US to UK Travel - Setup with Pay as You Go SIM

[MichaelBandor]

My family will be traveling to the UK this summer from the US and I wanted to get a micro SIM for my daughter's iPhone 4S.  Can they be purchased in advance (understanding that they can't be activated until they are actually in the UK? Unlocking the phone is not an issue.

What about the Wireless HotSpot?  We're looking at one of those as well. Does the credit applied to each start upon activation or upon purchase?  I'm assuming upon activation.

Thanks!

[LiamTaylor]

Also, do you know how much a disposable phone costs?

[grolschuk]

A standard phone that will make calls and sms starts at £10

For a smart phone, it will be from £40

The crawley store will be open on Sunday from 11am until 5pm

They should be able to get you up and running with SIMs for your current handsets, and a cheap pay-as-you-go handset for your daughter, all before leaving the store

One thing to note about your iPhones, the frequencies that are used for 3G in the UK are slightly different to those used in the USA, so if you find yourself in an area that does not match, you will find that you may not be able to use data... although calls and sms will still work.

[LiamTaylor]

I can't thank you enough for all of your help.  Is there a Vodafone store in Oxford or on the drive to Oxford that is opened on Sundays?

[grolschuk]

There will be a store in most major cities and shopping centres.

If you have an idea of where you will be, the store locator can be found here

http://www.vodafone.co.uk/find-a-store/index.htm

Most stores will be open on a Sunday for 8 hours, either from 10am-4pm or 11am-5pm.

Unless you have plans to stop on your drive from Gatwick to Oxford, I wouldn't make a special detour just to find a phone

[LiamTaylor]

Again.  Thank you very much.

[grolschuk]

Not a problem

Hope you all enjoy your travels over here.

I am going to have to do the same when travelling to the US for 3 weeks later in the year, so hope it is going to be just as easy

[LiamTaylor]

Either an I Phone 4S or 5S will work.  The UK network is compatitible with Verizon over here.  I can call them for you and see if they sell SIM cards that can be loaded?

[drey_p]

According to the store locator, it is open from 1100 to 1700 on Sunday. You can find all the PAYG phone prices in the link below. The price you pay would be very much dependent on what phone you get. The cheapest PAYG phone is £10.

https://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-phones/all-phones?initialFilters=flt_payasyoutalk

[LiamTaylor]

I was looking at the pricing on the disposable phones, and it looks like you have to buy a plan.  How does this work?  I just want a cheap phone that has texting and calling capabilities with some data.

thanks

[grolschuk]

The guys in the store will be able to advise in person easier than trying to write it.

I'll give it a go however.

What you are after is a pre-paid phone, known as Pay As You Go (PAYG).

This will provide the basic handset - as mentioned above if you want it to be 'smart' and use the internet then they start at around £40.

Once you have chosen your phone, you add funds to the pre-pay sim, a minimum of £10 will get you up and running.

You will also be getting these Sims for your iPhones (without the need to purchase a handset)

With that credit you can do a number of things.

1. use it to spend on calls, txts and data, at the going rate, and when it's gone it's gone, adding more if required.

The pricing can be found here http://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/pay-as-you-go/call-charges/index.htm

2. use the credit to buy a bundle of free calls/texts/data that will last for 30 days, these are called freebees, and what is available can be found here http://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/pay-as-you-go/Vodafone-Freebees/index.htm

It sounds like the Freedom Freebee is what you are wanting, a little bit of everything.

If you are wanting one person to call back to the USA at all, it would be worth looking at the International bolt-on to reduce the costs.

http://www.vodafone.co.uk/discover-vodafone/Extras/index.htm

If you let the shop know that you are wanting to be set up and opted into the freebee, they should be able to help by adding the credit to the phone and make sure it is all working before you leave... or if not give you instructions on how to do it your self later in the day.

Hope that makes sense.