An American prepaid phone that works in Montreal?

[EagerBeaver]

If it does work, get ready to see your minutes melt very fast, the international roaming fees are quite high. It might be worth it to simply get a prepaid in Canada, depending how much you'll use it here.

I spoke to AT&T Customer Service today and this is exactly what I was told. I am an AT&T customer who has a smartphone and data plan. I was told the following:

1. Buying a prepaid phone in Canada is a better option than a Go Phone due to the burnoff of minutes on International calls - but a Go Phone is a good option if all you are doing is local calls.

2. A better option for me could be to shut off the data plan on my phone, program it for WiFi locally and then buy a package of 80 minutes for $30, which includes international and local calls although the 80 minutes is good for only 30 days.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

Have not read all the posts but will a pre-paid calling card not work on a US cell phone?

 

[gll]

bought the go phone in ny and took it to montreal. it worked great. thanks so much for the good advice!

 

[CLOUD 500]

will a pre-paid calling card not work on a US cell phone?

It would but you would be charged for roaming.

 

[greenacres99]

And, as I noted earlier. Go Phone offers a $3 per day plan that would be very nice if you only went a couple times per year and already have a primary phone. I do not know if they somehow charge extra in Canada under that flat rate. To the best of my knowledge neither CaptRenault nor I have received promotional consideration from Go Phone! :eyebrows:

 

[EagerBeaver]

And, as I noted earlier. Go Phone offers a $3 per day plan that would be very nice if you only went a couple times per year and already have a primary phone. I do not know if they somehow charge extra in Canada under that flat rate. To the best of my knowledge neither CaptRenault nor I have received promotional consideration from Go Phone! :eyebrows:

I spoke to AT&T customer service and they are not familiar with the service plan of which you speak. They told me the cheapest base package for Canada would be $24.99 plus tax - $14.99 for the phone plus $10 fill for use which is charged off at the rate of .39 per minute for local and international calls, and .25 for text messages sent and .20 for text messages received, local or international. That $10 refill lasts for 30 days.

There is no such thing as a flat daily rate plan for a Go Phone in Canada. You pay per usage as follows:

GoPhone® Roaming in Mexico
& Canada

Local & Long Distance Calls
(Inbound and Outbound)
25¢ per minute (Mexico)
39¢ per minute (Canada)
Text Messaging 25¢ per message sent
20¢ per message received
Picture Messaging $1.30 per message sent
25¢ per message received
Data 1.95¢ per KB

I think I am going to go with the above noted plan ($24.99) and then put in $10 refills for each trip. The other option is a Canadian prepaid phone but I do not want to place myself at the mercy of one of these companies that can possibly waste my time and rip me off, when I am an existing customer of AT&T and have the leverage of being able to pull the plug on them if they do not play fair. As demonstrated by the "Bell Sucks Hippo Balls" thread, there is no such leverage against foreign companies, plus they know it.

 

[greenacres99]

http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/prepaidplans.html

In the "Basic" prepaid plans table, the second to last row contains this info:

View details
$2 /day
Only on Days Used $2 charged only on days phone is used to make or receive a call (including calls to voice mailbox) or to send any message. This plan only allows pay-per-use data services for non-smartphone users.
Data packages may not be added to this plan. Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Pay per use
1¢/5KB

That is the option I was describing. For the second time--no idea if they somehow charge extra for that in Canada. BUT in the US, someone could theoreticlaly use the phone rather cheaply, but you still need to maintain the time balance.

 

[EagerBeaver]

http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/prepaidplans.html

In the "Basic" prepaid plans table, the second to last row contains this info:

View details
$2 /day
Only on Days Used $2 charged only on days phone is used to make or receive a call (including calls to voice mailbox) or to send any message. This plan only allows pay-per-use data services for non-smartphone users.
Data packages may not be added to this plan. Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Pay per use
1¢/5KB

That is the option I was describing. For the second time--no idea if they somehow charge extra for that in Canada. BUT in the US, someone could theoreticlaly use the phone rather cheaply, but you still need to maintain the time balance.

That plan is not available for Canada. As I said earlier.

 

[greenacres99]

BTW. I used my Gophone when I was up in the area the first week of June. Worked as advertised and the dollars didn't really peel off all that fast. Cheap enough for the task of arranging and confirming meetings.

 

[greenacres99]

That plan is not available for Canada. As I said earlier.

I'm not sure that AT&T is very good at documenting such stuff. In fact, I think they are pretty terrible at documenting it. What happens is that when you activate your phone you have to choose what plan you want. Both online and with the included paperwork there's no mention of where 2$ per day plan will work. Would it simply not connect in CA and you would be SoL? That's entirely possible. Hence, we ask questions and try to get feedback from users and info from customer service calls.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I bought a Go Phone and put $15 on it. Can someone explain to me how the phone communicates how much money is left at any given point in time? The AT&T rep was confused about this and told me to dial 611, but I fear that will use up my allotted money and get charged off at .39 per minute like all other calls. Thanks.

 

[greenacres99]

I bought a Go Phone and put $15 on it. Can someone explain to me how the phone communicates how much money is left at any given point in time? The AT&T rep was confused about this and told me to dial 611, but I fear that will use up my allotted money and get charged off at .39 per minute like all other calls. Thanks.

I admit the GoPhone is not as upfront as my tracfone was in regards to how many days and dollars are left in the "tank."

Two ways:
Set up an online account. Should have been given a PIN when you bought/setup phone https://www.paygonline.com/websc/Logoff.do

or

type in *777# [send] get a free text back with dollar and day balance. It's free in the U.S. and I'm 99.9% sure free in Canada.

 

[kaydee1968]

Eager,

Every time you make a call or send a text, you will get a text instantly telling you how much money you have left.

 

[EagerBeaver]

OK thanks for all the info guys. Greenacres, you brought up a very good question on the PIN#. If I was given one, I am unaware of it. I will now need to double check my paperwork. AT&T did let me select my phone number. I was given a list of about 15 phone numbers to choose from and I selected the one I thought would be easiest to remember.

The Go Phone is operational. AT&T sent me a text asking me to assess the performance of the Sales Rep who sold me the phone. I awarded him an 8 on a scale of 10. I also called my regular smartphone and it worked. It is not tested for Canada, which I can only do once I get to Canada obviously.

 

[EagerBeaver]

CR,

I registered online and was given a 4 digit "passcode". Is this my PIN number?

What happens if I do not refill it and decide $15 is enough, and then several months from now, I decide I want to put money on the phone? Why do I need to refill it within 30 days? What if I just refill it when I feel like it or right before my next trip to Montreal?