Another Way to Save Money on International Roaming Fees

Long story short, our cell phone provider recently texted my husband with a bill that was twice as much as it normally is. My daughter and I had been in Asia for 2.5 weeks and in the scurry, I’d forgotten to take the usual connectivity precautions when it came to my cell phone so opted for an international plan, which we’d obviously exceeded. A KnowRoaming SIM Sticker could have helped us save money on international data and roaming.

I hadn’t heard of the SIM sticker before they contacted me but I think it could be a good solution for those traveling overseas this summer who dislike the inconvenience of stopping to pick up a local SIM card. When I have a tired kid in tow and a packed itinerary, the last thing I want to do is make an extra stop for a local SIM card especially on a multi-country tour.

How the SIM Sticker Works

The SIM sticker is applied to the SIM card of an unlocked mobile phone or tablet. KnowRoaming is compatible with unlocked, GSM iPhones, Android phones, Windows Mobile phones and tablets. You’ll need to do a little research to see if your phone or tablet is unlocked.

Since both my husband and I both just upgraded our phones, we have an iPhone 4 out of contract. This means I can unlock the iPhone 4, something I didn’t realize would be so easy to do. I called my carrier and they provided instructions for how to do it. Boom. If you choose to use an old phone, it does need to have an active SIM card which could be pay-as-you-go or whatever service you choose.

The SIM sticker can stay on your SIM card and simply remains inactive while at home. When abroad, it can connect to local wireless networks in over 200+ countries providing voice, data and SMS services for up to 85% less than traditional roaming. Travelers can also take advantage of KnowRoaming’s unlimited data for just $7.99 a day in over 70 countries which is less than hotel WiFi, in my experience.

The entire service is prepaid so you don’t have to worry about blowing your budget and any unused credit doesn’t expire.

Monitor Usage on the Go

In the app you can:

• Load your account with prepaid credit
• Subscribe to ReachMe to receive all the calls to your home mobile number while you’re traveling
• Monitor your usage in real-time
• Check the rates before you travel

Try the SIM Sticker

If you know which countries you’re traveling to, use the online calculators to determine costs of calls, data and text you’d pay with a SIM sticker to compare to what your home provider would charge. Then, order a SIM sticker online if you’d like to try it.

If you’ve tried the SIM sticker, please share your experience!

*Thanks to KnowRoaming for sponsoring this post.