My wife and daughter have Verizon's Travel Pass. If you have the 5G Do More plan (may no longer be available) you accrue 1 day per month to use internationally at no charge. After you use the accrued days you are then charged the Verizon standard $10 a day. While it states that you receive unlimited data with this international plan, you will be throttled after using 2GB on the day being charged.
Here is the issue we are experiencing. We get to Germany last month and my wife gets her text message from Verizon stating that she has 8 days available. Great! this is a 7 day trip. After the 24 hour period is up (not calendar day) she receives another text that she now has 6 days available. What? The rest of the trip was like that with the notifications going up and down in day counts without rhyme or reason. My daughter is currently traveling the pacific rim. She received a text stating that she has 22 days in her travel pass bank. The next day she receives a text stating she has 18 days left. Same issue we experienced last month.
After we returned from our European trip we contacted Verizon. They could not explain why we were getting inaccurate countdowns for her Travel Pass usage. It looks like I will have to do the same thing with my daughters phone.
Have you experienced this? How did you get it resolved with Verizon?
I myself, am seriously thinking of leaving Verizon and going to Google Fi.
Posted by
Atlanta
5153 posts
Verizon has a dedicated line for international questions and problems. This may or may not be "billing" problem, but the people at the international number have always supplied us with accurate information. Perhaps they can offer some clarification. The number is (or was) 1-800-711-8300. If that number isn't valid, then check the web site for an updated one.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
7683 posts
Inconsistency with things like that is one reason I left Verizon for T-Mobile. Other reasons include their terrible customer service and the fact that you have to pay for an international plan in addition to your regular monthly fee! It's just greed, in my opinion. I have never been happier since I made the switch and I love how I don't have to do anything to activate the T-Mobile int'l plan.
Google Fi would be another good option.
Posted by
near San Francisco
5246 posts
I myself, am seriously thinking of leaving Verizon and going to Google Fi.
I left Verizon last year and have been incredibly satisfied with Google Fi at home and abroad.
I have stepped off the plane and had my service in Germany, Bulgaria, Serbia, N Macedonia, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and just returned from Hungary.
I use very little data at home and when traveling - mostly for Google Maps - so I have their Flexible plan and typically pay $4-$5 per month for data, in the US and in Europe.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2624 posts
Sorry, I can't help with the Verizon issue, though I wonder if this prior discussion might help: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/verizon-international-plan-dd9bc317-e03a-4f13-ae7c-6281e17344c3
I also use a Google Fi e-sim for traveling, but be aware they do have limits on overseas use (you must use Fi primarily in the US). See this prior discussion: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/google-fi-now-suspends-data-roaming-after-90-or-fewer-days-outside-the-us I usually put my Fi account on hold when I return and reactivate it again a few months before traveling, as I use AT&T for my home service.
My recent travel example: I have the flexible plan ($25 per month plus $10 per gb of data). On my 2.5 week trip to Turkey I used 1.617 gb of data (a $16.17 charge, plus my monthly fee). I used Wifi when available but wasn't cautious about my data use - I used Google maps, CityMapper, posted blog photos, surfed web, etc. Fi activates automatically within 5 to 10 minutes of arriving in a new country, often faster (e.g., I had Netherlands service before my plane finished taxiing to the terminal). I take about one trip per year, so it isn't much cheaper than the per-day travel pass through AT&T, but it is definitely more convenient and less stressful. Plus I get a vacation from the getting spam calls and texts that come in on my main line.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4765 posts
I just used Verizon on two phones in Austria and Germany, it worked well. I just suck up whatever it costs because, hey you gotta pay someone and I didn't want to go through the new SIM in the phone routine. And buying a burner phone costs quite a bit.
Also note that they throttle your speeds after you use a certain number of gigs in a day, you'll be merrily surfing away and all of a sudden it turns to molasses.
Posted by
OP
DTW
342 posts
Thank you @TC, I will look into calling that Verizon number
@CWsocial, I would most likely switch back and forth between the upper 2 tiers offered on Google Fi due to my data usage
@CL, I am aware of this. A friend in Ecuador told me last year that expats down there were trying to do that and they were canceled by Google Fi for not being in the states.
@phred, my wife and daughter use Verizon because it is easier for them. I by e-sims because I get much more data usage for a lot less cost. I will typically go through 5-8gb of data in a week without worrying of being throttled. Since most hotel/restaurant wi-fi networks are not secure, I prefer to use the mobile network for data.