Backup phone for travel--suggestions

In My Humble Opinion
1

We want to get a phone to use instead of our regular cell phones when we travel. For $70ish/month, we can add a line to my phone account. What’s our least expensive option for a phone + service that meets all of most of these criteria? I realize that phone and plan may have separate answers:

  • Less than $70ish/month.
  • Smartphone for accessing navigation, internet, email. No streaming or music needed. Could be refurbished with an okay warrantee.
  • No bells and whistles. Just an inexpensive, stripped-down smartphone.
  • Unlocked or otherwise usable with Orange or similar sim/esim when traveling internationally.
  • We’d be happiest to get a phone and number, then buy non-expiring minutes rather than having a monthly plan charge.
  • We’d prefer not to have it on one of our existing phone plans.

Thanks!

2

It’s going to be a pretty hard push to get all of the above. Most new phones/plans are going to have a time requirement for an unlock unless purchased outright, and even then, some will balk if it’s too soon after you start. And international use varies dramatically based on carrier, plan and add-ons.

I’d personally advise buying a GOOD, but last generation (or two) phone, which you can find a lot of deals on unlocked, though stay clear of private sellers where you can find yourself in trouble. A refurbished iPhone SE 3 would probably be ideal, in terms of a low cost but less expensive option. Android Wise? Maybe a Pixel 7a or 8a should also be a good, older model that’s reasonably priced. Absolutely plan on using a local SIM once on site, under almost any circumstances it’ll be a huge savings for local use since US plans almost all have very restrictive data usage outside the states.

If you’re comfortable, share your destination(s?) and we can give a bit better advice. Especially in North America (US/Canada/Mexico) many carriers offer same-as packages where there’s no difference.

3

If you’re not tied to a carrier (or are you?), I’d start by looking at which carriers are best for the areas/countries you’ll be visiting.

Edit: I assume OP is referring to international travel.

4

Here is a list of phone deals

Do you have an idea of how many GB of data, text messages, and voice minutes you need in a month? There are a lot of plans available:

5

We just need internet and possibly a call or two to hotels or taxis, which we’d manage with a sim for that country.

6

A couple of questions:

First, a bit more on your planned internet usage - emails (sans pics) are pretty low order usage, navigation a good bit more but not a ton, all things considered, and checking on us (heh!) is also lightweight as a mostly texted based service. Is there anything else under the “internet” that might need much bandwidth?

Second, do you have a preference for Apple vs. Android? And do you have a budget in mind for the phone? As an example, a refurbished Pixel 7a such I mentioned earlier runs around $200 USD, with a great deal of variation depending on where you buy it, same for the iPhone SE 3rd generation. Both of which are about as basic but dependable (depending on condition and warranty, they are refurbished of course) as I’d advise on taking. Of course, if you want to spend more, or get a benny from a carrier (prepaid or otherwise) you’d have a lot more options, but buying unlocked, non-account linked upfront is going to save you a lot of trouble when it’s time to active an international or eSim.

7

Nothing that would need high bandwidth. Might want to play a downloaded audiobook on the plane. We’d want to access things like our airplane app. No preference for Apple or Android. We’d rather do pay as you go in the US than have an ongoing plan. We don’t need to keep a consistent phone number.

8

Whelp, I still advise to pre-download any thing you can, all the phones I suggested are at least 64 GB of storage, of which I’d say you’d have at least half free after system and critical apps. Does your carrier have 24/7 service? And do they have a toll-free international service number? If so, it might be easiest to just transfer your service on an existing lines to the new device immediately prior to the trip, then call said number to switch it back once you’re safely returned. No extra line or charges to bother with. It’s generally pretty fast and easy with an eSim, and if you use a physical Sim it’s often easier, if requiring a bit of fiddly work especially if you have fat-fingers like me.

9

I question the original premise.

I traveled internationally 7-12 days every month for years. Mostly LatAm. I got the international add-on to my T-Mobile phone plan. $10/mo. For that there was effectively unlimited data in any/every country I went to. I used my phone exactly the same while traveling international as I did while traveling domestic or here at my home. No extra data charges ever. No thought of data conservation or cost or anything. Because there was no cost.

