Buying Phones in the US

I know this might sound extravagant but whenever we go to the states we buy 2 payg phones so my wife and I can keep in touch cheaply while we are there (we don't always want to do the same things on the same day).

Having done a bit of research Virgin Mobile are doing a deal at the moment where you buy $20 credit and get a free phone thrown in which sounds perfect for us. The only problem is the offer finishes the day before we arrive so of course we can't take advantage of it.

My question is, I'm thinking of ordering the phones and having them delivered to the hotel we're staying at but I don't know if this is safe or if the hotel will accept them before we arrive. Has anyone done anything like this before and if so did it all work out OK?

Thanks

Miopyk[8D]

[Decker]

I frequently have stuff delivered to the hotel a day or two before I arrive. Address

Guest: Miopyk Arrives MM/DD/YY
Hotel Whatever

What distances are you apart normally? They sell Walkie talkies with a 10km range now...

Originally posted by Decker
I frequently have stuff delivered to the hotel a day or two before I arrive. Address

Guest: Miopyk Arrives MM/DD/YY
Hotel Whatever

What distances are you apart normally? They sell Walkie talkies with a 10km range now...

Thanks Decker - On a couple of days we'll be in different parks e.g. the men in IOA and the ladies in Discovery Cove. I've looked at the walkie-talkie option but the phones seem to work out cheaper and of course more flexible.

I think I'll give it a go, thanks for your help.

Miopyk[8D]

Originally posted by miopyk
I know this might sound extravagant but whenever we go to the states we buy 2 payg phones so my wife and I can keep in touch cheaply while we are there (we don't always want to do the same things on the same day).

Having done a bit of research Virgin Mobile are doing a deal at the moment where you buy $20 credit and get a free phone thrown in which sounds perfect for us. The only problem is the offer finishes the day before we arrive so of course we can't take advantage of it.

My question is, I'm thinking of ordering the phones and having them delivered to the hotel we're staying at but I don't know if this is safe or if the hotel will accept them before we arrive. Has anyone done anything like this before and if so did it all work out OK?

Thanks

Miopyk[8D]

I use Tracfone when in the U.S.A. Available in many stores including Walgreens. You do need an internet connection to activate.

http://www.tracfone.com

From memory $19.95 gets you a basic Nokia phone and 2 hours credit.

Typical, just tried to order but they won't accept my card details. Back to plan B I guess. Thanks Andrew I'll have a look at Tracfone, in the past we've bought T-Mobile from Walmart as they've often had the best deals.

Miopyk[8D]

Originally posted by miopyk
Typical, just tried to order but they won't accept my card details. Back to plan B I guess. Thanks Andrew I'll have a look at Tracfone, in the past we've bought T-Mobile from Walmart as they've often had the best deals.

Miopyk[8D]

Order from http://www.amazon.com ... They take UK cards

The other thing is to get a Cingular phone - they usually have deals on where most of the cost of the phone is actually phone credits. They are pretty cheap in terms of UK and US calls whilst you are there.

But why do you buy a phone EVERY TIME? You don't need to do this. Buy a Virgin or Boost mobile PAYG phone ONCE!. Top it up with whatever your need then TAKE THE PHONE HOME with you. Let the credit expire, don't bother topping up. Then take it with you next time, buy a top up card and RE-ACTIVATE the phone. If the gap is more than 3 months you will loose all previous credit, if more than 5 months you will be allocated a new number.

But no need to BUY a fone EACH time.

I travel out once every 4 months at the mo, I have kept the same number for the past 2 years by topping up online using cards I bought whilst I was out there once every 3 months. I always use the money in calls when I visit anyway.

Boost are cheap for international calls and have Nextel 'Walkie-Talkie' technology built into them which costs you $1 per day but only on the days you use it.

Paul

Yes, we have a couple of Tracfones. We just renew the phones every time we visit and you can now make international calles for the same price as local calls.
If you do not keep the phone activated as we do, all that happens is you get a new phone number when you re activate (or change states)

You can buy Pay as you Go phones from places like Best Buy or Frys for around $20 or less per phone.

