# Prepaid SIM for America **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepaid-sim-for-america/987369 "2023-07-21T23:44:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2023, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepaid-sim-for-america/987369/21 "2023-07-30T04:06:55Z")
That’s for US customers traveling abroad, which don’t help someone like me, right? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepaid-sim-for-america/987369/22 "2023-07-31T00:07:21Z")
Sorry, my point is that my carrier has a max monthly charge equivalent to 10 days usage. This cap is not obvious from first look at the marketing materials, need to dig a bit deeper into the terms. I thought it might be worth looking deeper into your carrier’s terms to make sure they don’t have a similar cap. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepaid-sim-for-america/987369/23 "2023-07-31T01:45:44Z")
With my carrier the max is per 15 days per billing month, so depending on when you are away you can get dinged for more than the max. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepaid-sim-for-america/987369/24 "2023-07-31T03:55:44Z")
Oh, OK. I didn’t look that deeply and this does seem to be a cheaper option anyway, but thanks! ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepaid-sim-for-america/987369/25 "2023-08-17T05:32:14Z")
Follow up for anyone interested > [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I would [sic] up going with Airalo, and paying $42 for 20 GB for 30 days, which can be topped up as needed. If I stay within 20 GB it will save me $280. We’re staying with family, friends and at places with wifi so I think I should be good. I only used 10 GB for the 21 days I was there, so $42 was my total expense. I used WiFi from my mother’s house, my friends’ places, airports, etc., as wel as using the GPS unit from the car for navigation. I’m not in Taiwan for six days and just paid $14 for 3 GB. It’s pretty straightforward to set up and I highly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepaid-sim-for-america/987369/26 "2023-08-17T06:51:08Z")
This echoes my recent experience - wifi is so ubiquitous these days that you end up not needing as much data during travel as you think you will. I was in Ireland for a month and I think I used substantially less than 10GB, despite being an internet tragic. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepaid-sim-for-america/987369/27 "2023-08-17T06:58:56Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > 3GB is not a whole lot of data and you have to be really careful to manage your data usage. I was careful, and only used 1.6 GB in the 30 days. I should have renewed it as I ended up using my new yearly roaming allocation (my contract automatically renewed at the beginning of August) and now I have nothing for my fall vacation in Italy and Spain. I’ll probably get a Europe-wide e-SIM for then - I’ll figure that out in October. > [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > > You will only be charged a maximum of 10 days per line each bill cycle, even if you stay longer! My stay in the US overlapped with two billing cycles, so that would have $200 will be more likely. For a two-week vacation, a monthly cap is sufficient. I was in the US for 5.5 weeks, so Airalo works for me. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepaid-sim-for-america/987369/28 "2023-08-17T07:11:09Z")
Yes, I would have used less but my kids love their YouTubes. > [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > My stay in the US overlapped with two billing cycles, so that would have $200 will be more likely. For a two-week vacation, a monthly cap is sufficient. I was in the US for 5.5 weeks, so Airalo works for me. I would have had the same problem as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepaid-sim-for-america/987369.md?page=1)