Still confused about Add-Ons for US travel

[Derk]

I will start from last November, we were heading to Washington and I thought I would purchase add-ons so I could just ‘try it’ to see how it would work out, for when we go to Florida in March.

What I purchased according to my payment history was as follows:
U.S. long distance $8.00
U.S. roaming $8.00
1 GB data for $20.00

During our trip nothing seemed to work for me … fast forward to today and I see that in my account under the tab ‘Data and Add-on Usage’, and then under the tab ‘Talk Add-ons’ it still shows the 200 min US & Canada Long distance with 0 talk minutes used and 200 talk minutes left and Active under the Status column. Is that still there?

So that’s kind of the history to this point …. what I want to accomplish is that on our Florida trip that I’m able to access data to call Uber, make calls for reservations and perhaps some texting back to Canada.

As well, we’re going to be down for close to 3 weeks, can a second round of add-ons be purchased/activate while traveling? (assuming I figure it out!)

I did read somewhere that these add-ons are a 2 step process … guess maybe that is where I am lost. Can someone please give me the ‘Dummies Guide version’ on how to do this?

Thank you so much!

[hairbag1]

AFTER your 10days have expired, you'll need to manually reup your US Roaming selections again. ...just as you do to start. First pay for the selection, then select plans. It's working right away and your next 10days start all over again. Safe travels.

[Anonymous]

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@Derk wrote:

I think I'm getting it!

Maybe just one more follow-up question .... since I'm on auto pay, when I purchase the add-on is it automatically charged to my credit card? Or do I first need to make a One Time Payment to cover the cost of the add-ons to be purchased

thanks again!

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Add-ons don't go through autopay. Just Available Funds. So you need money in there to buy them.

[Derk]

I think I'm getting it!

Maybe just one more follow-up question .... since I'm on auto pay, when I purchase the add-on is it automatically charged to my credit card? Or do I first need to make a One Time Payment to cover the cost of the add-ons to be purchased

thanks again!

[ooakosiryan]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@ooakosiryan wrote:

However, your payment history shows that you did purchase US roaming add-ons.

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@ooakosiryan where are you seeing @Derk's payment history?  I don't see it in this thread?

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He lists it out in his original post: 

"What I purchased according to my payment history was as follows:
U.S. long distance $8.00
U.S. roaming $8.00
1 GB data for $20.00"

[Anonymous]

 @Derk

Oh right...so what next...

When you see the add-on in the lower part of your overview screen then restart the phone.

When you arrive in the US, turn on any roaming options on the phone, scan for either AT&T or T-Mobile and connect to them and you should be good to go.

popping right there with my after-thought. 🙂

[popping]

@Derk

When you arrive at your US destination, enable roaming and restart you phone.  It will be connected to AT&T or T-Mobile network.  It is that easy.

Post question if you have any issue while your are in US.

[Anonymous]

 @Derk

1. Those roaming add-ons are history now because they only last for 10 days.

2. The LD add-on will remain on your account until you use them. If you don't have Canada/US or Canada-wide then you can use those minutes to call the US and places outside whatever province you're currrently in, while in Canada.

3. The 2 steps mentioned are simply that you need 1. money in your Available Funds to 2. buy add-ons. Those roaming add-ons are good for 10 days and day 1 is the day you bought it. Whether in the morning or the night...that's day 1.

10 days later (possibly having to wait yet another day...not sure) you can buy the add-on again. The system gets confused if you try to buy other talk add-ons (other than the same one where it really messes up) before one expires. Probably the same with texting. Apparently you can buy the different amounts of data at the same time...but why risk it. Buy what you need...once...then renew it 10 days later.

[ShawnC13]

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@Derk wrote:

Okay, so I get that I purchased the wrong add-on for the last US trip … no biggie. I can see no record of usage for either the data or the text, so my thinking is that I did not activate those add-ons as I did not understand that step and they just expired. I was asked to verify what I did purchase, so I did a copy & paste just below.

US Roaming - 1 GB Data/Itinérance É-U - 1 Go                                        $20.00 $0.00
Nov 11, 2018    US Roaming - Unltd. Txt/Itinérance É-U - Textos illimités $8.00 $20.00
Nov 11, 2018    U.S. L.D./D’interurbains É.-U.                                            $8.00 $28.00

I was also asked if the data roaming on my phone was turned on … good question!, can’t honestly say one way or the other - I did just have a look and it is off at this time, so maybe that means it was off then as well.

So if I wish to have seamless coverage - should I do as follows:

purchase the US roaming Talk Text 250 MB bundle for $20, and then when that expires, the next day purchase the US roaming Talk Text bundle for $15 PLUS a data add-on?

Now the dumber question …. after they are purchased, how are the add-ons activated for use .. and should that be done the same day as the purchase?

Again, thank you so very much for all of your responses.

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Addons are activated as soon as the purchase is completed and that is also considered day 1.  It is a 10 calendar days not 10-24 hour days.  Your plan of purchasing the addons seems like a good strategy as well.

[Derk]

Okay, so I get that I purchased the wrong add-on for the last US trip … no biggie. I can see no record of usage for either the data or the text, so my thinking is that I did not activate those add-ons as I did not understand that step and they just expired. I was asked to verify what I did purchase, so I did a copy & paste just below.

