4 Tips to Avoid Being “Surprised” with your Phone Bill



International travel can be for most of us a dream come true, but what a nightmare at the time our phone bill arrives. There are many international plan options, but personally I consider staying away of “data usage” will help you ease with the cost. In case you can’t separate leisure and work, the following tips will be handy at the time to make a decision:

1.  Call your phone carrier before you travel – All major carriers offer international plan, make sure you understand completely the cost to call back to U.S. while you’re overseas. The difference, if any, between the costs of calling another mobile phone versus calling a landline. The fees for sending and receiving text messages, including media and video messages, the fees for data access. Make sure they explain you in detail especially if you know the places you’re visiting. Depending of the country will be the charge. If you’re going to be on a Cruise Ship, they will charge you a different amount while on land than while on sea.

2.  Use Wi-Fi for calling, messaging, conferencing and accessing the Web – You must turn Off international roaming; and turn On your Wi-Fi connection (check your phone manual for a step by step, sometimes are different screens that need to be selected before finding this application.

3.  In case you’re a business person Take Calls Only from Clients – this is one Rule of Thumbs Up. I know your immediate family will understand if you contact them through emails or Skype. But your clients won’t understand this, I can assure you this is a rule I follow. On my last cruise, my Princess Commodore Cruise, I spent 16 days away from my children, but at the same time I was working with 2 Group Cruises. Selecting wisely which calls I had to answer, my phone usage turned into profits instead of loses.

4.  Consider using smartphone calling apps – This can be a saving since it uses low-cost Wi-Fi connections, Skype mobile for example charges an average of $.30 per minute for a call in Italy; a difference from Att rate which was $.99 per minute.

Master this steps and you may stand a good chance of coming back from your overseas trip with some new business and without a whopping cellphone bill. I hope this tips help you spend your money wisely. If you are planning to travel overseas or locally, please let me help you customize your next trip.

Leila Reyes

Family Travel Specialist

lrtravel@live.com          

817-554-3346