# Pay-as-you-go plans in Europe? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-as-you-go-plans-in-europe/321682 "2005-09-14T22:59:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-as-you-go-plans-in-europe/321682/1 "2005-09-14T22:59:59Z")
I’ve been scouring TMobile’s site for about an hour, but I couldn’t find exactly wham I was looking for, so I am asking you for help. I am trying to find a TMobile pay as you go plan in Europe. Im taking my annual trip there in December, and I am not going to pay $2 a minute in roaming charges to Cingular. I was hoping to find some sort of plan that I could get from perhaps TMobile and call back to the US for something approaching a good or decent rate. I need a plan that would ideally work across western and eastern europe, although I could of course get a new one in each country (but travelling to 6 or so countries, that is obviously an inconvenience). Any help would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-as-you-go-plans-in-europe/321682/2 "2005-09-14T23:08:36Z")
Have you tried emailing your request to them and asking for more info? I’m pretty sure i read recently (last week or so) about the exact thing you need. You can either pay £15ish for fairly limited roaming access or a one-off £30-£45 for pan-European roaming access. Sumpin like that anyway. Not sure if either will extend to the USA but it’s possible. Oh, and don’t bother trying to ring them. It costs a fortune and ironically, their phone support suX0rs. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-as-you-go-plans-in-europe/321682/3 "2005-09-15T06:11:17Z")
Roaming in Europe is expensive. If you’re planning on making more than a few calls, get a new one for each country - this also avoids the hassle of making sure you’ve got international codes programmed in for every number. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-as-you-go-plans-in-europe/321682/4 "2005-09-15T12:58:32Z")
When I was in Europe last year I got a British number from Virgin. I got it from eBay before I left. However I started from England and I think you have to turn on your phone there to activate the number. I used it all across Europe from Ireland, through the Neatherlands, to Italy, to Romania and up through Austria and every country inbetween. I didn’t have and problems getting reception at all. The worst problems I had was they wouldn’t let me use a US credit card to put more minutes on my phone. I put something like 40 pounds on it and used them all. I couldn’t put more money on it when I was on the road, which turned out that I did need it. Yes it was a bit expensive, but to me well worth it. I have heard that some countries will not allow you to buy numbers unless you have an address. Plus putting a new SIM in will take away the numbers you may have saved. I’d get just one and be done with it. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-as-you-go-plans-in-europe/321682/5 "2005-09-15T16:35:47Z")
I save my phone numbers to the phone, not to the SIM card, so I can avoid that problem.