AT&T Direct Toll-Free Access Codes?

When I used it last several years ago, it was completely automated. No live operator. Perhaps if the automated service doesn't understand you a live operator will pop up eventually.
Can't help you with the SIM question as I used Skype to call AT&T.

I suppose that if you need to contact your bank while in Europe there will be something of a fairly urgent nature that you want to discuss with them. I would just pay the $10 for the international day pass and dial their 1 800 number as usual. Taking care of an urgent concern without hassle would be well worth it to me on vacation.

I agree with the previous responder.

And as to your question 2, indeed, the French operator has no idea you are making a call that would be toll-free in the States. They will still charge you for the minutes you use to access a U.S. number.

I’ve used Skype to call US 800 numbers. These are free calls so I still haven’t used up a small balance on my account.

Link to Skype calling

if you look on the back of any credit card now, there is a direct dial number (i.e., not an 800 number) that says it's for international collect calls. so you would use the phone in your room or a payphone.

And that is why you should Xerox the front and back of every card you bring on your trip. You're welcome.

thanks all. Our backup plan was to swap in our US sim card and pay Verizon's fee if push came to shove. If we get a plan with unlimited minutes, I might try the AT&T Direct number to see if it works. And @phred - the problem with the international collect number for the bank on the back of the card was that you can't dial that number from Europe without going through an international operator if all you have is a European sim - the bank customer service rep did clarify/reinforce that for me (and it's also precisely what they say you have to do on their support website.) I've never used Skype minutes before, but last year when we went to Europe I had the worst time signing into to all Microsoft properties because they didn't recognize my phone or IP address, but I guess it's something else to explore.

(Actually the ATT rep said when she went to Bali, she just paid to use her ATT sim when she had to call the states. She had never tried to use ATT direct).

When you use AT&T’s USA Direct in France, you are dialing a France toll-free number (0800) where AT&T is the customer (e.g., AT&T is the customer of a French telecom operator). When you call this using a French telephone, no France toll charges are incurred as AT&T is paying the toll. AT&T then further connects you to the U.S. number and they charge for this service against a calling card, credit card, or collect. For the number listed as ”Orange”, I suspect this means Orange is the French operator, but I suspect that you don’t need an Orange phone (but son’t know for sure).

I used this service for business travel many years ago but I always used it with an AT&T calling card dialing from a land line. Once I started traveling with a mobile phone I quit using the USA Direct Service. I recall everything being automated, but I never attempted a collect call.

And as to your question 2, indeed, the French operator has no idea you are making a call that would be toll-free in the States. They will still charge you for the minutes you use to access a U.S. number.

When you use USA Direct, there is no French operator involved. You have dialed a toll free number in France. In France, toll free numbers start with ”0800”. There are no toll charges to your phone. The subscriber (AT&T) pays the toll to the French telecom company.

the problem with the international collect number for the bank on the back of the card was that you can't dial that number from Europe without going through an international operator if all you have is a European sim

You can dial it direct though (e.g., dial +1 followed by the U.S. number) and pay the charges on your European SIM.

Setup the Google Voice app on your phone before you leave the US. Then you can make free calls to any US number (not just 800 numbers) with the Google Voice app. No need to call anyone collect; just put your bank contact numbers into your phone contacts ahead of time. You will need to be on WiFi or have mobile data on our phone however. Try making calls with Google Voice on your phone at home before leaving for Europe so you will see how it works, but it will work the same over there.

You can get a new Google number too (free) so you can give people a US phone number for texting. I am able to receive calls on my Google number while in Europe, because somehow it linked to my Dutch Vodafone SIM last time I was there, so now they will allow incoming calls to my Google number (which is my regular number that I use for everything in the US anyway). But, I would not count on being able to receive incoming calls with the Google Voice app while in Europe. Incoming texts would work though.

The only time I needed to contact the bank, I used the number for international collect calls on the card. The bank reimbursed me for any phone charges.

Edited: I didn’t have a European SIM.

I tried to use Google Voice last year but we were in England, so my free American GV phone number did not work and GV can be unreliable b/c some institutions and sites don't allow VOIP communications. So frustrating.

Maybe the bank customer service agent was wrong, but she said the number on the back of the card would not work with a European sim. I suppose it couldn't hurt to try before hassling with ATT Direct and swapping in our US sim.

I've been using Google Voice for 15 years as my primary phone number (with forwarding to a cell phone). The Google Voice app is relatively new, only a few years old. But, I have found it works great in almost every situation for calling or texting anyone e.g. banks.

I have found a few issues with being able to use my Google number for 2FA (two factor authentication), but they are rare. In any case, it's easy to test Google Voice with your bank before you leave home. If you haven't tried it recently, try again - might work now. Try logging into your online banking, and add your Google number as one of the verification numbers, then see if you can login by getting a text to that number. If you can't...contact your bank and see if there's another option you can use while traveling. Or just bite the bullet and pay for international roaming while you are traveling so you can receive calls/texts on your AT&T phone. I don't think you'd be able to use a European phone number for verification either, even if it's not a VOIP number.