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AT&T International tid-bit

Posted by (Tucson) on

I'm working on getting ready for this trip and am thorougly confused with all the cell phone techno babble :-) So....

I just got off the phone with the AT&T person and discovered that

1) I do not have to get a new SIM card

2) I'll pay a prorated $5.99/month to be on the World Traveler Plan. (I'll be gone two weeks, so I'll be charged half of that). I can call them from the airport before I leave and they'll turn it on instantly.

3) It will cost me $.99/minute to call both my hubby (on the trip with me) and home.

4) Texts I send will cost $.50; if there's a picture involved it will cost $1.30

5) Incoming texts are free

6) I will have to pay for incoming calls (even if my phone is turned off and even if it goes to voice mail), so I should have AT&T send all incoming calls directly to my Voice Mail - this keeps the call from leaving the country and I will not be charged for the call. This is a free service and it can be turned on instantly when you call them from the airport to say you're leaving the country.

7) I should change my voice mail message to say that I am not receiving incoming calls, but please text me. This way I will know if someone wants to find me.

8) My phone will access the internet for updates if I don't tell it not to. This will cost $.02 per kilobite. Not a clue what that means, but it will get expensive, so I need to turn off Data Roaming.

9) I will incur charges if I use my phone to access the internet. However, if I turn off the "roaming network" on my phone, I can use any WiFi connections to access the internet on my phone without paying any fees to AT&T. Any WiFi charges will be with whoever provides the internet access (ie. if your hotel has free WiFi you're good to go)

I am not advertising AT&T, I'm just sharing my newfound knowledge. If someone thinks I have misinterpreted what the AT&T guy said on the phone, I would welcome your corrections.

Have a great night! Merritt

Posted by
51 posts

This is correct. It's just really expensive. .99/min & .50/text adds up fast. The European SIM cards are MUCH cheaper. I paid .07/min with the one I bought in Austria. It's not that AT&T won't work there. It's just overpriced. The per minute normal cost is $1.29/min. The world traveler plan only reduces it to .99/min. Not a big enough reduction in my book.

I don't think incoming texts are free, but I could be wrong. I could swear I got charged for those back in January. Maybe not.

Posted by
32352 posts

Merritt,

I'm not thoroughly familiar with the AT&T rate plans, but your description sounds similar to what other AT&T customers have described. The most important point to remember is to switch off the data portion of your phone (ie: NO E-mail or Internet!)! Otherwise you could be faced with a huge bill when you get home.

Incoming text messages are normally free with most carriers, so I believe what they told you was accurate. The roaming costs vary a bit depending on the country (some of the eastern European countries are subject to much higher roaming charges).

My roaming rates are somewhat similar:

In-country calls - $1.00 / minute

Calls back to North America - $2.00 / minute

Incoming calls - $2.00 / minute (since they have to be routed from my home area)

Incoming texts - Free

Outgoing texts - 60¢ each

I've found that the best way to keep costs to a manageable level is to keep voice calls to a bare minimum and use text most of the time.

Happy travels!

Posted by
881 posts

Great post, Merritt. Thank you. We'll be using our AT&T phone on our trip.

Posted by
272 posts

Merritt -
Great post. Thanks much. I have AT&T too and figured I would be calling them soon myself to find out all these details before heading on my trip this summer. I am going to print out this post, still probably call myself but at least I now have some advanced knowledge going in to the call. If you find out anything different/additional please post. THANKS!

Posted by
12313 posts

My T-Mobile razor is also 99 cents per minute. That's still cost restrictive for me as I like to call ahead each day for lodging and may have to make three or four calls of several minutes each, sometimes longer.

Posted by
8058 posts

I too have ATT, and rely usually on my roaming when travelling. I agree with Robin that the World Traveller plan does not gain you much; but as to whether I would consider this expensive and that Sim cards are a better option...is really dependent on use. I only use my phone for emergency contact, or if my wife and I separate, a quick call to coordinate meeting up. To me, this is not enough to justify unlocking my cell and getting a SIM card. If I need to make extended calls home, I can also get a 5 euro phone card or two that will last me most of a trip.

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