[preiffer]

Try here

Available from all Best Buys, etc. $0.20/min International calls back home, $0.10/min all others. Only downside is that it's based on the Sprint network, but other than that - they're fine.

OR Cingular/AT&T's offer is pretty similar too, but with the advantage of an (arguably) better network.

How did any of us function in the days before mobile phones?

Meet at x-place at y-time, and DON'T miss each other.

Boostmobile does it for me as the phones also include GPS and you will run Java based Sat Nav on a PAYG basis. In fact they have several different options.

Paul

[preiffer]

One thing to consider is the coverage areas and network.

Boost appears to be a CDMA network (so they're using the actual network of one of the following: Sprint, ALLTEL, Verizon Wireless, US Cellular, and Qwest communications)

Whereas AT&T/Cingular are GSM. The actual technology doesn't matter as much on a disposable/prepay phone that you'll rarely use, as the coverage area.

So, work out where you're likely to use the phone and then pull up the provider's coverage map. You'll see that some vary wildly depending on where in the US you're planning to use it. I *believe* that AT&T and Verizon have the largest coverage networks. Others may vary.

Originally posted by PVGSLF
How did any of us function in the days before mobile phones?

Meet at x-place at y-time, and DON'T miss each other.

No idea. I got my first one when I was 16. I've never organised a night out without one [:p]

Another option that I am currently using whilst in the USA is to buy 2 SIM cards before you leave the UK and use them in spare phones I had from home. I bought 2 T-Mobile SIMs from a reputable Ebay source. The text messaging and calls back to the UK are very reasonable as well. You also have the option of changing the number to wherever you are located thereby making it a local number.
Just another option

Cheers

Mark:D

[Bazz]

Topic moved from General Discussion to Travel Technology.

[Pete]

Ok. You got my attention . So what's the collective consensus on the best provider for a Pay-As-You-Go phone with a free handset - or should I just go with the Virgin Mobile deal for $19.99 of airtime? I think I'll get a couple for November.

Pete

[preiffer]

I've used Verizon, Cingular (now AT&T) and Virgin Mobile over the years.

Out of all of them, Virgin are the cheapest for International calls, and have the longest "validity" (you can add $100 and it's good for an entire year before expiring). They use Sprint's network, for the purposes of coverage checking.

Verizon had the best deals for "in-calling" (free calls to other VZ mobiles)

AT&T arguably had the best network coverage.


So... That probably didn't help! Virgin Mobile would probably get my vote if you're not *that* worried about having a decent handset. [y]

[Pete]

Is it worth ordering one and getting them to deliver to my hotel? Will (a) they do that, and (b) take a UK card? Or do you pick yours up in a store over there?

Originally posted by Pete
Is it worth ordering one and getting them to deliver to my hotel? Will (a) they do that, and (b) take a UK card? Or do you pick yours up in a store over there?

Both Either order from http://www.amazon.com who'll take your UK card, or got to Walgreens, Walmart, Office World, Best Buy etc ...

Originally posted by preiffer
Out of all of them, Virgin are the cheapest for International calls, and have the longest "validity" (you can add $100 and it's good for an entire year before expiring).

Paul, Tracfone are now doing the same
http://www.tracfone.com/index.jsp

Calling UK from a Boost phone is $0.20 a minute or $0.31 for a mobile.

I had both a Virgin and Boost for a while and, whilst not scientific, I found the Boost to be cheaper than the Virgin.

You can also enable a feature on the boost that will tell you how long you can spend on your call based on available credit after dialing but before connection.

Like I say above Boost has always done it for me (since finding out about them) as they have

PTT facility - Free Walkie Talkie calls ($1 a day usage)
Cheap Calls - Both national and International
GPS - Plus available Java based Sat Nav - Some have decent free trials - generally about $1-$2 a trip after that

The one downside for me about boost is that they do not accept UK Credit cards either online or over the phone so for me I am limited to buying top up cards. Virgin on the otherhand accept paypal which is very convenient!

Paul

[mitchja]

I've just booked some travel with Expedia and until the end of October, if you book an international trip, they are giving away a free SIM4travel SIM card worth £20 which also includes £10 worth of call credit on it.

Not sure if it's of any use to anyone, details here

Regards