Since I was traveling to the United States to attend CES in Las Vegas, I needed a phone plan with data to use my smartphones (iPhone & Android) just as I do in France, so I could make calls without any problem and use the internet without limits. Unfortunately, French carriers don’t offer plans that allow you to use your plan without limits in the United States at an affordable price. Not wanting to end up with overage charges, I looked for an alternative and found one! These are prepaid SIM cards that you install in your phone like any other SIM card, and they come pre-cut for nano-SIM and micro-SIM.
This leaves you with two options:
- The first option: you buy the SIM card at a store in the United States. That means when you arrive at the airport, you won’t be able to order an Uber or Lyft, or even check your notifications and emails, and you’ll have to wait for an unsecured Wi-Fi hotspot. On top of that, you’ll lose half a day of your trip looking for the cheapest seller of prepaid SIM cards. And finally, you’ll have to wait a day for your SIM card to be activated.
- The second option: you arrive relaxed, because you’ve already bought and installed your SIM card in your phone during the flight. When you land, your SIM card already works and you won’t need to activate it. You’ll be able to make calls and browse just as you do in France.
I had the chance to test different SIM cards thanks to the website sim-usa.mobi , which lets you order your SIM card at good prices before you leave on your trip. I recommend it, because you have a choice between different types of plans, and activation can be done in advance. It’s really convenient when you want to travel without stress.
6 mobile plans:
You can choose from 6 mobile plans from 2 carriers, starting at €15 and going up to €79. The price varies depending on how much mobile data you want to have on site and on the carrier: AT&T or T-Mobile.
The plan duration varies from 14 days for the basic flexiroam offer, to 30 days for the other offers, which is handy if you’re staying in the United States for a long time.
1 tablet & router offer:
There is also a €65 offer that lets you use a plan with a router or a tablet. It’s convenient if you’re traveling with family or in a group and want a single unlimited plan. It can be a much more economical solution than getting a mobile plan for each person, but the experience won’t be the same because you can only use the internet and not make phone calls. If you don’t already have a router, the site rents one for €49.
My tests on site:
During my trip to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, I tested the two carriers AT&T and T-Mobile. Both work well when it comes to receiving calls. However, in terms of performance and data speed on the 3G and 4G networks, T-Mobile performed better than the AT&T network.
If you’re going to Los Angeles, you can go with AT&T, since its network is comparable to T-Mobile. However, for Las Vegas, the network is of better quality with the T-Mobile carrier, and I don’t recommend AT&T.
Speeds are average compared to France. We generally get between 10 and 30 Mbps, but no more than that. Of course, I’m talking about the West Coast of the United States; it can be much faster if you go to New York or Washington, for example.
So, the advantage is that depending on your destination, West Coast or East Coast, you can choose the carrier that best suits you. I recommend taking a look at the whistleout website, which lets you find out which is the best carrier based on your destination in the United States.
As for the tablet and router plan, I stayed in many hotels in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, which allowed me to run tests with my computer and the AT&T carrier; it works fairly well. However, as with the mobile plan, you will be limited by the carrier depending on where you are.
Conclusion:
As you can understand, it’s best to get a prepaid SIM card before flying to the United States. The ideal solution is to order it through the sim-usa.mobi website, which is currently one of the best for finding the right plan for your needs. If you just need to make a few calls, go for the Lyca Mobile plan, and if you need a lot of data, go with T-Mobile.
I hope my advice helps you have a stress-free trip. Bon voyage!
