Vodaphone Spain pay as you go account transfered to UK, and rest of Europe? Possible?

petkow · 10-03-2008, 17:32

If that is the case then don't use roaming at all! It is by far cheapest for you to just to buy cheap prepaids in every country you visit. It may be best to research them here on this site and order some in advance on the internet if you have adresses/contacts in the countries you are visiting. In many countries you will get an equal amount of credit to what the card costs. e.g. a €10 SIM pack may include €10 of credit, or you may even get a SIM for free!

There is so much choice here in the UK and depends on if you will make long calls or short ones and at what times. If it's a bit of everything and mainly mobiles (and not landlines) you will be calling consider http://www.asda-mobile.com. Calls with their prepaid card costs 16p/min for the first 3 min of calls per day to any mobile and then 8p/min after that!

When you move onto the next country, come back here and check whats new. Things change all the time.

saren · 10-03-2008, 18:11

ok thanks i will just keep buying local sims in each country i visit.

asda is for uk only right/ i assume in norway (my next stop), i will have to switch it to a norway equivalent.

my calls are always outgoing, short, (anytime of day), are are almost always to mobiles (on all networks). Most of my calls are for the purposes of setting up a rendezvous. SMS and other features are non-important.

i also use voipwise, and before it (webcalldirect) for internet calls. The rates are the cheapest i have ever seen (landlines are free, for example).

I need a SIM for emergency calls on the street. The only other option was using payphones with calling cards. Now, I know i can just switch SIMS over, and over.

But, what to do with the old SIMS?

I have USA, MEXICO, Hong Kong, and Spain (some of which still have credit and are valid).

saren · 10-03-2008, 18:26

By the way, I think Tmobile prepay tariffs are cheaper than Asda, no?
http://www.asda-phones.co.uk/tariff_...10&tc=14&stg=2

petkow · 10-03-2008, 18:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by saren

By the way, I think Tmobile prepay tariffs are cheaper than Asda, no?
http://www.asda-phones.co.uk/tariff_...10&tc=14&stg=2

Well it all depends on how many minutes you will talk in a day. T-Mo's cheapest deal is 15p/min. Asda is 16p/min but after 3 mins of collective calls in a day the rate halves. That does not happen with T-Mobile. It stays at 15p. If you are expecting to make more than 4mins of calls on any day Asda is cheaper. If not, it is only 1p/min more expensive! See: http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobil...home_paygplans and look at the call costs to call other networks!

With regards to your other points:

You are right: Voipwise (part of Betamax) will give you the cheapest calls by far for landlines etc. There are many brands of the same company to chose from. For a smaller outlay you could consider voipraider. The min topup is US$10 (less than €10 needed on other brands).

As I said, by the time you are ready to go to Norway, bin your Asda card and research what local SIM will be best for there here on prepaidgsm. If you are really only considering making very few calls "emergency-only" type calls throughout your whole stay in any country and not getting to be using it for incoming or SMS, you could really consider a single roaming SIM. There are quite a few that will let you call from anywhere in Europe to anywhere for around 40c/min.

With regards to what you can do with your other cards why not flog them off here or on ebay?

saren · 10-03-2008, 19:10

When ASDA says the rate will be halved, is that calculated per day or per call?

As for the global sim, I am considering it but which one is best? Probably one without a setup/connection fee per call, and the cheapest outgoing per minute rate to mobiles around the world (with europe (including east europe) as the priority). I am moving in an easterly direction (next major stops are all of Europe, then the New European countries, Middle East, Asia, and finally Australia. The Americas are least important).

How do I compare the best global SIM vs. local SIMS (in each country) for the type of calls I plan on making. What's the deciding factor?

Asda for example is really cheap per minute, and the SIM itself is almost free (so it sounds perfect). If it's possible to find ASDA equivalents in most countries around the world, then what's the point of purchasing a Global SIM (and its expensive per minute rates)?

As for ebay, I have never used it (so it may be complicated for me and I don't have a physical address (that doesn't change every month)...

By the way, what's flog?

petkow · 10-03-2008, 19:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by saren

When ASDA says the rate will be halved, is that calculated per day or per call?

I can't understand this question. It's all on the site anyhow! If you call person A for 2 mins. This call will cost you 2x16p = 32p. If you then call person B for 2 mins. This call will cost you 16p + 8p =24 mins. If you then make any other call for 10 mins that call will cost you 80p.

Quote:

How do I compare the best global SIM vs. local SIMS (in each country) for the type of calls I plan on making. What's the deciding factor?

Deciding factors: Price, card validity, incoming calls free in which country etc. It's all here on the site. You'll have to look for it a bit first or I could write volumes. Just remember though you say incoming doesn't bother you, in most cases calls are made via a callback mechanism.

Even if not considering a Global SIM, with roaming with a normal local SIM is fairly cheap these days. e.g. UK o2 MyEuropeExtra calls are 25p/min from anywhere and to anywhere in Europe.

