# Should I rent or buy a pre-paid cell for a week in England? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360 "2008-01-28T20:46:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/1 "2008-01-28T20:46:39Z")
I’ll be spending a week in England (London, Bradford, and back) in March, and it would be convenient to have a cell phone while there. But my US cell is not GSM tri-band, or any of that stuff. So what are my best options? I probably won’t be making lots of calls, just “where should we meet” kinds of things. And it would be nice to be reachable from home (US), but there’s a good chance I won’t have to call or be called internationally. [This place](http://www.telestial.com/) offers a phone and $20 of airtime for $50, which seems pretty reasonable. I was wondering if I might be able to walk into a store in London and pick up a pre-paid phone cheaper and more simply than using Telestial. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/2 "2008-01-28T20:53:06Z")
When I went to Ireland last year I went through Verizon Wireless’ international service which is operated by Vodaphone in the UK. I was able to rent a phone. Because it was last minute, I had them overnight it to me. It came in a leather bag, a charger with a set of adapters for various countries and a manual. I was able to forward my calls from my US cell phone number so I didn’t have to worry about handing out an international number to all my friends. When I returned home I put it in a box they gave me with a Fedex label already on it, called Fedex and they picked it up. I got the bill about 2 weeks later. It was a great way to go, I highly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/3 "2008-01-28T21:11:30Z")
Now that you mention it, I think I did that a few years ago, too. Do you remember how much it cost? ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/4 "2008-01-28T21:20:36Z")
Here is the information on the Verizon rental program. I used it last April. [http://www.vzwrentinternational.com/](http://www.vzwrentinternational.com/) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/5 "2008-01-28T21:22:29Z")
I think it was $50 USD intial fee + $10/day + minutes @ $1.49/min. I tried to keep my minutes as low as possible. I used the phone more for contacting car rentals and such. Called home to let them know I was still alive a few times. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/6 "2008-01-28T21:36:37Z")
For reference you can buy a basic pay-as-you-go phone for £20 or less in most places. My company is nowhere near yours but we sell them for £5. Depends if you’re going to call locally or international. If you’re calling locally you’d be best off using a local phone. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/7 "2008-01-28T22:08:46Z")
You can call into a larger Tesco store (loads around) and get a pre-pay Nokia for $30. [http://www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork/shop/?page=payg](http://www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork/shop/?page=payg) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/8 "2008-01-29T00:05:42Z")
If it’s only for a week, why bother with a phone at all? The hotels will have telephones, and there are public payphones. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/9 "2008-01-29T00:19:59Z")
It would be cheaper to buy one in the UK than to rent. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/10 "2008-01-29T02:23:15Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] If it’s only for a week, why bother with a phone at all? The hotels will have telephones, and there are public payphones. [/QUOTE] For the same reasons most people use cell phones: because I may want people to call me when I’m not in my hotel room, which will be most of every day, and I may want to make calls when I’m out sightseeing, without a pocket full of change. But as I’ve thought about it, although I might save a few bucks (or quid) by buying a phone when I get there, it’ll be much more convenient to know the number before I leave home, so I can tell everyone I may want to call what the number is. So I’ll probably get something like the phone in my first link. But if anyone has any other ideas, please feel free to share. ---
**Author:** ![Sprockets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@Sprockets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sprockets)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/11 "2008-01-29T02:35:40Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] I’ll be spending a week in England (London, Bradford, and back) in March, and it would be convenient to have a cell phone while there. But my US cell is not GSM tri-band, or any of that stuff. So what are my best options? [/QUOTE] You’re going to Bradford? My inlaws are there. (Don’t visit them, they’re very dull.) Why Bradford, if I might ask? I know it’s not because it’s beautiful at this time of year. . . . ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/12 "2008-01-29T02:57:41Z")
[Widescreen Weekend.](http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/bff/2008/widescreen.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Sprockets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@Sprockets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sprockets)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/13 "2008-01-29T12:35:35Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] [Widescreen Weekend.](http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/bff/2008/widescreen.asp) [/QUOTE] I’m on the “disposable cellphone while there” side of the question, btw. That’s if you can’t get international calling added to your phone for a short time. Have you been to Bradford before? ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/14 "2008-01-29T12:50:29Z")
