Canada: US person to Canada for a Plan (Monthly vs Pre paid) Fido?or others? Costly!

[eieio]

Thank you for the great info.

Upon doing more research with Rogers...they have a "first top up Double the refill" bonus deal now. so if i were to get a sim card for $25, and a top up for $40, i'll get in effect a top up for $80. so the net outlay is $65 (25+40) for $80 worth of time/minutes.

the most calls i'll do will be to an 866 number which would allow me to call the USA from Vancouver and/or Calgary/Jasper. there are 3 area codes involved: vancouver, calgary/banff/lake louise/kananaskis, and the 3rd one is Jasper.

i don't think it would be that useful for me to switch numbers since i'll be initiating most of the calls.

any other advise, gentlemen/ladies?

oh, btw, some Rogers stores want to CHARGE for activation! i would have to use 25 cents and go to a pay phone, maybe 100 feet from the store, and activate via an 800 number, in order to save $25 !! how odd is that?

ugh.

[PhotoJim]

Well, 50 cents (payphones have gone up in price here - hardly anyone uses them ), but I get your point.

[eieio]

To the good, smart folks here:

thank you all for being so incredible knowledgeable and helpful!

may i ask if this following course of action would make the most sense for someone who's vast majority of calls will be from the pay as you go cell to a onesuite.com 866 or local access number in order to call the USA?

Upon arrival in Vancouver, purchase from "Rogers Plus" store a Rogers SIM card ($25 with self activation, or add $15 for store assisted activation) and $40 of INITIAL TOP UP. the current "bonus" is a doubling of the initial top up value UP TO $40. Therefore, i will pay out of pocket $65 for $80 worth of calls.

$80 less 12 days at $1 per day leaves $68. $68 divided by $0.30/min = 226 Mins = roughly 3 Hours and 45 Mins of calls at 30 cents per min. (unlimited calls evenings and weekends, i'll have only 1 weekend in my 12 days there so effectively, my 3 Hours of calls will be apportioned over 12-2 = 10 days, that's only 22 mins per day). My fear is that as my itinerary is Vancouver 604/Calgary 403/Kananaskis 403/Lake Louise 403/Jasper780/Banff 403, it will get rather complicated.

changing area codes imply changing cell numbers. not changing area codes imply great cost when others call, right? though i do not expect to make many Canada to Canada calls as i do not know many people in Canada.

thanks!

[snaimon]

Unless you plan on making lots and lots of calls on the cell phone, I would not invest in the top up right away. You can always add more time/money if needed.

You don't indicate if you are staying in hotels or with friends for the nights you are there. The onesuite card will work just fine from any phone in Canada. A hotel might charge for 800 access so you would use the cell. Or will you be camping and without access to a landline phone?

TRUE, it would be a pain, but you could ask your family or friends, the ones you wish to call back home, to call YOU in the hotel or where you are staying. Just give them a quick call and let them know your room #. I find 30 cents per minute a bit steep for calling the US on top of what onesuite will demand. If they used you onesuite # & pin to reach you in the hotel, that would be more economical.

When we were in Germany, our son called us a few times and that was at a lower rate than if we had called him. Wife insisted we call back home, however.

Bon voyage.

Stan

[eieio]

hello Mr or Ms snaimon:

thx for your posting. well, as my itinerary is Vancouver/Calgary/Kananaskis/Lake Louise/Jasper/Banff, the only sure place to be able to get a "voucher" to refill my prepaid is Vancouver! (we're not spending any time in calgary).

they do NOT allow using a US credit card to refill a prepaid sim phone card!

i really don't understand that!

i'm thinking that i'll do the $40 initial top up to take full advantage of the bonus double initial top up which has a maximum of up to $40 for the initial top up, so a $40 top up is equal to $80 in my prepaid account.

in Kananaskis / Lakie Louise / Jasper / Banff, there's no assurance that they will have the right kiosk/store that carry thiese vouchers and there's no assurance that i'll be near them! maybe i will be near them, maybe i won't.

this is quite complicated!! ugh!

[PhotoJim]

I expect you'll be able to get vouchers in Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise. Most gas stations have them.

[eieio]

PhotoJim: thx for informing me that most gas stations have them. we'll be traveling on a "bus" that has a tour guide. we found a good tour operator that uses high quality buses and high quality hotels and people have gone on their trips and they are not "icky" at all, au contraire, they are very fine and of high quality.

having said that, i won't be "filling up" my gas tank!! so how would i find places to buy vouchers? it is EXTREMELY odd that in Canada, one is not allowed to top up and refill one's pay as you go cell phone via a US-issued credit card!! how can that be? it is SO inconvenient.

with $40 plus the "bonus" of $40 for my initial top up in Vancouver (4 nights), i'll have an idea when i arrive in Kananaskis on the 5th day how much i need.

[PhotoJim]

A lot of companies won't accept foreign credit cards. They do this to limit credit card fraud. I can't use my Canadian credit cards to top up my UK O2 service either.

If you aren't in walking distance to gas stations from your hotel (and you ought to be), I imagine the concierge at your hotel can arrange to get a card on your behalf easily enough.

[eieio]

So...i checked with the hotels in kananaskis and lake louise in order to see how easy/difficult it would be to get these "vouchers" for topping up.

well...in kananaskis, it is 20 miles, yes, 20 miles (!) from the store that has it. we're there with a bus tour / motor coach tour, so we aren't that mobile. at lake louise, the nearest place is a Petrol Canada place, which i actually took the trouble to call. it's 3+ kilometers from the hotel we'll be at. not far, but not that close without your own car. then again, maybe the bus will be kind enough to stop briefly...with the entire 40+ people waiting in the bus while i run in to get a top up voucher??!?? maybe, maybe not. who knows if they are willing to do that.

this is so much trouble for the simple thing of getting a cell phone to use for 12 days!! yikes!

never thought that that would be the case!

[PhotoJim]

When do you leave? You could just pay someone in Canada to buy some prepaid cards for you and mail them to you, or give you the voucher numbers...