Verizon "UU" plan includes international coverage

[NerdGjerd]

This thread is for those of you who are already using Verizon in the US. I see a couple other threads where this is mentioned, but this might be helpful for others on verizon using the search function. I was figuring I would get an Orange esim or similar when I arrive in Europe this coming March. Or, switch to T-Mobile. Or shell out the $100 for a month of international coverage. However, Verizon Wireless has a plan that includes international calls and text. I just got back from Japan, and the new-ish "Unlimited Ultimate" worked great there. Your mileage (and mine) may vary on the Camino, since it's not Japan.

This plan is about $55 per month. We were on an older plan that was about $5 less. So this was not "free" but I think we can downgrade our plan between international trips. Mrs NerdGjerd is in charge of the bills, and we are not real big on change. I've been using Verizon wireless since the 90s, through work. It used to have the best coverage where I worked, but I don't think that's true anymore. So i realized they're not perfect and by all means look to other companies if you are in the market. But if you want to keep your Verizon, this plan may be helpful, you will still be able to receive calls from folks back home when you want. I am planning to not be "hunched over" my phone during the Camino, but I like this availability to keep my number active for very little clams.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I just looked into this. Their website says $55 per line if you have four lines; $90 for one line. It includes 60 GB of data, 10 GB of international data (is it part of the 60 or an additional 10?).

myPlan: Best Unlimited Data Cell Phone Plans for You | Verizon

Have more control over your phone plan. Pair unlimited data with the perks you want all on Verizon's network. Learn more about myPlan today.

www.verizon.com

 

[NerdGjerd]

I just looked into this. Their website says $55 per line if you have four lines; $90 for one line. It includes 60 GB of data, 10 GB of international data (is it part of the 60 or an additional 10?).

myPlan: Best Unlimited Data Cell Phone Plans for You | Verizon

Have more control over your phone plan. Pair unlimited data with the perks you want all on Verizon's network. Learn more about myPlan today.

www.verizon.com

Ahhh. We do have 4 lines…. So guess we’re getting a quantity discount paying for the adult kids haha. Not sure on the other details.

 

[trecile]

I just looked into this. Their website says $55 per line if you have four lines; $90 for one line. It includes 60 GB of data, 10 GB of international data (is it part of the 60 or an additional 10?).

I read that the 60GB is for hotspot data, while domestic data is unlimited and international data is 10GB per billing cycle.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I took that hotspot data as total data since I never saw any plan with so much. I also took it to be total data because I expect a company to say unlimited data when they really mean a lot. Am I a cynic or realistic? That's a rhetorical question; I'm not looking for my personality to be shredded.

 

[trecile]

I think that more and more people are using their phones as hotspots to connect their TVs and computers to the internet, so would want lots of hotspot data.

 

[henrythedog]

I know that one cannot cherry-pick and there are pros and cons of living anywhere, but you folks in the US are being hung out to dry by your telecoms providers.

 

[Tincatinker]

To paraphrase that great philosopher WC Fields “ Never give a subscriber an even break”.

 

[trecile]

I know that one cannot cherry-pick and there are pros and cons of living anywhere, but you folks in the US are being hung out to dry by your telecoms providers.

I think that it's even worse in Canada.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I think that it's even worse in Canada.

Snap.

 

[olj]

I think that it's even worse in Canada.

It is!

 

[t2andreo]

I just looked into this. Their website says $55 per line if you have four lines; $90 for one line. It includes 60 GB of data, 10 GB of international data (is it part of the 60 or an additional 10?).

myPlan: Best Unlimited Data Cell Phone Plans for You | Verizon

Have more control over your phone plan. Pair unlimited data with the perks you want all on Verizon's network. Learn more about myPlan today.

www.verizon.com

IMHO and experience, t-Mobile will still be a better deal, especially if you only have a single line.

 

[lt56ny]

I have an easy solution. (this is what I do).
When I arrive in Madrid (not at the airport but in the city) I go directly to a Vodafone office. This year I paid 25 Euros and I received unlimited calls within the EU. 600 minutes to the United States (it may have been 300 but that was plenty) and100GB of data. It is good for 28 days. On the 29th day you get a text and can recharge your phone for an additional 28 days in about 2 minutes.
For 15 or 20 euros you can get plans that are really good also. I got the 25 Euro plan because I wanted to have phone service to call the United States in case of a banking emergency etc. I took the 100GB as I was walking some pretty quiet caminos. The Camino Madrid had more albergues without Wifi than ones with wifi. I knew it was overkill but for 5 euros i had peace of mind. Since I was alone in small villages alot I did download some shows to watch and stuff to read. Also on SUndays I watched my football team play on an app I had. Twice there was no wifi and I still only used about 14GB in the whole month.
When you are at Vodafone it takes about 3 minutes for them to get you on your way. I do use the Spanish phone number they give me. It doesn't effect your service and if people call you on the phone or on whatsapp it still goes through. I do not tell anyone about my new number it is not necessary. Also when I kept my old number one time I could not connect to AlertCops.