Quote:

Asda for example is really cheap per minute, and the SIM itself is almost free (so it sounds perfect). If it's possible to find ASDA equivalents in most countries around the world, then what's the point of purchasing a Global SIM (and its expensive per minute rates)?

Well that's what I said initially. Thats definately what I would do. Prepaid SIM packs are dirt cheap or even free pretty much anywhere these days (well apart from the Americas).

Quote:

As for ebay, I have never used it (so it may be complicated for me and I don't have a physical address (that doesn't change every month)...

As you say!

Quote:

By the way, what's flog?

Sell

saren · 10-03-2008, 20:57

ok i understand its calculated per day, which is best. i assumed each call was 16p for the first 3 minutes, and any successive minutes were reduced. Then a new call would start at 16p again for the first 3 minutes, and so on. Im glad I was wrong.

I'm curious about this callback feature. Does that mean everytime I want to make a call, I have to answer a call first? This appllies to world sims only, right? Or does Asda do that too? Ive never used SIMS like that before.

I have to decide now whether to use TravelSIM (which is around 20p/min to most European mobiles) + free incoming (and no setup), or desposible SIMS in each country.

Regarding selling SIMS, I checked that sub-forum forum and it's pretty empty. Do people really buy OLD sims?

	(#1)
petkow (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 696 Join Date: 01 Aug 2006 Location: Madrid Country:	10-03-2008, 17:32 If that is the case then don't use roaming at all! It is by far cheapest for you to just to buy cheap prepaids in every country you visit. It may be best to research them here on this site and order some in advance on the internet if you have adresses/contacts in the countries you are visiting. In many countries you will get an equal amount of credit to what the card costs. e.g. a €10 SIM pack may include €10 of credit, or you may even get a SIM for free! There is so much choice here in the UK and depends on if you will make long calls or short ones and at what times. If it's a bit of everything and mainly mobiles (and not landlines) you will be calling consider http://www.asda-mobile.com. Calls with their prepaid card costs 16p/min for the first 3 min of calls per day to any mobile and then 8p/min after that! When you move onto the next country, come back here and check whats new. Things change all the time.

	(#2)
saren (Offline) Member Official Member Posts: 40 Join Date: 10 Mar 2008 Country:	10-03-2008, 18:11 ok thanks i will just keep buying local sims in each country i visit. asda is for uk only right/ i assume in norway (my next stop), i will have to switch it to a norway equivalent. my calls are always outgoing, short, (anytime of day), are are almost always to mobiles (on all networks). Most of my calls are for the purposes of setting up a rendezvous. SMS and other features are non-important. i also use voipwise, and before it (webcalldirect) for internet calls. The rates are the cheapest i have ever seen (landlines are free, for example). I need a SIM for emergency calls on the street. The only other option was using payphones with calling cards. Now, I know i can just switch SIMS over, and over. But, what to do with the old SIMS? I have USA, MEXICO, Hong Kong, and Spain (some of which still have credit and are valid).

	(#3)
saren (Offline) Member Official Member Posts: 40 Join Date: 10 Mar 2008 Country:	10-03-2008, 18:26 By the way, I think Tmobile prepay tariffs are cheaper than Asda, no? http://www.asda-phones.co.uk/tariff_...10&tc=14&stg=2

	(#5)
saren (Offline) Member Official Member Posts: 40 Join Date: 10 Mar 2008 Country:	10-03-2008, 19:10 When ASDA says the rate will be halved, is that calculated per day or per call? As for the global sim, I am considering it but which one is best? Probably one without a setup/connection fee per call, and the cheapest outgoing per minute rate to mobiles around the world (with europe (including east europe) as the priority). I am moving in an easterly direction (next major stops are all of Europe, then the New European countries, Middle East, Asia, and finally Australia. The Americas are least important). How do I compare the best global SIM vs. local SIMS (in each country) for the type of calls I plan on making. What's the deciding factor? Asda for example is really cheap per minute, and the SIM itself is almost free (so it sounds perfect). If it's possible to find ASDA equivalents in most countries around the world, then what's the point of purchasing a Global SIM (and its expensive per minute rates)? As for ebay, I have never used it (so it may be complicated for me and I don't have a physical address (that doesn't change every month)... By the way, what's flog?

	(#7)
saren (Offline) Member Official Member Posts: 40 Join Date: 10 Mar 2008 Country:	10-03-2008, 20:57 ok i understand its calculated per day, which is best. i assumed each call was 16p for the first 3 minutes, and any successive minutes were reduced. Then a new call would start at 16p again for the first 3 minutes, and so on. Im glad I was wrong. I'm curious about this callback feature. Does that mean everytime I want to make a call, I have to answer a call first? This appllies to world sims only, right? Or does Asda do that too? Ive never used SIMS like that before. I have to decide now whether to use TravelSIM (which is around 20p/min to most European mobiles) + free incoming (and no setup), or desposible SIMS in each country. Regarding selling SIMS, I checked that sub-forum forum and it's pretty empty. Do people really buy OLD sims?