Americans Living in Europe - Phone when visiting States

This is what you want: http://www.tracfone.com/

Depending on how much you use the phone, one of the T-Mobile prepaid plans might work.

Just go to Walmart and pick up a Tracfone or a Straight Talk or Go or any number of prepaid phones. My kids both use Straight Talk and are happy with them. Their prepaid service includes unlimited talk, text, and data.

There are a large number of prepaid phone companies; almost all of them are sold at Best Buy stores, so you can go there and compare. One thing to know about: if you will be calling Italy (or any foreign country) regularly, check the rates for international calls. Many of the prepaid plans have extremely high rates for these calls (and texts), but some don't. I see that TracFone gives you an 800 number, and international calls made from this number are charged only for domestic minutes. I use T-Mobile. It has the advantage of only needing to be topped up once a year, if you set it up right. You buy $100 of credit right away, and you are then a "gold rewards" member, meaning your minutes (1000 of them for this rate) last a year, as do all subsequent top ups. If you're not using your phone much, you only need to add $10 a year (yes, $0.83 per month!) to keep it active. This is a big advantage for someone who is out of the country for months at a time; many other plans require $50-100 per year be added to keep the phone active, and it has to be done every 2-3 months. Of course, if you're using it more, you can add $25, $50 or $100, any time you wish. Finally, T-Mobile US now roams in many countries (although it's $1.49 per minute). Disadvantages? The biggest one is that calls from the US to Italy are $1.99 per minute (texts are $0.35). Another is that data is not available with the plan I just described; if you want to be able to use smartphone features, you'll need something else. For any prepaid phone you get, make sure you can top up on-line, since you may not be in the US to buy top-up cards when your account is about to expire.

Bryan, I assume you're only looking for a "basic" phone without data? It shouldn't be too hard to find an inexpensive prepaid phone, as there seem to be lots available. Here are a few that I found: 7/11 TracPhone Virgin Mobile (also available at retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target and Radio Shack) ALL of these firms are MVNO's, so I have no idea what level of service or network coverage they have, or which cell networks they're attached to? If you have an unlocked quad-band phone, you could also check with AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon or Sprint to see what the prices are for a SIM and a PAYG plan. Cheers!

I go "old school" and do without a cell phone when I'm in the US. It drives my family nuts. I find it freeing. I was last back in May visiting my family and my mother kept trying to give me her phone so she could contact me. I politely declined. I've survived up to 3 weeks at a time in the US without a cell phone. Most of the time I'm in a family member's house, but not always. But do bring your old cell phone (I do). It can be used to call 911 in an emergency, even without being on a plan.

I really don't know the best solution, but I can tell you what not to do. For a trip I made back to the US last year, I ordered a cheap AT&T Go Phone, with the intent to use it for domestic calls while in the states. I made the mistake of activating it over the internet BEFORE I arrived in the US. Apparently, because it could not receive the activation signal, the process expired after 24 hours and the SIM card became useless. I called AT&T to try to get the SIM card reactivated, and the response I got was that this was impossible. My only option was to buy another phone. Thanks for your great customer support, AT&T!

I can understand why Dina would not want to have a phone in the US, but that doesn't work for us. We generally have a great deal of business to attend to while we are there and so it is not just a vacation for family. We just use a cheap prepaid phone with basic service. I don't know that any one is better than another.

Thanks to all. I appreciate Ken's warning about the dangers of doing an online purchase/activation. Even though there may be some better deals to be had online, I don't want to take any chances and will probably just wait till I am there and purchase something in a good old-fashioned store. As for international calls, I don't anticipate having to make them at all, or at least it would be a fairly rare occurrence, and I can always use Skype for that. Much as I would like to do as Dina and go cellphoneless, like the good old days when we survived without them, it just isn't in the cards. My philosophy with cell phones is: they are for my convenience, not yours. If I don't want to answer, I don't. If I want to leave it on silent and not notice when it rings, I do. But when I need to make a call (while on the road, etc.), I can. Also, if I don't have a cell phone, it means I need to have a land line with voice mail, etc., which is less flexible. ( Ken: yes, basic will do. I occasionally send texts but the majority of usage is just for voice calls.) Cell phones are complicated everywhere, and there being more and more companies providing service has not seemed to result in greater clarity or lower prices, which is frustrating. But I must say that things, to me, seem to be a bit easier over here in Europe in this regard. At least, notwithstanding having to figure out things like what the heck a "scatto alla risposta" was (quaint old-fashioned terminology for "connection fee"), it seemed to me easier to understand and compare Italian plans than American ones. Maybe it was the novelty that was piquing my interest... James, I am home two or three times a year, and the cell phone is definitely better for me than a landline. Again, thanks to all!