My normal use on my phone was about like the OPs: email, nav, text, and Dope. Not watching vids or even just streaming music all day every day. I’d look at the occasional short vid but it wasn’t an addiction.

Generally when my phone first hooked up to Country X’s mobile system a couple minutes later I’d get a popup saying something like “Welcome to Country X with T-Mobile. You have unlimited free data here.” I do not recall EVER seeing a popup with “You have X gigabytes free per day here”.

I was a little careful with voice calls. At hotels there is Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi calling is free. In many restaurants, etc., Wi-Fi was also available. Outside of Wi-Fi coverage I made the calls I needed to, but not phone home to yak for an hour. The calls I needed to make cost a couple dollars each. In a typical month that was maaybe $30 of calls.

I don’t know the specifics of where the OP is going or how long they’re staying there. I know they make long treks around Europe. I suspect the OP is preparing to spend hundreds of dollars to save 30.

Good luck whatever you decide.

10

Get Google Fi: $55 per line, 50 GB of data and free texting included in 200+ countries, free international calling from the US, and you get a free Pixel 9a phone too (over 24 mos). No need to switch eSIMs when you travel. No contract, and you can pause it for 3 months at a time. You can also switch plans in the app any time you want.

Basic info: https://fi.google.com/

For the free phone: The new Google Pixel 9a | Google Fi Wireless

You can use my referral code, JU27Y9, if you want another $60 off.

It’s a great home & travel service. We use it all the time at home and when going abroad. It’s Google’s T-mobile MVNO (meaning it uses T-mobile towers and coverage, but Google negotiated a special rate with them and whitelabels their service on your behalf. It’s only Google you’d deal with, not T-Mobile directly.)

11

I’m thinking of getting a phone for international travel, too. But it would be helpful if i could transfer my Google Fi number, and my address book, to the new phone and back again. I will want to stay in touch with a variety of people. I may need to do so for logistical reasons.

Does anyone know how hard that would be?

(I agree that Google Fi is an excellent choice for international travel, by the way.)

12

You can get an unlocked phone at Target, Walmart, or other places like that. I have an AT&T plan that’s prepaid by the month. I get my phones at Target, and they range from $50-hundreds for Samsung and Apple. When I go international I either get a SIM in the country or AT&T I can pay $35 a week for coverage. I can still get text messages, which has been helpful for flights, even if I don’t pay the $35. If you just wanted the SIM you could just buy the phone and never activate it, though you might want to check first as I transfer my old phone to my new one usually.

I don’t know about Google Fi, but if you log in to your Google account I’m guessing your contacts will also come. Mine are all under my Google account so they are always available.

13

The number is just your esim.

The contacts should be saved to your Google account.

If you get another Android phone, you should be able to just login there with your Google account. The contacts should reappear. Then you download the Fi app and activate your account on the new phone. How to transfer Google Fi service to a new device - Android - Google Fi Wireless Help

14

I guess i should buy a travel phone with a decent camera and a decent battery. Android. Ideally not too huge.

Any obvious suggestions, or should i just research it?

15

I strongly recommend purchasing an unlocked phone outright, and nothing tied to a specific carrier. There is no need to pay for an extra line on your account, either transfer your sim or eSIM to the new phone temporarily, or just purchase a pay-as-you-go plan wherever you are going.

You should be able to get a good enough phone for under $200. A brief browse at Best Buy shows the Moto G 2025 at $199, and it gets “surprisingly good for the price” reviews, and a refurbished iPhone SE 3rd gen for $149. There are also plenty of reviews of budget phones online. Typically this is the < $500 range, so “budget”.

The main reason to just buy a phone is that if gets lost, stolen, confiscated, or broken, you’re only out what you spent, and aren’t stuck in a 2 year contract for a phone that is gone.

16

If you’re an existing Fi customer, they have many deals, especially if you want to add another line (which can be cheaper than just buying a new phone), but even if you don’t, check the app for offers.

All Fi phones are unlocked by default, as soon as you get them. If you have a subsidized price on them you have to follow the terms to get the max value, but that’s separate from the actual hardware. You can use a Fi phone on any carrier from day 1.

