The best USA SIM card for travellers to the United States

I have a T-Mobile SIM card that I use when I travel to the USA twice a year.

In order to keep the SIM active I use it here in Australia once a month and that keeps it going.

I aslo have had a T-Mobile sim (and the same US tel number) since 2012, which  have always been very happy with.

Rather than use your number once a month from Australia, there is a quick trick that will save the expense.

When you're sitting at the airport ready to fly back to Australia, simply give T-Mobile a call and ask them to 'switch' your account back to 'Pay As You Go'. You don't need to maintain a balance (for the months that you are home in Australia) .. and when you return to the USA, you simply switch back to the $50 / 70 / 80 per month Simple plan, which includes unlimited talk, SMS and data. $50 is limited to 3G, $70 is all 4G within US, and $80 allows 4G everywhere incl international service.

Your number is reserved for a 13 month period of non-use, so it allows you to maintain a constant and permanent US cell number.

I am already on a Pay as you Go, I'm on a $2 a day plan which originally only gave me a 2G service but the last few times I've used it I now get 4G. I don't think they offer this plan any more.

The other thing, the top-up balance only has a 90 day use-by  date.

Ah, that explains it. I'd suggest, next time you're in the US, pop into a T-Mobile Store or retail mall pop-up and (re)new for a monthly Simple Choice plan. You'll get a new SIM with a permanent number. Then, at the end of your trip, do the switch to PAYG. T-Mobile will move any existing credit on the Simple Choice & convert it to PAYG.

By doing this, you will have the option to do recharges from Australia via your T-Mobile account via internet access (pre-travel) OR you will have instant access (on arrival to the USA) of being able to call the recharge number (611 or *ADD).

They do indeed offer something similar. I regularly travel to the US and I am on the $3 a day plan, which gives unlimited talk, text and data, although 4G speeds cut out after 200MB per day. It's a great deal! In order to keep the number you just need to make sure your balance has expired. The expiration date can be 90 days but if you select a higher refill amount then I believe it can be up to 6 months. Another convenience is that I lost my T-mobile SIM when my wallet was stolen. The next time I was back in the US I stopped into a store and for $15 they were able to give me a new SIM with my balance restored. I've also used AT&T and from my experience T-Mobile is by far the better deal.

Yes, tethering is allowed on Simple Choice plans – any data consumed just comes out of your plan inclusions.

Hi Chris, there's no mention of this requirement on the T-Mobile website, simply that some devices may need a software update to use inflight texting, and a few steps to complete before you're ready to go.

There is I'm afraid:

https://www.t-mobile.com/offer/free-in-flight-wifi-texting-uncarrier.html#faq

Interesting – even that same page says two different things. In one place it says "Have a Gogo-ready device" while in another place it says "Have a compatible T-Mobile branded phone and are on the most recent software version, (see chart below)."

Then the chart of Gogo-ready devices doesn't mention that they have to have T-Mobile branding...

In that case, the plan we've written about still allows it, but if users experience any issues they can always revert to sending and receiving iMessages on Apple via the inflight WiFi, or via the various messaging apps available for both iOS and Android.

Whoops .. left out one important word ... "compatible T-Mobile branded device".

I've had no problem using a high-end Nokia Lumia Windows or an HTC Android handset (both purchased in Australia) on this service. As the web link indiicates, it's important to have appropriate updates installed.

Chris (Ricks) - could it be that you had not previously made a WIFI call with your handset - or that your T-Mobile account was not set with a 911 reference?

I decided that next USA visit I also will use AT&T. I wonder how T-Mobile get this advertisment in the editorial pages?

Hi Chris, as we have already communicated to you in response to your direct email, this isn't an 'advertisement' or any form of sponsored content – if so it would be clearly marked as such.

For the benefit of other readers, we'll be running a number of these stories for many relevant countries with what we find to a great value SIM card for travellers in each local market.

Hi Chris,

I still think your readers should be given a more balanced article showing the advantages and disadvantages of T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon.

sent off a note to simcorner and got quick reply as per below.  no reply from t-mobile as of yet. 

"It does include the Canada roaming feature however we don’t endorse that aspect of the product. It’s just the feedback has been mixed where some have said it worked perfectly, others said it worked for a bit and then stopped and then some saying it didn’t work at all.

T-Mobile note on their website that the initial connection of the sim must occur in the USA and that majority of the usage must occur in the USA. T-Mobile reserve the right to cancel, suspend or terminate the service. So this is why we don’t endorse it as we don’t want to be refunding customers if the above occurs so we only promote it as a USA sim only. You can buy it and use it in Canada if you like but we can’t provide you a refund if it doesn’t work as we state to only use it in USA."

I agree about AT&T. [Deleted by admin.]