 

[Nanners]

I used the Verizon Ultimate Unlimited plan a couple of weeks ago in Italy. It worked fine. No problems with the 10 GB cap. When I returned, I switched back to one of the lower cost plans. We have 4 phones on our plan. It is a bit more costly to use the UU plan than getting local esim, but with work and elderly parents I need to be easily reachable in an emergency. I don't want to complicate things by changing my phone number while I'm away.

 

[henrythedog]

I know this is a deeply impractical suggestion; but it amuses me to get one over on ‘the man’ occasionally - notwithstanding that at one time I was one of ‘them’ - but has anyone tried getting a Spanish SIM and looking what the cost of using that in the US or Canada might be? I know it’s time limited subject to ‘fair use’.

 

[peregrina2000]

I know this is a deeply impractical suggestion; but it amuses me to get one over on ‘the man’ occasionally - notwithstanding that at one time I was one of ‘them’ - but has anyone tried getting a Spanish SIM and looking what the cost of using that in the US or Canada might be? I know it’s time limited subject to ‘fair use’.

You mean I should think about changing my $168/month plan with Verizon for two Vodafone sims that would cost about 15 € each a month and give me the same or better service?

Admittedly I haven’t read it carefully, but on first skim I don’t see anything in Vodafone’s conditions of usage for a prepaid card that would make it illegal for the user to be predominantly located outside of Spain.

https://www.vodafone.es/c/statics/prepago.pdf

I suppose one downside would be that my friends would all have to pay international call rates to call me (or I could just call them back). And I think it would reduce my spam intake by a huge amount.

 

[trecile]

You mean I should think about changing my $168/month plan with Verizon

You're paying $168/month for Verizon? Is that for two phones? You should be able to find a better deal than that.

 

[henrythedog]

I had to go for a lie down. $168/month. I know we’re on different continents, but that’s extraordinary.

I suspect that buried in the small print will be a limit on the duration for which one can operate outside the country in which the contract was struck; nevertheless one could get new Spanish sims regularly …

I can’t be bothered shopping around and changing suppliers, but in the UK - which is not cheap - I’ve two ‘unlimited calls and data’ phones running for total under £60/month.

Best not get into the cost of health insurance.

 

[trecile]

I can’t be bothered shopping around and changing suppliers, but in the UK - which is not cheap - I’ve two ‘unlimited calls and data’ phones running for total under £60/month.

My T-mobile plan is $90/month for unlimited everything for two phones and includes unlimited (slow) data and texting to/from US numbers while abroad, and 5GB high speed data abroad per billing cycle. It also includes a free basic Netflix account and a free Apple TV+ account.

 

[CWBuff]

I just looked into this. Their website says $55 per line if you have four lines; $

Ahhh. We do have 4 lines…. So guess we’re getting a quantity discount paying for the adult kids haha.

So..maybe I Am getting it wrong but I sincerely hope you didn't have to pay $55\line for all lines!

 

[stewinyvr]

I think that it's even worse in Canada.

It is if you stick with the main providers, but there are many lower cost competitors now, using the same infrastructure..I got lucky with my plan, C$45 (US$30) for 40GB of international data, with calling to and from Canada from 100 countries, as well as local calling in those countries..unfortunately this plan is not offered any more, but variations of it are..it worked flawlessly on my recent Camino..

 

[Molly Cassidy]

I had to go for a lie down. $168/month. I know we’re on different continents, but that’s extraordinary.

I suspect that buried in the small print will be a limit on the duration for which one can operate outside the country in which the contract was struck; nevertheless one could get new Spanish sims regularly …

I can’t be bothered shopping around and changing suppliers, but in the UK - which is not cheap - I’ve two ‘unlimited calls and data’ phones running for total under £60/month.

Best not get into the cost of health insurance.

I had this with my UK O2 contract. During the pandemic, they actually let me off the extra charges for several months, but after about 2 years they started charging me about double what I was previously paying. It still wasn't anywhere near $168 a month and they didn't stop my service as long as I paid the roaming charges. If I remember correctly the rule was that if you hadn't been in the UK for 3 full months they applied the extra charges.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I just got back from Japan, and the new-ish "Unlimited Ultimate" worked great there. Your mileage (and mine) may vary on the Camino, since it's not Japan.

This plan is about $55 per month.

I just looked into this. Their website says $55 per line if you have four lines; $90 for one line.

I just saw an article on how Verizon has $10 off per line specials but only for a year. I don't know if this is your case with the Unlimited Ultimate plan you have @NerdGjerd but look at the article as it has tips on how to easily extend the discount.

Verizon $10 Per Line Loyalty Discount Returns With Old Trick

A little over a year ago, we shared an amazing trick with you that was saving Verizon customers up to $10 per line (per month) for a year as a part of Verizon’s ongoing loyalty efforts. For many, this trick was able to save them hundreds of dollars on their Verizon bills over the... #Deals #Verizon

www.droid-life.com

 

[NerdGjerd]

So..maybe I Am getting it wrong but I sincerely hope you didn't have to pay $55\line for all lines!