[QUOTE=Sprockets] You’re going to Bradford? My inlaws are there. (Don’t visit them, they’re very dull.) Why Bradford, if I might ask? I know it’s not because it’s beautiful at this time of year. . . . [/QUOTE] or indeed at any time of year. ---
**Author:** ![Sprockets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@Sprockets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sprockets)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/15 "2008-01-29T13:03:54Z")
[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers] or indeed at any time of year. [/QUOTE] My mother- and father-in-law are 82 and 84 respectively, and they have lived in Bradford ALL THEIR LIVES. ALL THEIR LIVES ALL THEIR LIVES ALL THEIR LIVES. Can you even begin to IMAGINE??? . . . .the horror. . . . ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/16 "2008-01-29T13:14:17Z")
[QUOTE=Sprockets] That’s if you can’t get international calling added to your phone for a short time. [/QUOTE] And buying a cheap-ass GSM phone will allow you to pick up pay-as-you-go SIM cards if you go elsewhere in the world. I did this on a round-the-world trip in 2005, and picked up pay-as-you-go SIM cards in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Very handy, and very cheap. Furthermore, international calling from a foreign country back to the host country on your host plan is usually appallingly expensive. However, if you get a “disposable” cell, you can also get a heavily discounted prepaid calling card for making calls to the US, that goes via a free UK number. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/17 "2008-01-30T15:29:01Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] And buying a cheap-ass GSM phone will allow you to pick up pay-as-you-go SIM cards if you go elsewhere in the world. I did this on a round-the-world trip in 2005, and picked up pay-as-you-go SIM cards in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Very handy, and very cheap. Furthermore, international calling from a foreign country back to the host country on your host plan is usually appallingly expensive. However, if you get a “disposable” cell, you can also get a heavily discounted prepaid calling card for making calls to the US, that goes via a free UK number. [/QUOTE] How do the SIM cards work? (US cell phones don’t use them, so I know nothing.) I thought you get a different phone number with every card. I can buy a cheap used unlocked phone on eBay before I go, but if I get the SIM card in London, won’t I have to wait until then to tell my contacts how they can reach me? And that will probably involve calling them, using up minutes, just to tell them the number. It seems to me that the US$50 phone offered in my OP’s link gets me all set up before leaving home, and for only maybe $20 more than buying a phone (or SIM card) in London. I should be able to e-mail everyone the number before leaving. And I can still add onto the card that comes with it while there, or even get another card if I need to. Am I wrong? BTW, what is a good rate for minutes, within a country and internationally? ---
**Author:** ![uncle\_squeegee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b5e925/32.png) [@uncle\_squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uncle_squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/18 "2008-01-31T02:48:49Z")
commasense : > [@](#): > > How do the SIM cards work? (US cell phones don’t use them, so I know nothing.) AT&T, T-Mobile, and a few other US carriers use SIM cards. The card stores your information, which can include your phonebook entries (think of it as the phone’s brain). You can take it out of one handset and pop it into another and be on your way (making upgrades painless). If you go with one of the prepaid plans, you should get instructions on how to add minutes once you run low. B > [@](#): > > But as I’ve thought about it, although I might save a few bucks (or quid) by buying a phone when I get there, it’ll be much more convenient to know the number before I leave home, so I can tell everyone I may want to call what the number is. It’s a little cumbersome, but once you get the new phone you could call your US-based voicemail and leave the new # in your greeting (if you get int’l calling with the new phone, or use a landline) or send a quick email to those who might call you. ---
**Author:** ![tychobrahe\_snose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@tychobrahe\_snose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tychobrahe_snose)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/19 "2008-01-31T03:07:18Z")
If you are going to be travelling to Europe occasionally try this: > **[Japan SIM Cards & World Phones From Mobal](https://www.mobal.com/)** > > The Experts In Japan SIM Cards, World Phones & International SIMs - Find Your Perfect Travel Companion With Mobal You can buy a phone fro 50 bucks and pay only for the time you are using it for calls. You have the same # permanently. Bought one last year for a trip…worked great. Tycho ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-rent-or-buy-a-pre-paid-cell-for-a-week-in-england/435360/20 "2008-01-31T20:37:50Z")
payphones (or Public Call Offices, to give them their proper name) are an endangered species here now. Many generate so little revenue that they have been taken out altogether and I think we will see the death of them within the next five or so years, unless it’s in airports or tourist traps