When you’re using your phone in another country, choosing pay-per-use carrier fees might be a great way to save money… but it all depends on how much you’ll be calling and texting.
If you’re travelling soon and you’re not sure how much it’s going to cost to use your phone on vacation, we can help you decide.
Ready?
Let’s walk through exactly what happens when you use your regular phone number in another country, and how your choices will affect the phone bill you get after you’re back at home.
How your SIM card works at home
If you have a cell phone plan with a carrier, you have one of their SIM cards (or digital SIM cards called eSIMs).
Having that SIM in your phone means you have a regular ‘home’ network that it connects to automatically.
The network lets you make phone calls and send text messages from your cell phone number. It probably also provides mobile data (internet).
As long as you’re in usual ‘coverage zone’ (which is usually anywhere in your home country), you don’t have to worry about any extra fees.
How your SIM card works in other countries
Your cell phone carrier wants to keep things easy for you when you travel… at a cost.
So if you travel to a new country, they’ll probably let you use your regular SIM normally – calling, texting, and mobile data – by ‘roaming’ temporarily on a partner network.
But because you’re not using your ‘regular’ network, it’s going to be more expensive.
Your phone carrier is required, by law, to send you a short text explaining that you’re roaming on a new network and can expect to see $$$ extra charges on your next phone bill. But they usually don’t explain how you’ll be charged, or how much it’s going to cost.
Okay, how much does it cost?
Short answer? It depends!
There are three different ways cell phone carries might charge you to use your phone in another country…
Option #1: Free roaming in select destinations
Cost: FREE
Anyone who lives in the EU (European Union) can often travel to other countries within Europe and roam freely on local networks. Sometimes Canadians and Americans also have free roaming anywhere within North America, depending on their plan.
This is a fantastic deal, if you can get it! But be sure to check before travelling to see if your destination is included.
Option #2: Carrier travel plan
Cost: $10 to $30 daily
Sometimes, phone carriers will decide it’s easier to just charge a flat daily rate ($10-$25) for each day you use your phone on vacation.
Carrier travel plans can be a great option if you’re someone who’s going to be calling and texting a lot. But they can be a waste of money otherwise, since they’re triggered by activity. Given that, a single text could end up costing you the full $20/day rate.
Option #3: Pay-per-use rates
Cost: Starts at 25 cents per text, or $1 per calling minute
Usually, you have to request this option from your carrier. Most of them will try to place you on a carrier travel plan instead, since it’s easier for them.
You’ll be charged per-minute for each phone call (so keep ’em quick) and for each individual text message with your regular phone number. (iMessages don’t count, as they run over the internet and aren’t tied to your phone number.)
Are pay-per-use carrier rates expensive?
Pay-per-use rates for calls and texts are typically pretty affordable, and you can see the exact costs on your carrier’s website if you dig around.
For texting, it usually starts at 25 cents per text message. (Some carriers only charge for texts you send, and they won’t charge you for incoming messages.)
For calling, it usually starts at about $1 per calling minute. The rate depends on what country you’re in, and what country you’re calling.
Pay-per-use rates for data, however, can be expensive. Imagine being charged for every single MB of internet usage! You could go broke just Googling something, or loading up your Instagram app.
We strongly recommend toggling off ‘Data Roaming’ so your carrier can’t charge you for mobile data when you’re away from home. If you want internet on your trip, it’s much cheaper to use an eSIM for local data instead. Here at aloSIM, that’s kind of our speciality.
Sample pay-per-use carrier rates
Let’s run through some examples of how much you might pay in pay-per-use rates for calling and texting on vacation.
Karen and Leah are both travelling from Canada to Mexico. They have each installed a Mexico eSIM for affordable local data, and toggled off Data Roaming on their Canadian SIM cards.
They decided to leave their Canadian SIM cards active so they could still get calls and texts on their Canadian cell phone numbers during the trip.
Assuming they each make exactly the same number of calls and texts, here’s how much they will each be charged on their next phone bill…
| Day of vacation | Phone activity | Karen’s phone bill (Daily travel plan) | Leah’s phone bill (Pay-per-use) |
| Monday | Sending a text to say they arrived safely | $20.00 | $0.25 |
| Tuesday | Phone call home (3:02 minutes) | $20.00 | $4 |
| Wednesday | Sending iMessages over Wi-Fi or data | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Thursday | Sending two texts from the airport | $20.00 | $0.50 |
| Extra charges on their next phone bill | $60.00 | $4.75 | |
If Karen and Leah both made exactly the same number of phone calls and send the same number of texts, why is Karen’s phone bill going to be $55 higher?
Well, Karen didn’t contact her carrier before travelling to Mexico. When they saw she was in another country, they automatically placed her on their carrier travel plan ($20/day). Every time she used her Canadian cell number, it triggered the plan and she was charged $20 for the day.
Leah contacted her carrier before the trip, and asked to only be charged pay-per-use rates for individual calls and texts. Since she didn’t use her Canadian cell phone number very much, she was only charged a few extra dollars.
How do I get pay-per-use carrier rates?
If you’re a traveller like Leah, and you don’t plan on calling or texting very much on vacation, pay-per-use rates would be a good idea.
1. Contact your phone carrier BEFORE your trip
2. Explain where you’ll be travelling and ask about their pay-per-use rates
3. Confirm you only want to be charged pay-per-use rates
4. Request that you NOT be placed on a daily carrier plan
During your trip, be mindful that you will be charged for individual texts and calling minutes. Try to keep those conversations brief.
Want a cheaper way to call and text?
If you want to call and text on vacation, but it doesn’t need to be on your regular phone number, consider using a free international phone number from Hushed – included with the purchase of travel data from aloSIM.
