEVER, any add-on should be purchased at the time you want it to go into effect.

I was directed by the Mod who responded that I must activate roaming and choose the US carrier that I want to use.

I assume this is a choice I will make directly on my phone not through my on-line account.

I am really liking PM. Wish I could get a more cost effective way to use it for extended periods while in the US.  No complaints though.  A happy user here. 

[Anonymous]

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@MBNavion wrote:

OOOPS!!!!

OK, I think I have a small problem.

I just purchased the $10.00 30 day all of Canada voice and text plan.  I was allowed the option of having the change take place when my present plan expires on Sept. 24.  So far so good.

Then I added the $8.00 US add on for talk only.  This will give me 10 days of use when I get to the US thus allowing me to establish my US only system with a different carrier )    I was expecting to see the option of having it start when my new plan begins on Sept. 24th.  Apparently it starts immediately!!.  It will expire before I get back to the US to use it!!  Is there anyway a moderator can correct or reverse the US add on for me?  How do I communicate with a moderator to accomplish this if it is possible?  I guess $8.00 will not change my ability to feed myself but I hope I can correct this.

Thanks folks,

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If you ask real nice, hopefully they'll give you a break.

Send ONE (1) private message to them here and include your phone number and PIN to minimize back and forth identity verification.

Forget your PIN? Then you'll need 3 of either of these pieces of information you used when you signed up: full address, birthdate, last 4 digits of CC you might have used, email address on the account, alternative phone number you might've entered when you signed up. Or, in addition, either of these to get to 3: last payment amount and date, last add-on bought and date.
And of course your question/problem.
Then hopefully they will get back to you as soon as they can between M-F 9-9 (ET) and Sat-Sun 9-7:30 (ET). But it could be up to a couple days.
Depending on your notification settings, you would get an email notifying you of a reply. Get back here and click on the little envelope in the upper right of your screen that would then have a red blob indicating that you have a message.

[MBNavion]

OOOPS!!!!

OK, I think I have a small problem.

I just purchased the $10.00 30 day all of Canada voice and text plan.  I was allowed the option of having the change take place when my present plan expires on Sept. 24.  So far so good.

Then I added the $8.00 US add on for talk only.  This will give me 10 days of use when I get to the US thus allowing me to establish my US only system with a different carrier )    I was expecting to see the option of having it start when my new plan begins on Sept. 24th.  Apparently it starts immediately!!.  It will expire before I get back to the US to use it!!  Is there anyway a moderator can correct or reverse the US add on for me?  How do I communicate with a moderator to accomplish this if it is possible?  I guess $8.00 will not change my ability to feed myself but I hope I can correct this.

Thanks folks,

[MBNavion]

Thank you to everyone.  Looks like what I had in mind will work.

[mimmo]

Very true.

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@will13am wrote:

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@mimmo wrote:

You just need to let you plan expire and renew it before the 90 days .  Keep doing that as long as is needed.  $10 gets you 120 days of saving the number.

This is a good read https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Paying-for-your-service/Extended-Absence/m-p/142735#M...

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119 days is probably a more practical limit.  Using up every bit of margin is dangerous. 

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[will13am]

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@mimmo wrote:

You just need to let you plan expire and renew it before the 90 days .  Keep doing that as long as is needed.  $10 gets you 120 days of saving the number.

This is a good read https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Paying-for-your-service/Extended-Absence/m-p/142735#M...

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119 days is probably a more practical limit.  Using up every bit of margin is dangerous. 

[mimmo]

You just need to let you plan expire and renew it before the 90 days .  Keep doing that as long as is needed.  $10 gets you 120 days of saving the number.

This is a good read https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Paying-for-your-service/Extended-Absence/m-p/142735#M...

[KMG · Accepted solution]

1. Switch to $10/30day plan on Sep21.

2. Disable autopay.

3. In October, let your plan expire at the end of the 30 days.

4. 88-89 days after your plan expires (~mid-January?), make a payment and reactivate the $10/30day plan.

5. Let that plan expire after its 30 days.

6. 88-89 days after your plan expires, make a payment and reactivate the $10/30day plan.

etc. until you return