USA prepay Sim card recommendation

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networkn

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#303108 17-Jan-2023 01:48

Hi.

Spending some time in NYC soon.

Am trying to determine if I should just VF roam at $7 a day or get a local Sim. Don't need many call options, just want lots of fast mobile internet. I'd guess at least 15GB.

Anyone have recent experience with carriers etc?

jamesrt

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#3022476 17-Jan-2023 04:51

Yes; we're still in the US as I type this - heading home later today.

We got a T-Mobile prepaid SIM when we arrived; we paid for 10Gb data/30 days, and have used around 6 or 7 over 20 days; with two phones sharing that data via WiFi hotspot.

Coverage has been good, even in the National Parks as well as urban areas.

T-Mobile Shop charged $10 for the SIM in addition to the cost of the prepay plan, which I wasn't expecting; but didn't surprise me that much.

The only real issue is that the T-Mobile app for managing the plan is only in the US Google Play Store, and couldn't be loaded onto phone given its using a NZ based Google account. Workarounds exist if you care that much; E.g. balance info is available via dialling '#web#'.

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#3023364 18-Jan-2023 20:00

I have used Simcorner in the US and Canada with great results. Just tell them when you are there, pop the sim in and you have 28 days of internet and service. The only downside is that you can’t top them up so if you are staying for more than 28 days it is annoying.

I have just recently used Simcorner in Aussie but had to visit an Optus store to get them activated.

My experience trying local sims in Canada and the US has been poor, expensive in the former and frustrating in the latter but they last time I purchased in the US was 2018 and I believe it has got a lot better.

Safe travels!

networkn

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#3023423 18-Jan-2023 21:07

There is a Tmobile about 200m from our hotel. Simcorner requires a simcard? I've not used E-Sim but places like MintMobile who seem pretty popular use those..

Yoban

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#3023429 18-Jan-2023 22:05

Have used mint mobile and esim. Very easy and good coverage as they utilise T-Mobile network from memory.

Kiwifan

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#3023436 18-Jan-2023 22:34

networkn:

There is a Tmobile about 200m from our hotel. Simcorner requires a simcard? I've not used E-Sim but places like MintMobile who seem pretty popular use those..

Yeah it is a physical sim. I guess with eSims becoming more popular it may be the easiest way to get some data. Coincidentally I watched a Marketplace (Canada) documentary on YouTube last night on Canadian telcos and their pricing. Horrendous.

eracode

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#3023453 19-Jan-2023 03:52

Was in Palm Springs, CA, for a month pre-Christmas. Went to AT&T on day one and got an eSIM set up on my iPhone 14. One month pre-paid with 5GB data. Was quick and easy - cost USD20.

Owing to prior experience with them, I made sure I paid physical cash - so that they didn’t have a credit card number. Another time years ago, I used a credit card and they kept charging the card each month - after we had returned home. I had wanted a prepaid arrangement but ended up with a normal account.

Once back in NZ, it was literally impossible to contact them to cancel the arrangement and our bank couldn’t help - had to cancel that card and get a new one - major PITA.

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#3023454 19-Jan-2023 05:03

We used T mobile in NYC in 2021. It worked very well. It was pretty pricey for what it was though, if you are there for a week or less $7 a day will probably work out cheaper.

lissie

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#3032744 7-Feb-2023 01:06

I think Im going to make the leap to an esim this time. I'm seeing much cheaper rates for an esim with Airalo

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julianz

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#3049465 13-Mar-2023 09:57

lissie:

I think Im going to make the leap to an esim this time. I'm seeing much cheaper rates for an esim with Airalo

How did the Airalo work out? They look good but their marketing is super spammy so it's hard to tell if they're any good in the real world. Heading to NYC/Atlanta for a couple of weeks and thinking an esim is the way to go.

lissie

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#3049491 13-Mar-2023 11:16

julianz:

lissie:

I think Im going to make the leap to an esim this time. I'm seeing much cheaper rates for an esim with Airalo

How did the Airalo work out? They look good but their marketing is super spammy so it's hard to tell if they're any good in the real world. Heading to NYC/Atlanta for a couple of weeks and thinking an esim is the way to go.

Not going until July - so you maybe able to tell me :-) I downloaded the app and made an account but that's all I've done. I was going to buy the cheapest USA plan just before we fly out - its only US$4.50 so worth a punt. I've heard from plenty on travel forums having good success with it - but it's mainly Americans travelling in Europe. USA has always been a PITA for SIMs so maybe things are different there - or not! I'm quite impressed by their coverage - they claim to cover Greenland!

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Dulouz

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#3049563 13-Mar-2023 13:24

julianz:

lissie:

I think Im going to make the leap to an esim this time. I'm seeing much cheaper rates for an esim with Airalo

How did the Airalo work out? They look good but their marketing is super spammy so it's hard to tell if they're any good in the real world. Heading to NYC/Atlanta for a couple of weeks and thinking an esim is the way to go.

I used Airalo for a recent trip to the US and while the data worked fine I came to regret it for the following reasons.

1. The data seems to use a Israeli provider so you get unusual search results on Google

2. It doesn't include a mobile number. This caused issues when we tried to rent NYC city bikes. I came up with a round workaround but it took a lot of work. One drink shop we went to required a mobile number when ordering food via their kiosk.

Next time I'd just get a T-Mobile physical sim. I tried their e-sim product but couldn't get it to work.

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#3049656 13-Mar-2023 16:30

I used Airalo for a recent trip to the US and while the data worked fine I came to regret it for the following reasons.

1. The data seems to use a Israeli provider so you get unusual search results on Google

2. It doesn't include a mobile number. This caused issues when we tried to rent NYC city bikes. I came up with a round workaround but it took a lot of work. One drink shop we went to required a mobile number when ordering food via their kiosk.

Next time I'd just get a T-Mobile physical sim. I tried their e-sim product but couldn't get it to work.

Thanks I've had the US phone number thing before - last time many Covid test places required a US phone number. It's more inconvenient to me to lose my NZ number so I'm happy to work around that.

Did using a VPN not sort out the google localization issue?

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Brunzy

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#3049742 13-Mar-2023 18:35

I used Airalo last year, seamless ,and paid for itself immediately as ordering an Uber was half the price of getting a shuttle to the hotel..
You could use Google Voice for calls