It seems Orange offers now a SIM card that would be good for 28 days, It is Euros 10 more expensive than the one that only lasts 14 days. Has anyone tried this SIM card? What was your overall experience with it? Would it be possible to top-off the minutes for phone calls from Europe to the U S? If so, how much it would cost? It seems like a very good option for a long trip and it will be nice to have some feedback from those who have already used it. many thanks.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
94 posts
We used the Orange (France) card last fall. Worked great for what we needed. We ordered and received prior to leaving the US. Only used for text and data. I don't exactly remember the cost, but we were in France for 2 weeks and it was about $30 for 12 gb of data.
Posted by
SoCal
322 posts
I have found that getting a Google Voice account (it will include a US phone number separate from your cell number) and using it for calls using a data-only SIM is a far better approach for calling back to the states. Calls are billed at $0.01 per minute and can be made over the data connection just like any other VOIP call. Data usage is very low. There's no cost to acquire a Google Voice account, nor are there any monthly fees. I believe one can do something similar using Skype and some other apps, but I don't have experience with those. WhatsApp can use the data SIM also.
I recommend this because data-only SIMs and eSIMs are much cheaper than data-and-voice plans in Europe.
Posted by
Lubbock, TX
401 posts
If you want to call from Europe to the US for free, the easiest way is to get a Google Voice number like the post above said, then use a VPN to switch your location to anywhere in the US and call on wifi. This way, Google Voice thinks you're in the US, calling a US number and you don't have to pay for any calls. This will not work for calling from Europe to a European number.
Posted by
199 posts
Topping off with Orange was impossible in my experience. I tried this with Spanish, and French Orange cards. I just bought another one. It worked as advertised, and you can get them at Charles de Gaulle Airport as you are leaving, from an Orange kiosk, with an actual Orange employee. That is always an advantage to me.