Save Money on Phone Calls When Traveling

GSM cell phone services (ie. AT&T and T-Mobile) are great because they use the same standard many European carriers use. This means you can take your cell phone with you abroad and you can make calls -- although you will pay for them through the nose. I was reading recently about people traveling abroad with iPhones running on the AT&T network who received emails and other data transfer and had obscene bills (see here).

When I was traveling abroad last year I went old school and purchased a phone card to use at a pay phone. This year I decided to do some research, and although its not the cheapest option in the world and regular old phone cards might still be more effective another option to look into is prepaid sims like those offered by MAXroam. These companies allow you to buy a sim chip (those of you with AT&T or T-Mobile should be familiar with sims) that you can pop into your cell phone and will give you a local number wherever you are traveling. That means you can use your phone more easily abroad and get WAY cheaper calling and roaming rates.

Unfortunately these services aren't available to many people in the US for two reasons. First, most of us have a carrier other than AT&T or T-Mobile -- thus, our phones don't run on a GSM based network. Second, to use a prepaid sim service you need to own an unlocked phone. U.S. carriers sell almost exclusively phones locked or tethered to their cell phone service. To unlock your handset you need to either convince your carrier to do so or purchase/find an unlock code online. If you place a different carrier's sim in your locked phone you won't be able to make outgoing calls.

Lets get down to the dollars and cents... how much can you save? A roaming call when I was traveling abroad in Spain ran over $2 USD / min. Based on the MAXRoam website the cost of a sim is $29.99 (Euros) and that includes a 5 euro calling credit. Incoming calls run just .25 euro / min and outgoing calls .38 euro / min. That savings is substantial if you plan on placing a fair number of calls while traveling - or if you just want to have a way for people to contact you while traveling.

If you have used a similar sim service let us know which one and what kind of rates you paid.

Image: KB35 @ Flickr

Cell Phone Carrier Tips & Tricks

The vast majority of people in the US use one of four major cell phone providers Cingular, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile. Additionally, the vast majority of cell phone users in the US are dissatisfied with the customer service provided by these companies.

What you may not have known is that many of those same pushy reps that attack you at the wireless stores and mall have flexibility to negotiate with prices and incentives. The Consumerist has recently seen a rash of former employees from these big four providers write in with tips and tricks about how to game the system. I'll give a quick summary of the tips for each of the big four. These may not work in all scenarios, but the worst thing they can say is "no" so what do you have to lose?

Cingular

1. You can sometimes avoid contract extensions if you change your plan at a store.
2. When buying a new phone offer to purchase accessories and data packages for a reduced price phone. You can cancel the package the minute you leave and return the accessories later.
3. You may be able to convince the commission hungry rep to give you the rebate in the store. Then you can go to the website and print off the mail-in rebate form, submit it and voila.
4. Negotiate to get website prices in store.
5. If you go over on your plan go in and as for them to credit the difference if you up your plan. You can always drop down again later.
   

Verizon

1. Reps get paid more for new contracts than upgrades.
2. Reps make tons of commission on accessories and text packages, so use them as a negotiating tool. Mention you will get a text package and accessories and you give yourself leverage for getting a good phone deal.
3. Mention the lost or stolen program for 25% off.
4. If your package is 59.99 a mo or higher you may be able to get a new phone at a discount after 12 mo.
5. The Unlimited Data Plan with a new Treo will get you a massive discount on your phone because it counts almost as much for reps as a new sign-up.
6. Insurance and 2 yr contracts are a rip-off.

Sprint

1. (This is probably not legal and as a result I'm not endorsing this one at all) If you lose, break or have your phone stolen you can get one on eBay and bring it in after it is activated. If you have the extended warranty they will probably cover it and replace it. Of course they will catch on if this happens repeatedly.
2. Buy at the end of the month when reps are desperate.
3. Try to get the Sprint Employee Referral offer. Don't know an employee? Grab a business card from a rep to get a steal on your min package.
4. Work for a big company? You can probably get a big discount.
5. Switch to electronic billing and statements, then move your address to some random place outside Sprint coverage. You can then probably convince them to break your contract without penalty because they can't serve you anymore.

T-Mobile

1. T-Mobile can price match on same services, for same terms.
2. Reps can give away accessories so ask for some accessories if you throw in a messaging package.
3. Play the rebate game like with Cingular, ask for it in store then fill it out online too
   
4. Reps don't get paid much based on how large your voice package is.
5. If you break your phone, buy a prepaid on and put your sim chip in it.
6. You can get a better deal if you upgrade over the phone.
7. Call to get your phone unlocked. That way you can move to Cingular (or another provider that supports the same network if you want later).
   

Stick it to "the man" with the help of the consumerist and read the full text of the articles I used for this post: T-Mobile, Cingular, Verizon, Sprint