Sim for US

[Gunner123]

Good Morning, Hi I was wondering if anyone could suggest a reliable sim for my son, he will be traveling to the US [San Francisco] for four days next month Thanks 

[mech9t5]

Don't listen to the people pushing Mint Mobile. @buiya has it right.  Mint price is advertised per month but it requires you to pay 3 months up front.  Plus all the taxes and fees for 3 months.  The total cost is around $50 USD.

hopefully OP, you have a phone that supports esim because it makes things much easier.

If you are on an iphone, you could get free service via tmobile's test drive though it is a bit of a hassle because you have to switch your itunes account to USA.  I did it last month and was able to get 30 days of service free when I went for 10 days to Hawaii.  I did it all at home and then flipped my esim to tmobile when I landed and had service right away.

For my Android phone (pixel 4a), I did USMobile which was easy to purchase while in Canada as well.  Added the esim at home and had service upon landing at Hawaii.  This one is 14 day free trial, so technically you could get your money back but I paid them.  It ended up being around $19 USD for 10gb of data for 30 days.

Another option I didn't try was using international esim.  you can check out airalo.  I haven't used them but reports indicate they are ok.  They are $16 USD for 5gb and if you use a referral you can get $3USD off.  I've never used it so I don't have a referral but I'm sure they are easy to find.  They also have 1gb and 3gb options, $4.50 and $11 respectively.  With the $3 off, it is a pretty good deal.

[BKNS27]

@Meow @Gunner123 

The lowest plan at Tello is $6 for 100 minute talk, free text and 500mb of data.

$5 for 100 minutes talk, free text and no data using T-mobile.

Mint Mobile is $15 for unlimited talk & text and 4gb of data. They use 5G or 4G LTE using T-mobile.

[buiya]

the use case for Mint Mobile wouldn't work for this, their packages start with a minimum 3 month cycle at $45 USD, depending on what he needs it for the roaming option might be better and more convenient.

[jrivas24]

Sorry, I neglected to mention that the eSim.me adapter is only compatible with Android devices. Apple phones are not compatible. Good luck!

[jrivas24]

If your son is only going for 4 days, he will have access to wifi and will not have the need to use data where wifi is not available, the best thing to do if he wants to have the use of his PM number would be to purchase a US add-on. The unlimited US talk and text for $15 is an excellent deal and works great in the US. No need to swap Sim cards.

If he does not care about not having full use of his PM number, then a local Sim with a US number and a pay-as-you-go plan could work. Tell offers a PAYG credit of minimum $20 for talk, text and data to use as you need. Calling costs $.01/min, texting costs $.01/min and data costs $.02/MB.

Alternatively, the easiest and cheapest way to go is to use an eSim if his phone is eSim compatible or has an eSim adapter like eSim.me to convert his non-eSim phone into an eSim compatible phone and purchase a US data-only eSim from Airalo for $4.5 for 7 days if he is not going to use much data and use a free virtual number from TextNow for unlimited calling and texting. He can still use whatsapp with his own PM number even if his PM Sim card is out of his phone. This is what I do when I travel to the US and it works for me. Good luck!

[dust2dust]

If the account isn't with Public and you do get a US service then steer clear of Boost Mobile. We recently read of someone who got their phone locked and apparently has to wait up to 12 months to be able to get it unlocked by them. We haven't seen any other updates as to whether they paid for an external service or if Boost eventually did it. I wonder if it was a Samsung phone whether they could unlock it.

Either way, for any provider now, be wary of this possible locking problem. Ask the question. That customer signed up with an unlocked phone. Maybe it's only Boost.

[hTideGnow]

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@BorisDoris wrote:

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@hTideGnow wrote:

HI @Gunner123 If it is just 4 days and you don't use a lot of data, you can use Roaming add-on

But if you need a lot of data, definitely go with prepaid SIM.  Mint Mobile could be a good choice

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I sure US has a lot of free wifi at every corner for data.

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HI @BorisDoris 

While free wi-fi is eveywhere, Mobile Data is mobile data, you are driving , or you are lost, you need the Mobile 
Data to make voip calls or to find your way.  Wifi is never the same, especially you are travelling

[BorisDoris]

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@hTideGnow wrote:

HI @Gunner123 If it is just 4 days and you don't use a lot of data, you can use Roaming add-on

But if you need a lot of data, definitely go with prepaid SIM.  Mint Mobile could be a good choice

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I sure US has a lot of free wifi at every corner for data.

[CountyDownIeUk]

@Gunner123 

Does son have a PM account?

If yes. 

Although no reliability offered. 

[BKNS27]

@hTideGnow @Meow 

Here are the rates:

https://youtu.be/RYhyLURVzj0 

[Meow]

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@BKNS27 wrote:

@Gunner123 

Mint Mobile and Tello Mobile are the lowest prepaid SIM in the USA.

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Do you mind posting prices so we know what are you talking about, please?

[hTideGnow]

HI @BKNS27 

how good is Tello?  how does it compare with Mint?

[BKNS27]

@Gunner123 

Mint Mobile and Tello Mobile are the lowest prepaid SIM in the USA.

[hTideGnow]

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@JL9 wrote:

If you are going to use a PM add on and you are on the new rewards program. Take a look at how many points you have as you can actually get a discount from cash price by redeeming points.

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HI @JL9   I think OP is on the old program

[hTideGnow]

HI @Gunner123 If it is just 4 days and you don't use a lot of data, you can use Roaming add-on

But if you need a lot of data, definitely go with prepaid SIM.  Mint Mobile could be a good choice

[JL9]

If you are going to use a PM add on and you are on the new rewards program. Take a look at how many points you have as you can actually get a discount from cash price by redeeming points.

[Korth]

@Gunner123 

If your son is a Public Mobile customer then just get him to buy (and activate) a 10-day US Roaming add-on on the day he crosses the border.

If he plans to stay in San Francisco for a long time (months, years) then he's better off subscribing to a local provider. And better off asking the locals which local provider is the best deal.

AT&T Mobility probably offers the best network coverage in that area.

https://www.nperf.com/en/map/US/5391959.San-Francisco/187448.ATT-FirstNet/signal/?ll=37.761306113009...

I don't know which operator offers the best prices and plans in that area.

[Meow]

If it is 4 days only and he has to stay in touch, you could consider US add-ons offered by PM.

Be aware that US add-ons start immediately as you purchase them and are valid for the next 240 hours (10 days).

He can try to find local SIM but unless he knows exactly where to go to get one it might be hit and miss.

US Roaming for 10 day packages

Unlimited U.S. Talk, Text and 250MB Data Bundle = $20

Unlimited U.S. Talk and Text Bundle = $15

Unlimited U.S. Talk Only = $8

Unlimited U.S. Text Only = $8

U.S. Data Only for 10 day packages

250MB = $10

500MB = $15

1GB = $20

[HALIMACS]

@Gunner123 

Try T-Mobile or Mint Mobile

Good read here:

https://travelexplorator.com/best-prepaid-sim-card-for-usa/

Could also check out US Roaming options through his current mobile carrier.