Canada and US Cell Phones

[4_THE_HALIBUT]

My AT&T cell phone charges 79 cents per minute for international roaming, but drops to a mere 59 cents per minute if I add an international plan. Has anyone purchased a tracfone to use in Canada?

[Sally Forth]

Do they not have an intermediate plan that would include Canada? Canadian plans usually include US for a small extra charge.

 

Viv

[PennyAgain]

I have an international plan on my ATT IPhone that I use in my work. Note: IPhone. The charges in Canada were ridiculously high to use the IPhone. I was extremely careful in its use and got a bill for a couple hundred dollars. I did not use it for email or for the internet.

 

My personal ordinary cellphone is also with ATT. I got the international plan and paid 59 cents a minute for calls to the US.

 

I had been warned by ATT and by people at work that the charges for using an IPhone in Canada at this time are insane. No kidding!

[Putterdude]

I have a Tracfone that I use for my car while we are in AZ for the winter and it used to work here in British Columbia when I got home, however as of this year the local operators have shut down it's usage...so the answer is, no....darn it. I have also tried the US Virgin phone and it doesn't work either. Most of the mainline phones will work but as you have discovered, they are expensive but it is the same for we Canadians when we use our phones in the US.

[487]

For AT&T phones....How do you know if you are "roaming" ? Does the screen tell you ?

[PennyAgain]

Your screen says the name of the service provider. In eastern Canada I think it was Rogers.

[Ephraim]

Some US plans do offer free roaming in Canada. AT&T offers a North America plan that includes both the US, Canada and Mexico. They also offer a package for $3.99 a month called AT&T Canada which gives you a rate of 59c per minute in Canada instead of the usual 79c per minute.

 

Verizon is 49c a minute. They also have plans called Nationwide plus Canada.

 

Sprint is 59c a minute.

 

T Mobile is 49c a minute. Their prepaid phones also offer roaming in Canada at 69c a minute.

 

You can also buy a Rogers or Fido SIM on eBay if you are interested in Canadian pay as you go.

[crimsonbird]

hi - i called sprint (our carrier)

 

for no charge they added a feature that our phone will work in canada for 1 month ( we only need for 10 days). it is supposed to expire at the end of the time and is regularly $20 per month.

 

then, it is 59 cents per minute for incoming and outgoing calls. obviously, we will not answer my husband's business calls.

 

without the feature, the phone would not work at all.

[Susie51]

Thank you for the info. I won't try to use my cell phone while in Canada. I have an ATT phone card. How does this work in Canada?

[Putterdude]

Thank you for the info. I won't try to use my cell phone while in Canada. I have an ATT phone card. How does this work in Canada?

 

It will work the same as it does in the US but check with AAT about surcharges and or cost/minute. You may find that your best bet is to purchase a prepaid phone card at WalMart. I have an MCI card that I purchased at Costco some years ago and add minutes when ever I need to.

[Ephraim]

Thank you for the info. I won't try to use my cell phone while in Canada. I have an ATT phone card. How does this work in Canada?

 

AT&T phone cards will work in Canada (assuming you are talking about long distance cards). Prepaid cards also work, but they charge 2x for calls from Canada. The AT&T cards purchased in Canada offer the same rate in Canada as the US. Not all cards will work in Canada, in spite of their being a toll-free number, because some US companies block calls from Canada.

 

One of the best rate cards in Canada is offered by Loblaws / Great Canadian Superstore / Provigo / Maxi / Great Atlantic Superstore.

 

Pingo also works well.