Source
r/PersonalFinanceCanada•
AndyJS81

Daily roaming plans to the US vs Monthly Can/US plans (Telus)?

Misc

Now that the US is opening back up it's time to look into how to get fucked as gently as possible with phone roaming options for travel. Hopefully this is the right place for this question - turns out it doesn't belong in r/vancouver, and the r/canada rules directed me here.

My question that I couldn't find exact details about is whether it's worth it (or even possible) to upgrade a phone plan to one of the Can/US deals that permanently include US roaming and usage. For me (on Telus) this would be an extra $20 a month compared to my current plan. Which is less than a 3+ day trip using EasyRoam ($9 a day).

Math tells me that the permanent plan is worth it if I'll be in the US for 27 or more days a year, but I don't think that'll happen. But is it possible to upgrade my plan for just one month, go to the US for a couple of weeks (all for the extra $20 total), and then come back and downgrade my plan back to the original again? That seems like a massive loophole that you'd think they'd close, but I can't find any information suggesting I can't do that. I'm not under contract and apparently I can change my plan once per billing cycle, but this seems a bit too good to be true, yeah?

Has anyone here bounced back and forth between a normal Canada plan and a Can/US plan on Telus? Or are there other cellphone providers that let you do something like this?

And yes, I'll call Telus to ask at some point. And I've considered buying a SIM in the US but I don't want to do that as I want to keep using my Canadian number while I'm gone.

Thanks in advance for any responses. I'm in British Columbia BTW (stating as per the rules).

Posted Nov 16, 2021, 5:47 AM UTC

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calimaricockring•

Not sure if this works but can you use an esim provider for roaming , then enable WiFi calling and disable your Canadian sim when you cross the border?

2
DerDoppelganger70•

I’m travelling to South America soon and while I can take advantage of my subscribed Telus data package, there’s a 12 bucks per day charge when you use data, make a call or send a text at least once in a day (getting calls and receiving texts while roaming are free). So I’ve purchased a Solis WiFi hotspot that doesn’t have to pay a subscription fee (there’s an option for that) and pay by usage (not by day), which is enough to keep me connected to email, texts, WhatsApp and the occasional tweet or instagram post. Plus I can take it anywhere in the world in future trips. I can post more about it once I’m back in January. Good luck with your search as I know this is a dilemma for all travelling canucks around the world.

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AndyJS81OP•

Yeah while this isn’t specifically what I was asking, I’m for sure still interested in hearing about options like this. The particular reason for travel coming up for me kinda needs me to keep access to my regular number for calls and be able to send and receive normal text messages. So I’m stuck choosing between EasyRoam or (hopefully) being able to temporarily upgrade to the full time Can/US plan and then downgrading again when I return.

For future pleasure travel where I don’t need to be as easily contactable, this hotspot thingy sounds like it’d be worth considering, thanks!

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nugsy_•

Problem with upgrading a plan temporarily and then downgrading is that once you switch to a different plan, there's no guarantee you can get your old plan back. They can only offer you the current in-market plans which may be worse, especially if you have a good grandfathered plan. I'm surprised your current plan doesn't include Easy Roam as it's usually a $0 add-on for most plans - I'd call Telus to ask.

Your other option is to switch to a different carrier like Koodo (Telus' sister company so exact same reception) and get a plan with Easy Roam included. Good luck.

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AndyJS81OP•

Oh sorry I may not have been clear... I do have EasyRoam, but at $9 a day if I’m there for 2 weeks then I’d rather pay the $20 extra and get the permanent plan. But only if there’s a way to downgrade it before it ends up costing even more in the long run.

Good point about the risk of having worse options potentially. Hadn’t thought of that.

1
Morgan_of_JPMorgan•

Would you pay around $35/month for 24-25GB with free roaming in the US and Mexico but have a US number? Or have a dual sim phone and pay an extra $99/year for a Canadian phone number?

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11kajd•

If u have iphone xs or newer download tmobile test drive app

U need to create usa apple ID and sign into appstore with it to get the app.

Used it in USA got 30gb and 5G

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AndyJS81OP•

My phone is old but that’s a good reason to finally upgrade. Will investigate, thanks!

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11kajd•

But that's only a 1 time trial.

U may be able to make multiple qccts but yeah

Each trial is 1 mth and 30gb

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ARAR1•

Depending on the length of trip, pick up a pay as you go US plan. Pay for 1 month

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moutonbleu•

What was you solution, OP?

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AndyJS81OP•

Ended up upgrading to a new plan that includes 4x the data I had as well as US roaming and visual voicemail for only $5 $10 a month more than I was paying, so I decided to keep the plan ongoing rather than attempt to downgrade.

*Edit - misremembered the amount, but it was cheaper than I originally thought because it was a Black Friday deal.

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moutonbleu•

Got it, thanks for the heads up. I've been trying to find a good solution to this problem too without too much trouble. My employer now will give me a monthly stipend of $50 for cell services, but I just switched from Telus to Koodo... and Koodo doesn't have great roaming plans.

Also, your plan was with Telus?

1