Anyone purchase vodafone sim on Amazon recently?

I purchased mine a few years ago and use it regularly on my trips. It's worked great in Germany, Poland, Hungary, Austria and more. I haven't used it in France or Spain.

I do buy their 30 day Big Value Bundles, which way more than cover my use. I maintain the SIM with a periodic text to keep my account active between trips.

Search the forum for my earlier post on using the "Vodafone UK SIM in Europe" for more details or feel free to ask more questions.

My main concern is whether or not what I would get from Amazon is worth buying before I travel or if I should wait until I'm in Spain/France

The value to me is spending the time before my trip to set it up and then having the same SIM for multiple trips with very little additional effort.

Others prefer to let someone else set it up for them once they're in country and may not care about having the same SIM (and number) across multiple trips.

I would say the choice is a difference in style and needs.

As for how well it works... for me it worked perfectly, no different than using my phone at home.

CWsocial - you have indeed provided excellent information in your previous posting(s); much appreciated and bookmarked.

I'm just unsure about how/where to buy here in the US. It seems it can't be initially purchased from the vodafone website? Or am I missing something?

I purchased mine on eBay for about $4. The last time I checked there were nearly identical SIMs available on Amazon, which may have been the ones you saw.

I believe you are correct that Vodafone UK does not sell them directly to addresses in the US.

Thanks very much; seems like the Amazon one is the same as if I could buy in the UK. They send it out free for UK addresses so paying for it on Amazon makes sense. And then I can buy the bundle just before leaving the US.

Mine (purchased on eBay) appeared identical to one I could have bought on Amazon or from Vodafone, had that been an option. Including the UK phone number. The packaging appeared to be Vodafone original.

You'll be able to activate it and add credit whenever you wish. And you are exactly correct to add the Big Value Bundle immediately before your trip, as that starts the 30 day clock.

Quick check since we didn't cover this earlier... your phone must be unlocked and mine is an older model Android.

If you purchase a 2nd Big Value Bundle within the 1st one's 30 days (they also indicate a 7 day grace period) they will rollover leftovers.

There were some websites.... including when I'm logged into My Account on Vodafone....that won't take a US credit card. My earlier post tells which links I've successfully used each time to add value and buy bundles.

You can imagine that some travelers wouldn't want to be bothered with all this. I find the convenience.... once setup.... to be well worth it.

I'm going with the 2 phone option. My newest phone is an unlocked iphone that is sim-ready if needed but I plan to take an older phone, also unlocked, for the sim. Our needs should be minimal for using the phone with sim but we will be driving at times in somewhat rural areas of both Spain and France and I want to be ready with a way to make a call or have data available if needed.

If you go to this site (thank you CWSocial) and scroll down the page about halfway you will see that Vodefone will provide you with a free SIM. I have not ordered one yet but plan to.

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/mobile/best-sim-only-deals/pay-as-you-go-sim#bundles

Phrank, I recall that when I was first researching the SIM Card and tried to buy/order anything directly from Vodafone UK that required an address, it would not validate my US Zip code - it asks for a Postcode and seemingly checks against its UK database - and therefore I could not proceed through the form to make the purchase. Originally, that is why I bought my SIM from eBay.

Please do report back to us if you are successful.

Ditto to CWsocial's reply; doesn't seem possible for a non-UK resident to buy from the vodafone website. I ordered mine from Amazon and will activate just before we depart on April 23.

My apologies. I thought that this was a new offer. I should have tried it prior to posting.

I'm just glad you weren't depending on that ordering route, only to find it wouldn't work and then have to scramble for an alternate!

You must know, Vodafone shhops are on pretty much any high street. They will set up any sim and probably get you the best deal too. I don't fool around; I just go to one of their shops and let them do it. Have them remove any age restrictions tho because you can't do that yourself.

You can search USA, UK and other eSIM in this service MobiMatter

Update: Beginning June 8, 2022, Vodafone UK SIM cards have new post-Brexit roaming zones and prices for their Zone B (49 countries in Europe) roaming. Whereas previously a Big Value Bundle included roaming usage in much of Europe, now you must also purchase their "European Roaming passes, available as £8 for 8 days or £15 for 15 days."

CORRECTION: for Pay as You Go plans, the 8-day "Around the World Extra" may be £15 and the 15 day plan £25. It appears the lower prices I quoted above are for those on monthly plans.

For a 1 or 2 week trip, you might buy their smallest Big Value Bundle (currently £10, with 7GB data) plus the 8 day or 15 day European Roaming pass. This is still cheaper than my Verizon International plan options, but for longer trips, the value becomes questionable in my mind.

If I'm reading correctly, the £1 per day Pay as You Go Plan still covers their Europe Zone, with unlimited phone and text, but that plan only includes 50MB of data per day.

I activated my sim April 24. We are in Europe until June 14. When I activated, I got a text from Vodafone indicating my allowances are for UK use only from June 2022. I have not explored that limitation further but had planned to do so as the date drew near. I don’t need UK coverage!

I'm still confused with the options, but the prices I quoted (£8 for an 8 day roaming pass and £15 for a 15 day pass) may be for monthly subscription plans.

For the Pay as You Go plans (which include the Big Value Bundles) the "Extras" page details options for a £15 (8 day) and £25 (15 day) option that covers 73 (Zone D) countries. I haven't found a 49 country (Zone B) Pay as You Go option at the £8 and £15 prices.

I'm still researching and will update if I confirm anything further.

I'll post any further details (and corrections) that I find, as I continue my research, on this consolidated thread:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/vodafone-uk-sim-card-post-brexit-pricing-and-complications

From what I know, you can purchase a Vodafone sim card on Amazon. However, I will honestly recommend you purchase it from an official shop. In this way, you will be sure that it will work while traveling. Amazon is an online marketplace from which I will recommend you purchase only electronic devices and other verified goods. For instance, I have recently purchased from https://www.amazon.com/car-lights-car-led-lights/dp/B09L86JRRM a LED light system, and the shop has offered me a one year warranty. So you should make sure to look for only these types of products.

Sometimes you can get an amazing deal by going in person to the UK Vodafone shop. I ended up getting 20 gigs free from the nice sales person, then 10 more free once I got back to my hotel. They sent me an email to let me know. I had my phone data on constantly, and used it for buses, Google Maps, surfing, watching You Tube vids, and didn't use more than a third of my data over two weeks.

Brexit has screwed a lot of things up, so not sure about EU now.