Cell phone options in Canada

[rachelfran]

I have an AT&T plan on my iPhone and will be on Vancouver only 4 days in August. AT&T requires that you take their international plan for a month - even though we are only there 4 days.

 

While I don't plan to make many calls, I need to be available to my kids - should they need something - and my sons camp - if they need to call.

 

Do folks just pay the higher fees for using their phones in Canada or are there other options that I'm not aware of?

 

Thanks.

[martincath]

You could pick up a cheap Pay As You Go phone, or buy/rent a SIM card. You can consistently get phones over the counter in 7-11 and other stores for under $50; right now there's a deal on for $79 for a phone, SIM, and your first $50 of credit. Buying a SIM is usually under $20 but you'll need your phone to be Unlocked.

 

Unless AT&T are going to charge you more than $50, or you're planning other Canadian trips, it's probably easiest to suck up the fee and keep your contact info the same...

[annee]

When we went to Mexico a few years ago we also needed to be available to our family. We also have AT & T. When we added the international plan, we were told we could cancel it after we got home and only pay for the days we used it, which is what we did. On top of the monthly fee is a charge for every phone call or text. Texts were cheaper, so that is what we used. I don't know if the same deal is available for Canada and if the fees are higher now. It was cheaper than buying a phone for $50, but we didn't use it very much.

[rachelfran]

Well called AT&T so for anyone else perusing these boards for this info - here it is :

 

incoming text messages are free with our unlimited text plan but outgoing would be 50 for $10, 200 for $30 or 600 or $60;

Phone calls are 80 minutes for $30 or 200 minutes for $60

 

Pay per use w/o the plan is $1.00 per minute

 

Data is $30 for 120 mb and $60 for 300 mb -- more data for more $$ is avail.

[SpokaneDan]

Just for comparison- Verizon plan

-- pre-existing txt plan - free txt (in/out) in Canada.

-- per minute charge making/recieving phone call in Canada approx. 70cents/minute.