Thanks for the above link! I'll check it out. We are getting $10 paperless discount on each line. The kids are $44/mo since they're not on the Unlimited Ultimate. Such a deal - haa. So, yes almost $55 for each line.

Back to my original point: IF you're on Verizon US, and IF you're not ready to change right now, and IF you're on an older plan, and IF you're about to go on Camino or other international trip, talk to a vzw rep about getting this UU plan so you don't have to shell out $100 for the month or deal with an esim.

 

[NerdGjerd]

Found there is a $30/mo plan that has 5g, but is not advertised as "5x faster than our regular 5g in the US no matter how much you use" Think I will give that a try. Also got stuck on that $10 loyalty discount, but will persevere. Great link! Thanks again @CWBuff

 

[TravellingMan22]

I had this with my UK O2 contract. During the pandemic, they actually let me off the extra charges for several months, but after about 2 years they started charging me about double what I was previously paying. It still wasn't anywhere near $168 a month and they didn't stop my service as long as I paid the roaming charges. If I remember correctly the rule was that if you hadn't been in the UK for 3 full months they applied the extra charges.

I am on O2 (I am from UK) and I moved to them a couple of years ago back because of hassles with previous supplier. I have been very happy with them esp. their customer service esp. most recently when I was scammed and someone bought a new phone on my account!! They handled it brilliantly!

Contract wise I get 150GB of data a month plus unlimited calls and texts, across the UK, and a limit of 25GB of data across EU countries, which is a lot though I nearly hit it last months when I was in Spain for most of month. As well as EU countries, I get free data, calls, etc, in about 20-30 other countries, mainly it seems in Australasia, South, Central and North America. I am currently in Argentina and I have free data here, which is great, but I flew via Brazil and though I had thought I had free data there but I was wrong and its costs £6 a day total. Also managed to ‘pocket dial! someone in Miami last night and it cost me £6.50 as the free calls from here is only to the UK. To stop this I have changed my ‘spend cap’ to £0! Airtime contract costs £13 per month and I also bought the phone through them which is a separate charge.

 

[Molly Cassidy]

I am on O2 (I am from UK) and I moved to them a couple of years ago back because of hassles with previous supplier. I have been very happy with them esp. their customer service esp. most recently when I was scammed and someone bought a new phone on my account!! They handled it brilliantly!

Contract wise I get 150GB of data a month plus unlimited calls and texts, across the UK, and a limit of 25GB of data across EU countries, which is a lot though I nearly hit it last months when I was in Spain for most of month. As well as EU countries, I get free data, calls, etc, in about 20-30 other countries, mainly it seems in Australasia, South, Central and North America. I am currently in Argentina and I have free data here, which is great, but I flew via Brazil and though I had thought I had free data there but I was wrong and its costs £6 a day total. Also managed to ‘pocket dial! someone in Miami last night and it cost me £6.50 as the free calls from here is only to the UK. To stop this I have changed my ‘spend cap’ to £0! Airtime contract costs £13 per month and I also bought the phone through them which is a separate charge.

Sounds great. The issue of charging only comes about if you never go to the UK. As long as you use the phone in the UK every few months, you get the contractual terms. If you stop going to the UK entirely, as I did, they charge you for every MB of data on top of what you already pay for the contract.

 

[BobY333]

My T-mobile plan is $90/month for unlimited everything for two phones and includes unlimited (slow) data and texting to/from US numbers while abroad, and 5GB high speed data abroad per billing cycle. It also includes a free basic Netflix account and a free Apple TV+ account.

Hi there! We're seriously considering making the switch from Verizon to T-Mobile...and this would trigger getting our three adult, married (!) children off our our plan

You may benefit from this - the guy in the T-Mobile store told me to ask about 'Insider" discounts when we make the switch. Apparently it's 20% off, for life!

So, two questions for you - are you on Magenta Max? And, I assume it's worked out well on Camino? We're headed back to the CF in May/June!

Thanks!

 

[trecile]

So, two questions for you - are you on Magenta Max? And, I assume it's worked out well on Camino?

Yes, I'm on Magenta Max, and it has worked out well, though I did get addicted to that fast data vs the free slow data, so I paid more to have fast data during my whole trip. I had recently purchased a new phone, and was still making payments, so I couldn't use a different eSim, which would have been less expensive. The phone is now paid off, so for this year's Camino I plan to switch to something like an Airalo eSim after my 5GB of high speed data is used up.

However, in previous years I had no high speed data allowance at all (lower tier plan) and the free data always sufficed.

 

[CWBuff]

Like @trecile I'm on T-mobile Magenta Plus and I did just fine with free data.
For most times I didn't need it while walking and would use Free wifi in the Albergue (yes thise where I stayed had one so it made it easier)