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Post by auselle on Apr 25, 2017 5:56:36 GMT
Hi All, Has anyone used a travel sim card lately? Last time I was in Europe I used a Gosim card which worked really well but they have become very expensive to use and you have to pay to receive as well. There are lots of bad reviews for other cards so it's difficult to know which to choose. I don't need data. We are travelling with our son and daughter-in-law and grandchildren this time and just want to be able to communicate with each other because we won't always be staying in the same place. I have a prepaid one at home so global roaming is not an option. I know the cheapest option is to buy a local sim when we get there but I want the number before we go so that I can use it when booking things like transfers. Thanks for any advice.
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Post by Oz-T on Apr 25, 2017 6:27:49 GMT
Hi Auselle,
Gosim and EKIT are the one company and they're the main provider of international SIM cards here. They do it pretty well for phone access, although I wasn't happy with the data I added to it the last time I was overseas (somehow it chewed up all my data entitlement even though I had all apps closed on my phone - then it decided to draw from my prepaid phone amount until that disappeared too). I would never again buy data on one of these SIM cards until I get a clearer understanding about how to avoid that happening again.
As you're not worried about data, I'd certainly recommend the Gosim or Ekit. You do get the number prior to leaving home and you can test it out by making and receiving a brief call before it's needed overseas. I don't recall ever paying to receive a call so if that's happening it must be a new and unwelcome change.
Generally, I dislike the idea of using a regular SIM card overseas and it's not solely due to the call costs. Anybody travelling to the opposite side of the world can be woken by calls in the middle of the night from friends back home who are unaware that you're overseas and on a different time zone. Worse still, you pay for the overseas diversion cost. With an international SIM you will only have provided the phone number to those people who know you're overseas.
Buying a local SIM may be an option, although it can have its problems. We went to Fiji a few years ago with another couple who insisted that a $30 local SIM was a better alternative to the Gosim card. They spent an hour in Suva trying to find a store and queuing to buy a sim. Then there was about four hours spent over the next few days testing and fiddling around with the phone, trying to see if it worked. Then the anguish about whether they were really contactable. Then more time fiddling with the phone's network settings. Their family ended up ringing our phone to convey messages. Just before returning home, the couple realised that they had been sold the SIM without any prepaid call value so they topped it up with $50. So they wasted $80 on something that neither sent or received calls and wasted several hours of vacation time messing about. Nope, when I go on a holiday I sure don't want to lose valuable time like this.
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Post by auselle on Apr 26, 2017 3:02:49 GMT
Thanks Oz-T I have always used Gosim before and have never had a problem with it, but now feel a bit ripped off having to pay to receive when I never have before. Below are the current Gosim rates for the UK. Note that you also have to pay $0.12 to receive a text. These are the most expensive rates I have seen, but at least I know it works I suppose.
Rate Finder for International
Currency AUD From... To...
All results are shown in Australian Dollars. Please note that currency conversion rates are subject to change. Calling From United Kingdom to United Kingdom $0.46 per minute Calling From United Kingdom to United Kingdom Mobile $0.46 per minute Connection Fee for Calling From United Kingdom NO CONNECTION FEE Calling From United Kingdom to United Kingdom $0.46 per minute Calling From United Kingdom to United Kingdom Mobile $0.46 per minute Rate to receive a call in United Kingdom $0.46 per minute Connection fee for receiving a call in United Kingdom NO CONNECTION FEE Rate to use data in United Kingdom $0.33 per MB Rate for calling Customer Service (with 154 Shortcode) from United Kingdom FREE Rate for calling Voicemail from United Kingdom $0.46 per minute Rate for using the self service phone menu to recharge from United Kingdom FREE Rate for recharging using Self Service Phone Menu FREE Balance enquiry FREE Rate to receive a text message in United Kingdom $0.12 per message Rate for sending a text message from United Kingdom to United Kingdom $0.46 per message
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