Calling US with International monthly (travel) plan

[sparkkraps]

I know there are 250 voice minutes on the $100 international monthly plan, but I'm wondering if calling the US from a foreign country counts towards the 250 minutes or calling the US number is unlimited.

[vzw_customer_support · Accepted solution]

Thank you for your inquiry, sparkkraps! Yes, the 250 minutes from our monthly international plan is for calls made either within the country you are visiting or back to the US. It is designed for international travel and covers calls to your home country. However, calling to any other country will be charged separately. Find more information on our website at: https://www.verizon.com/plans/international/international-travel/monthly-plan/

-Christy

[SynthpopAddict · Accepted solution]

Hi, I'd have to think any calls (inbound or outbound) are going to count towards the 250 minutes.  If you go over, then you will start being billed for international calls, which is somewhere around $2.50 - $3.00/minute.  If you are currently under contract and therefore cannot upgrade your service plan to Unlimited Ultimate (which would have calls back to the US covered), or you otherwise don't want to change your service plan, a less expensive option - assuming your phone is unlocked and can support 2 SIM/eSIM cards - would be to buy service from a local carrier while you're abroad.  Then you could at least call people in that other country using your foreign phone number and it would be a local call.

Something else to watch out for is how your apps are configured to access the internet and how you text.  The International Service Plan gives you 20 gigs of data if I'm remembering it correctly.  RCS texting and any other form of encrypted texting which is not SMS or MMS is using data and does not count towards the texting allowance.  Since so many of us rely on texting, make sure you set your device to use SMS only and not RCS, otherwise you may very well burn up your entire data allotment in no time and then will be throttled at 3G speeds...which are unusable for any modern apps.  Many apps also run in the background for various reasons, so you'll have to either shut them off or if you buy service from a foreign carrier, to re-route the app data usage to go through the foreign carrier and not Verizon.

[SynthpopAddict]

I'm not sure.  I do know if you have Unlimited Ultimate, then calling the US while you're abroad is covered by the plan and doesn't count towards the modified version of the monthly International Service Plan, but if you've got some other service plan and are buying the International Service Plan...that's a question for CS.  You could try calling International Services Support at 908-559-4899 as they'd be the best department for that inquiry.

[vzw_customer_support · Accepted solution]

Thank you for your inquiry, sparkkraps! Yes, the 250 minutes from our monthly international plan is for calls made either within the country you are visiting or back to the US. It is designed for international travel and covers calls to your home country. However, calling to any other country will be charged separately. Find more information on our website at: https://www.verizon.com/plans/international/international-travel/monthly-plan/

-Christy

[sparkkraps]

Thank you for the link, but it's unclear. 

So, after calling the US and a local number while abroad for 250 minutes, will I be charged for additional calls to the US?  Is this correct? 

Are incoming calls unlimited and included in the International Monthly Travel Plan? 

Thank you, in advance.

[SynthpopAddict · Accepted solution]

Hi, I'd have to think any calls (inbound or outbound) are going to count towards the 250 minutes.  If you go over, then you will start being billed for international calls, which is somewhere around $2.50 - $3.00/minute.  If you are currently under contract and therefore cannot upgrade your service plan to Unlimited Ultimate (which would have calls back to the US covered), or you otherwise don't want to change your service plan, a less expensive option - assuming your phone is unlocked and can support 2 SIM/eSIM cards - would be to buy service from a local carrier while you're abroad.  Then you could at least call people in that other country using your foreign phone number and it would be a local call.

Something else to watch out for is how your apps are configured to access the internet and how you text.  The International Service Plan gives you 20 gigs of data if I'm remembering it correctly.  RCS texting and any other form of encrypted texting which is not SMS or MMS is using data and does not count towards the texting allowance.  Since so many of us rely on texting, make sure you set your device to use SMS only and not RCS, otherwise you may very well burn up your entire data allotment in no time and then will be throttled at 3G speeds...which are unusable for any modern apps.  Many apps also run in the background for various reasons, so you'll have to either shut them off or if you buy service from a foreign carrier, to re-route the app data usage to go through the foreign carrier and not Verizon.

[vzw_customer_support · Accepted solution]

We want to ensure you have all the information you need to make the best informed decision. We recommend using our Trip Planner. https://www.verizon.com/plans/international/international-travel/trip-planner-tool/ By signing in to your account it will outline every detail of all available international plans. We will send you a private message to further assist. 

-Toni