Staying in touch with friends, family, or business associates when travelling abroad is important, but it can get expensive rather quickly if you do not monitor your SIM card usage. Choosing the wrong SIM card might also mean that you get a limited number of countries where you can use a roaming plan for free and have to incur considerable expenses if you travel outside these regions. Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) SIM cards and plans can help you keep costs low while providing several additional benefits.
What is Pay as You Go?
Pay-as-you-go is a SIM or data plan where you purchase the bundles and credit you need rather than paying a fixed monthly cost. You get total control over the size of bundles you buy and how much you pay for data, texts, and minutes.
You can pay for a PAYG SIM plan using a credit card or purchase a bundle of minutes, text, and data, which is the more common option. You need to keep topping up the card as it gets depleted or expires.
Why Use a Pay as You Go SIM for Roaming?
Using a PAYG SIM for Roaming Helps Keep Costs Low
The main benefit of using a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) SIM card is that it helps you keep your call, messaging, and data costs low. First, it enables you to avoid high roaming fees imposed by many carriers if you continue using your SIM card abroad like you typically do. These charges are almost always higher than those you would incur at home or in specific regions supported by the carrier.
Second, you get complete control over your expenses by only buying what you need. Providers like Lebara make this easy by providing different PAYG tiers combined with cheap international calling rates.
Since you get a set number of texts, minutes, and data, you can use your phone without worrying about extra expenses. As your services are effectively “terminated” when you run out, you do not incur any out-of-pocket charges. However, you will still be able to receive calls and texts even if you cannot make or send them. You can then top up or buy a new plan to keep using your device as you normally do.
International SIM-only plans that are perfect for roaming are also much cheaper than traditional roaming packages. Also, some carriers give their customers additional data, texts, and minutes depending on the plans they purchase to make them even more attractive. Taking advantage of these SIM-only plans means you get a lot more for what you pay, which helps keep the overall cost of your communications low.
A Pay as You Go SIM With Roaming Gives You Flexibility
A PAYG SIM card also gives you a lot of flexibility by letting you choose the plan that fits your needs and budget best because, as mentioned above, different providers have different PAYG plan tiers that combine different data, text, and minute allocations.
For example, some carriers have plans with huge data bundle allocations but few international minutes and texts. Some go the opposite way by providing lots of minutes and texts and less data, while some strike a balance between the two.
This flexibility also allows you to upgrade or downgrade your plan as you wish. If you think you will use more data in a given period than in the previous one, you can buy a bigger bundle and have enough for your needs. The same applies to your texts and calls.
If you think you do not need such a big plan the next time you need to buy a bundle, you can just buy a smaller one. Downgrading like this is typical for people who have decided to keep travelling and only need to occasionally reach friends, family and associates.
A Pay as You Go SIM Helps You Stay Connected Everywhere
PAYG SIM cards specifically meant for roaming are created to help you remain connected no matter where you are. Such reliable connectivity is critical if you travel through areas where there is spotty and unreliable local network coverage.
Some carriers have exclusive deals with local carriers to ensure their customers have reliable connectivity when travelling through different countries. These deals ensure you can continue using your PAYG SIM card without worrying about dropped calls or unreliable connections.
No Contracts With a Pay as You Go SIM
Most people do not like dealing with the contracts they must sign with carriers or network providers when signing up for a monthly SIM plan. Some providers make you sign 12, 18, and even 24-month contracts, with the latter being very common with providers who also sell locked phones as part of the deal. These contracts can make it difficult to switch plans or carriers if you do not like the service you receive.
With PAYG SIM cards, you do not have to deal with any of these complications as you pay, use the service and see whether you will renew it at the end of a 30-day period. If you do not like the service, you can walk away and choose another provider because no commitments and contracts are tying you down.
Use a PAYG eSIM for Even More Flexibility
If you own a phone that supports eSIM, you can contact carriers who provide eSIM services to get roaming plans compatible with your phone. The good news is that you can store different eSIM profiles on your phone, so you can pick between them depending on where you are in the world and the plans you want to use. If you travel to a country with poor coverage when using one carrier, you can switch to a profile for another with better coverage.
Different eSIM profiles also allow you to have different plans on each SIM depending on deals you find from different carriers. For example, you might have a plan for a carrier with cheap data plans and one with cheap text and minute rates on the same device.
This is the same advantage you get with a dual-sim phone taken to a new level as you can have many more plans on your device simultaneously.
Keep Your Number Instead of Getting a Local One
A SIM for roaming allows you to keep your phone number instead of getting a local one. Besides coverage issues, many people get a local SIM card due to high phone usage costs. With a PAYG SIM card, you do not have to worry about high charges or charges. This is because you only have as much data, texts, and minutes as you need, and you will not incur roaming charges if you go over your limit or choose not to use your SIM card.
By eliminating cost concerns, PAYG SIM cards allow you to keep your number to keep receiving calls and text messages and then top up if you need to get in touch with someone or cannot find WI-FI while abroad.
Pay-as-you-go SIM cards remove the need for expensive monthly plans and allow you to pay for what you need when you need it instead. They provide users with a lot of flexibility, do not come with annoying contracts, and allow people to keep their phone usage costs low.