Or buy a used phone from anywhere.

I’d recommend a Pixel, personally. Much less crapware than the Samsungs. They’re just generally fine phones. Nothing outstanding, but everything works.

17

What you could do is this:

  • Get an unlocked phone. This can be a new phone or one of your old phones that has been unlocked (phones past the end of their contract can typically be unlocked). There are also many good, unlocked, budget phones in the $200 range.
  • Get a Google Voice phone number. GV is not necessarily associated with a cell phone. You can access it through google.com or through the Google Voice app on your phone. You can call or text using Google Voice as long as you have data or wifi
  • Sign up for a prepaid data plan when you travel. It might also have a phone number, but you would use your GV number through the GV app rather than the prepaid number..

The prepaid data would allow you to use GV when you travel. When you’re back at home, you’re not paying for anything. The prepaid data is typically month-to-month, so you’re only paying for it when you need it. You can find lots of prepaid cards at places like Target from companies like Boost, TracPhone, ATT, T-Mobile, etc. They may be call/text/data or just data. They will have a variety of XGB/mo options at $/mo.

18

I am a Fi customer, but i don’t want a new line. On the other hand, if they subsidize new phones, maybe i should look into that, as I’ve never bought a phone through my Fi account.

19

Yeah, they do. Like right now, the Pixel 9a is $249 for existing customers (free for new ones). The “a” series is like the “SE” for iPhones… same basic phone as the other Pixel 9s, but stripped down features. A couple weeks ago the discount was slightly greater, and it will keep changing every few weeks.

There are other phones, like various Samsungs from $50 on up, or a Motorola for $60.

I’d still choose a Pixel if price isn’t the main consideration. Pixels are Google’s own phone, free of third-party crapware and launchers and ads. They do heavily advertise their Gemini AI crap though, but you can disable all that.

The offers change frequently both in the Fi app and in the separate Google Store (which is currently offering the base Pixel 9, not the 9a, for free for new Fi customers… not sure why they don’t offer that directly in the Fi site). To be clear, Google has really stupid marketing & sales, where the Fi website & app compete against the separate Google Store, but phones bought from either place will work with Fi.

Fi store: Shop Latest Smartphones with Google Fi Wireless
Google Store: https://store.google.com/category/phones?hl=en-US

In either case, make sure you’re logged into the same Google account that you have Fi on, to see the existing customer deals instead of the new customer ones.

IMHO Fi is actually one of Google’s most consumer-friendly services… it’s like it’s from a different company altogether, compared to their usual user-hostile offerings. Great customer support too. Fi-activated phones are never locked, and usable at any other carrier by default. There is no contract ever, and no lock in, and if you cancel early, you just owe the rest of your phone price (if you have it subsidized) and that’s it. You can usually also just switch to a lower plan.

I upgrade my phone through Fi every few years and either sell/trade in the old one or just keep it as a backup (perfect travel phone?).

Not having to deal with international eSIMs and different numbers and data caps and all that is super, SUPER nice. I just go everywhere and anywhere with my phone and it just works, and I don’t have to tell anyone I’ve switched numbers temporarily. I can easily tether my laptop to it too, and they’ll also give you free additional data SIMs for your tablet/laptop/smartwatch etc.

20

Separate from any specific carrier, I should also point out that in the last few years, physical SIM cards have largely given way to eSIMs (software SIM cards that can be downloaded over wifi).

The advantage of this is that it makes international roaming plans much easier to buy, since you don’t have to go to a physical airport kiosk or cell phone store anymore. You can just download an app like Saily, choose where you want to go, and buy and activate the eSIM right from home. It works especially well on phones that have 2 SIM slots (many do), so you can keep your home line on one slot (physical or eSIM) and add the travel one as a second one just for data.

There are many such apps: Best eSIM for international travel of 2025 | TechRadar

Because of eSIMs, international data plans have become commodities that you can easily shop for and activate ahead of time, before traveling.

Fi is still easier (way easier), but many people either don’t want to switch carriers and/or don’t trust Google. In that case the esim route makes life somewhat simpler than the old ways. But you sometimes can still get better packages by buying a local SIM (eSIM or physical) once you get there.