I'm ready to begin using tom-toms for communication in the US. First I got a phone at Wal-Mart, but had to reactivate by computer every time I came into the US. Well....like to call the folks when I land so that didn't work well. Then I got an AT&T tracphone in Ohio, no problems that trip traveling to FL and then IL. THis trip, tried to use in FL first thing and was unable to, called AT&T (several times, finally got an American who understood the problem) but was told had to change the zip code on my paperwork to use in Florida, and what was the zip code in Ohio where I got the phone. HUH? You can't look that up, and BTW I was there for surgery and who the heck knows the zip? Finally hung up in extreme frustration. All I can say is---good luck! I'm thinking now the pay monthly plan would be the best, even tho more expensive!! PS Moving to Texas soon tho, and I can assure you I will not use AT&T for my phone service! Are you listening AT&T???

@Elaine, THAT's the point ATT NEVER listens. Besides the evil empire of Bank of America, ATT has the worst customer service in the world!!!!!

Claudia, I know!! And funny you should mention B of A, I just read a review on a branch in Texas and the person said they keep screwing up his deposits from the drive thru window, sure swayed me from doing business with them now!

Bryan, One other thought occurred to me, however I don't know if this is a concern with U.S. cellular networks. What typically happens in this area, is that when customers sign-up for a cellular plan, the assigned number determines their "home area". Rates will be cheapest with either incoming or outgoing calls within that area, but if they make a call outside that area long distance rates will apply. Also, if they travel outside of the home area, they will pay long distance from their home area to wherever they happen to be. I've noticed that some U.S. cellular networks sometimes offer "nation wide calling", so that's definitely a feature I'd ask about. If you plan to stay within a somewhat limited area during your trip, that may not be a concern. Good luck with your choice!

Harold, Thanks for the clarification. As I mentioned, I wasn't sure what the situation is currently like in the U.S., as my plan is with one of the Canadian networks. It's good to hear that the "nation wide calling" is in effect there. Rogers has a "My 5/10" option, which allows country-wide calling or texting to specific numbers, but it's not universal. Hopefully nation wide will be coming here at some point. Cellular plans and capabilities are constantly changing, so it's a real effort to keep up with all of them!

Ken, The issue of ''domestic roaming" is a problem in Canada, and Russia (and maybe other places - these are the two that I know about). But it's no longer an issue in the US. All the companies now have "nationwide minutes" and there are no "long distance" or "domestic roaming" fees for the prepaid phone plans. Oh, I'm sure someone will come on here and tell me of the one, last, remaining plan that doesn't offer nationwide minutes, but they really have gone the way of the dial-up modem. Thank goodness.

"Cellular plans and capabilities are constantly changing, so it's a real effort to keep up with all of them!" That's for sure! Bryan, For details (and I mean details) of various plans that involve GSM networks in the US, here's my go-to website. T-Mobile and AT&T are the GSM operators, and then there are the MVNO's (Mobile Virtual Network Operators, which are companies that lease bandwith from the main operators). http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/usa.php Note that since the US also has CDMA networks, there are other prepaid plans not on that website. Sprint and Verizon use CDMA; Verizon has its own prepaid plan, and Virgin Mobile US and Boost are two MVNO's that use Sprint's network. Coverage varies by region; for New York City, it's always said that Verizon has the best reception. If you're going to a less populated area, be sure to check, as some carriers have no coverage at all in some areas, and others have very spotty coverage. And be aware that the coverage on a prepaid plan can be different than on a contract plan, as they don't roam (for example, my T-Mobile prepaid doesn't have as much coverage as T-Mobile on a contract).

Thanks, Harold. It is mind-boggling. Even being as frugal as I am (from a long line of frugal folks), at a certain point I throw my hands up in the air and say, "Whatever! I'll pay whatever! Just as long as I don't have to figure out anything else!". What a mess! Thanks to all for your suggestions.

Bryan, T-Mobile has some gaps in its coverage, but it still is the cheapest of the big four native carriers. It also now lets you get some data on a prepaid plan that aren't at super outrageous rates. Here's another advantage: If you buy a recent vintage Android phone that was sold by T-Mobile originally, it will likely have their wifi calling feature on it. With that you can send and receive calls to U.S. numbers over wifi from anywhere in the world. These calls are treated as domestic calls and are charged against your minutes. You can set your phone so it only will connect over wifi which might make it useful even when back in Europe. Wifi calling is supposed to work for prepaid accounts, too. You may need to buy the phone from some source such as eBay.