US Roaming - 1 GB Data/Itinérance É-U - 1 Go                                        $20.00 $0.00
Nov 11, 2018    US Roaming - Unltd. Txt/Itinérance É-U - Textos illimités $8.00 $20.00
Nov 11, 2018    U.S. L.D./D’interurbains É.-U.                                            $8.00 $28.00

I was also asked if the data roaming on my phone was turned on … good question!, can’t honestly say one way or the other - I did just have a look and it is off at this time, so maybe that means it was off then as well.

So if I wish to have seamless coverage - should I do as follows:

purchase the US roaming Talk Text 250 MB bundle for $20, and then when that expires, the next day purchase the US roaming Talk Text bundle for $15 PLUS a data add-on?

Now the dumber question …. after they are purchased, how are the add-ons activated for use .. and should that be done the same day as the purchase?

Again, thank you so very much for all of your responses.

[srlawren]

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@ooakosiryan wrote:

However, your payment history shows that you did purchase US roaming add-ons.

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@ooakosiryan where are you seeing @Derk's payment history?  I don't see it in this thread?

[ooakosiryan]

Others are saying you purchased the US long distance add-on (for calls from Canada) and not the US roaming add-on.

However, your payment history shows that you did purchase US roaming add-ons. Since you paid $8 for U.S. roaming, that means you either got the "U.S. Talk Only" add-on (unlimited talk, no text) or the "U.S. Text Only" add-on (unlimited text, no talk), because those are the only two $8 roaming options. Which one is it? Also, you bought 1GB of U.S. roaming data, because you paid $20 and that's how much it costs (the domestic data costs $30 for 1GB).

You mentioned that nothing worked during your trip. Since you bought either talk or text, but not both, one definitely won't work. But if the one you actually bought didn't work, I think thie issue might be with your phone or its settings. I know my wife had a phone that roamed fine while mine didn't, even though we bought identical roaming plans. You bought roaming data, so that should've worked. Can you check your phone settings and make sure data roaming is enabled? 

Also, to answer your question about usage, yes, you have 200 minutes of unused long distance calling from Canada to the US. Can you look at the usage of the other add-on (either talk or text) and your U.S. roaming data as well? Do they show any usage?

[srlawren]

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@will13am wrote:

The trouble is that you need the talk, text and data add-on for which there is only one option. 

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@Derk just a note on this part:  it is true that the only bundle that includes all 3 is the $20 US Roaming Talk, Texting, and 250MB data bundle.  If you find you will need more for each 10 days, you can buy the other bundle, the $15 US Roaming Talk and Texting bundle, which saves $1 over buying them individually, and then also buy either the 500MB or 1GB US Roaming Data add-on to go with it.  

[will13am]

@Derk, it is going to be problematic doing the renewals.  These US add-ons can only be repurchased after the first purchase expires.  This restriction is in place to prevent customers from buying many of them and having them all running concurrently.  Unfortunately, there is no feature for the customer to specify a start time.  That is why the restriction.  So, once you time out the first one, you will then be able to go online and make the second purchase.  Some people bypass the restriction by purchasing a different add-on.  The trouble is that you need the talk, text and data add-on for which there is only one option.  You will just have to keep an eye on the expiry clock and make the second purchase right after the first expires.  Have a nice vacation. 

[popping · Accepted solution]

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@Derk wrote:

I will start from last November, we were heading to Washington and I thought I would purchase add-ons so I could just ‘try it’ to see how it would work out, for when we go to Florida in March.

What I purchased according to my payment history was as follows:
U.S. long distance $8.00
U.S. roaming $8.00
1 GB data for $20.00

During our trip nothing seemed to work for me … fast forward to today and I see that in my account under the tab ‘Data and Add-on Usage’, and then under the tab ‘Talk Add-ons’ it still shows the 200 min US & Canada Long distance with 0 talk minutes used and 200 talk minutes left and Active under the Status column. Is that still there?

So that’s kind of the history to this point …. what I want to accomplish is that on our Florida trip that I’m able to access data to call Uber, make calls for reservations and perhaps some texting back to Canada.

As well, we’re going to be down for close to 3 weeks, can a second round of add-ons be purchased/activate while traveling? (assuming I figure it out!)

I did read somewhere that these add-ons are a 2 step process … guess maybe that is where I am lost. Can someone please give me the ‘Dummies Guide version’ on how to do this?

Thank you so much!

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The 200 min US & Canada Long distance add-on is use in Canada - NOT for US roaming.

You need to purchase the US roaming add-on.

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.

Yes you can purchase additional add-on after the first US add-on expires.  Please not that there is a one day wait before you can purchase the same US roaming add-on.  But you can get another US add-on right after the expiry of the first one as long as they are not the same add-on.

[stonechucker]

@Derk, it seems like you purchased the Long Distance FROM Canada to Canada and the US, rather than the US Roaming talk plan.  The 200 minutes will not work in the US, as they are a domestic addon.

Yes, the addons are two-step, but if you know ahead which ones you want, you can load the entire cost of them as a one-time payment, then each add-on would then be one click.