Buying a mobile (cell) phone & contract in the US

[motowebmaster]

On AT&T, call (800) 331-0500 and a Care Rep will let you know the options. Inform the rep that you would like your new phone in-hand before you arrive in the US.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the AT&T Next offer but it may help simplify your transition for now. Bundling with DirecTV is a great option, have been on satellite TV since DirecTV's beginnings.

 

[rainmotorsports]

Just to satisfy my curiosity, do any of the US cell providers offer unlimited data?

On my 3 contract over here (SIM only, £20p/m (just under $30), I get all you can eat data (which is basically a cap of 1000GB), and 12GB inclusive tethering.

Just wondering what it's like over there...

Liam

Yes. Verizon no longer does and I don't keep up with Sprint. They used to. I believe they have a mixture now.

MetroPCS is 60 USD for unlimited. TMobile is 80. Rumor has it they start to throttle around 50gb. Generally the lesser plans are all u limited data. Just at 2g after a certain point lol

There are a couple others.

 

[EQnoble]

I have unlimited everything + tethering from Tmobile at $40 a month per line. Have not been throttled once yet and am not locked to a contract.

 

[TPerry]

Handy site to check for the different coverages of the providers in the US.
http://opensignal.com/network-coverage-maps/

 

[Dryline]

Storm chasers such as myself roam far and wide in our pursuit of severe weather. The general consensus is that Verizon has the overall best coverage, but in the south AT&T can't be beat. If a Galaxy Note 3 is desired, you could shop the US based FleaBay market and buy one that is practically new, unlocked, and compatible with GSM networks such as AT&T. Then once here you could get a prepaid SIM card and you're off to the races minus the contracts. You could also research MVNOs such as Virgin Mobile and Cricket as they don't generally have the same kind of stringent credit requirements as the big four do. Here's a link to get you started: https://bestmvno.com/mvno-list/

Here's a 4G LTE coverage map for AT&T around the Raleigh area for your reference.

 

[Robust]

Storm chasers such as myself roam far and wide in our pursuit of severe weather. The general consensus is that Verizon has the overall best coverage, but in the south AT&T can't be beat. If a Galaxy Note 3 is desired, you could shop the US based FleaBay market and buy one that is practically new, unlocked, and compatible with GSM networks such as AT&T. Then once here you could get a prepaid SIM card and you're off to the races minus the contracts. You could also research MVNOs such as Virgin Mobile and Cricket as they don't generally have the same kind of stringent credit requirements as the big four do. Here's a link to get you started: https://bestmvno.com/mvno-list/

Here's a 4G LTE coverage map for AT&T around the Raleigh area for your reference.


View attachment 133654

Virgin Mobile operates in the US? Who's network does it use?

 

[ManagerJosh]

Virgin Mobile operates in the US? Who's network does it use?

Virgin Mobile USA is a MVNO for Sprint. (technically they are owned by Sprint)

 

[Robust]

Virgin Mobile USA is a MVNO for Sprint. (technically they are owned by Sprint)

Not owned by Virgin Group? Here they use EE's network, owned by Virgin Group. Unless another company is using the 'Virgin' name there.

Oh, btw, @Brogan regarding your bank situation. Santander UK is a big bank here, one of the best as well. It operates in the US also as Santander US and I think their US division is better. You can always register with Santander here, get them to move your account there and use them for a while until you have a decent credit record there. Santander is a great bank, though. I know they can move your account in countries that they operate in (about 3-4?).

Edit: Actually, it's the biggest bank in the eurozone and also the biggest bank by market capitalisation apparently. It operates in quite a few countries. Spanish bank. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banco_Santander#Operations

 

[Paul B]

I'm sorted for banking - we use HSBC and the New York branch is calling me tomorrow to set up US $ accounts, debit cards and credit cards (all local).

We will then have UK (£) and US ($) accounts all under the same account holder and can seamlessly move funds between the two.

Four weeks today!

 

[ManagerJosh]

Not owned by Virgin Group?

Originally it was owned by Virgin Group, Sprint, and SingTel. Later on, Sprint acquired the entire company. I suspect they are keeping the Virgin brand (and paying royalties to Sir Richard Branson) because of brand loyalty.

 

[Dryline]

I just tossed their name out there since they're pretty well known, at least in my parts they are. The link I shared above provides details about which MVNOs are tied to what cellular companies in the right column.

 

[Moshe1010]

I've already been warned about the car insurance costs from others who have moved to the same area from London.

Not sure how is it in different states, but when I arrived to CA, all I had to do is to show a proof from my previous insurance (in a different country) that I did not have any accidents. In addition, I had to show a note from the police/DMV that my license is clean as well from accidents/tickets/points. I paid like any other resident since day one by doing so. Not all companies accepted this though, but Mercury insurance, for example, did.

 

[Paul B]

Of course, this is all moot if we don' get our visas - we have the interview next Wednesday.

Got the visas

Flights are booked!

One way

Now to start looking in earnest for phones/tablets on Amazon/Ebay, so we'll have something from day one (we have a friend who lives in the area who can take delivery in advance).

 

[Joeychgo]

My Stepson goes to school not far from raleigh ---

 

[Dryline]

That's some serious poundage for one way flights. I was just looking around at Howard Forums and thinking about your plight. I don't know how much digging you're interested in doing, but they're a great resource for anything and everything mobile. http://www.howardforums.com/forum.php

 

[Paul B]

That's some serious poundage for one way flights.

The prices are crazy.
Especially when you consider return flights were a third of that.

 

[Amaury]

Got the visas

Flights are booked!
View attachment 133782

If the converter I used is correct, that's $7,407.86.

 

[TPerry]

Now to start looking in earnest for phones/tablets on Amazon/Ebay, so we'll have something from day one (we have a friend who lives in the area who can take delivery in advance).

Brogan, I was serious about phones. I have 2 Droid RAZR MAXX's I don't mind shipping to you. They are older phones from Verizon and one of them is a CPO (certified pre-owned) that the "new" back they put on has some bubbles in it, but they would probably do until you can get in and some history with them. They've just been sitting in my old cigar box as backups. I still have an iPhone 5s in there (my main backup) and a RAZR HD (my wife's backup) - so letting them go won't kill me.

 

[Paul B]

Thanks @Tracy Perry, I appreciate the offer.

The other half has decided nothing other than a shiny new Note 5 will do

For me, it's much less of an issue as I hardly use my phone here - I top up maybe 2 or 3 times a year.

 

[markku]

Especially when you consider return flights were a third of that.

Do I understand correctly that a return trip would have been 1/3 of the price of the one-way?

If so, why didn't you buy return tickets and just leave the "back to UK" part unused?

I guess there must have been a good reason (Visa related or something? I don't know).

It's been interesting reading this thread - very happy for you. Good luck with the new country!