American prepaid service that covers Canada?

Hey Folks,

I'm looking for a prepaid service here in the US that has some coverage in Canada when I visit. I am specifically looking into the Hamilton-Toronto-Ottawa area.

Any leads would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Hey thanks for the lead. I was certainly hoping to get the best of both worlds but so far no luck. Cingular has a neat prepaid service but they charge a dollar a day for access. Not too pleased with that one.

 

Andy,

I first looked at Verizon Wireless and their North American Plan and it does cover the US and Canada but you need to sign a contract at the rate of $59.99 a month. I thought about it and I couldn't justify signing a contract for that price for only a couple of trips to Canada a year. That's what got me thinking about looking into other carriers that had a similar feature as a pay and talk plan.

Still no luck....thanks.

I may have to just get a prepaid service in Canada after all.

 

Hey Andy,
I did check that out with Verizon. Apparently, every time you change your rate plan, it requires you to sign a new contract - so I passed on it.
Like you said, I might just suck it up and pay the roaming or just get a prepaid Canadian plan.

Thanks again for your help!

 

Hey Shoresguy,

Thanks so much...great information!

 

Thanks again guys. I'm still on the search of the perfect plan. But I will be honest, I am leaning towards just getting a Canadian prepaid phone and just using it when I go North and just pop back on my Verizon when I head to the US. That is of course, the miracle plan comes by my way!

I will most definately report back.

 

As promised, I am reporting back. I know it's been a while, but I had to settle a few things when I returned to the US. In any case, I ended up buying a prepaid cell phone package in Canada. I bought the phone kit and it included a phone - LG 3200 - and a $50 time card. I signed up with Telus, a carrier I had been with before moving to the US. No contracts, just made sure the phone had plenty of time on it before it expired. Telus charges 25 cents a minute for both local and long distance. I had a hard time adjusting to the long distance charge after enjoying free long distance in the US with Nextel and Verizon. Anyhow, still the best deal for me, given the amount of time I used the phone. I'm happy I did it because I can keep my Canadian and US cell phone bills separate and use the Canadian cell phone when I am there. The only tricky part is making sure I have a balance in my account that doesn't expire. If it does, then I have to purchase another kit for $65 - which includes a $50 card. Thank goodness for being able to do it on line.

Anyhow, there you have it.

 

It depends. I believe if you top off your account before it expires with $50, then the balance is good for 60 days. If you top it off with $25 and $10, I believe it's good for 30 days. One rep told me that you could keep a balance of zero for three months and another told me that you HAD to top off your account before expiry other wise, you'd loose your account, number and would have to start over again. To this day, I'm not sure what is true. I just keep a balance and make sure it's ready to go when I travel to Canada.

Hope that helps.

 

My sisters use Rogers and they love it. I was leaning towards Rogers but given my previous experience with Telus and their 25 cents per minute and long distance, I just went with the lower rate per minute. My sister is a teacher and she said Rogers had great packages for educators. She jumped from prepaid to contract and she got a great phone, great monthly package and service. If I ever return home and to teaching, I might consider Rogers.