Updated January 13, 2020

Finally!! Visitors to the United States can pick up a local SIM card and a decent prepaid calling and data plan at an affordable price. Compared to my previous visits, buying a SIM card in the USA was never this easy.

This latest update highlights T-Mobile’s transition of its tourist plan to an almost identical plan of the T-Mobile MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) Ultra Mobile. Because the plans and setup are so similar, my previous reviews of the original T-Mobile plan have been left intact. I’m yet to use Ultra Mobile’s tourist plan but I expect the experience to be similar to that of T-Mobile.

Buying a SIM card in the USA from T-Mobile

In September 2018, my travelling companions chose the T-Mobile Tourist Plan. As a result, I was able to get a front-row seat on set up and use. When Roam Mobility failed to deliver on my next U.S. visit, I headed to the nearest T-Mobile store to pick up the same plan. The T-Mobile Tourist Plan worked flawlessly on both occasions.

In the first scenario, my Australian friends were spending a week in New York City. Then, they were heading up to Boston, and then Portland to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia. T-Mobile’s coverage map indicated service in all the areas they were visiting.

The three-week tourist plan was a good fit for them. For their two-week stay, it offered better value than any of the AT&T plans. They purchased from the network provider, as opposed to a reseller or dealer. T-Mobile has stores in most New York City neighbourhoods, and along the east coast, in the event service and support were needed.

We dropped into a T-Mobile store in Harlem to get connected.

 The Tourist Plan from T-Mobile

T-Mobile’s tourist plan was a welcome change from the incompatible technologies and expensive plans of the past. It wasn’t as good as plans I’ve had in Australia and Spain, but it covered the needs of travellers looking for a useful amount of data, calls, and texts at an affordable price.

The Tourist Plan included:

• a T-Mobile SIM card (the three-in-one SIM included nano, micro and standard sizes).
• no activation fee.
• unlimited data, with up to 2 GB at 4G LTE speeds. Full speeds were available up to the 2 GB allotment, including while tethering. It was then throttled to up to 2G speeds.
• unlimited domestic texts, and unlimited international texting to more than 140 countries.
• 1,000 minutes of calls within the USA.
• Smartphone Mobile HotSpot (tethering) to share a phone’s internet connection with up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled devices.
• domestic data roaming of 200 MB when travelling outside T-Mobile’s network area, using wireless data from another carrier. A text notification was received when approaching this limit.

• The Tourist Plan was prepaid, and expired automatically after 21 days. There was no need to cancel it. It was a stand-alone product and ineligible for additional features. The single-use disposable SIM couldn’t be extended, topped up, or reactivated.
• The Tourist SIM Kit cost $30 plus tax ($3.86 in New York). The total cost of $33.86 USD included set up and activation.

Review of the Tourist Plan from T-Mobile

• Set up was quick and efficient, and activation was immediate. Dawn, the T-Mobile representative, verified that everything was working as expected by calling to and from the newly activated phone. She taped the Australian SIM card to the SIM card holder, and ensured the receipt contained the new U.S. phone number.

• Coverage was excellent in all areas between New York City and Portland, Maine (and for the first hour crossing the Bay of Fundy). There were no dead spots.
• Free Wi-Fi was used when it was available. As a result, the 2 GB at 4G LTE speeds wasn’t exceeded.
• It was perfect for using data on the move: Google Maps, email, social media, Google, WhatsApp, FaceTime, and more.
• Texting to the UK, Canada, and Australia worked perfectly.
• The 1,000 minutes of calls within the USA were more than enough for calling accommodation hosts, ordering takeout, making reservations, calling travelling companions, and confirming bookings. Calls were clear, from and to indoors and outdoors.

In April 2019, my experience in San Francisco was similar. At the T-Mobile store near Golden Gate Park, set up was an efficient experience. I walked out of the store with a network-connected phone. My two travelling companions and I relied heavily on Google Maps to navigate San Francisco’s excellent transportation system. Between T-Mobile and an unlimited-use transit pass, exploring San Francisco was very affordable.   

Where to buy T-Mobile’s Tourist SIM Kit

The kit could be bought online, but it had to be purchased with a US credit card and shipped to a U.S. address.

A more convenient option was to buy it at the point of arrival. Inmotion is a large airport-based electronics retailer, with a presence in major airports. Insert the airport code in T-Mobile’s store locator, and chances are you’ll be directed to an Inmotion storefront.

In my case, flights from Canada to New York City land in Newark and LaGuardia. I prefer LaGuardia for its proximity to public transportation and easier, less costly access to the five boroughs using a MetroCard. I dropped in to Inmotion’s Terminal B storefront and was greeted by a representative who was eager and willing to set me up with the Tourist Plan. All before stepping outside the terminal.

Ultra Mobile Tourist Plan

The T-Mobile Tourist Plan has been replaced by an almost identical plan offered by Ultra Mobile. The “Visiting the US?” link at the T-Mobile site takes the visitor to Ultra Mobile. Ultra Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) of T-Mobile. An MVNO is a reseller for wireless communications services. As such, Ultra Mobile uses the T-Mobile network so the T-Mobile coverage map will be relevant.

The Ultra Mobile plan is similar to the T-Mobile Tourist Plan described above. The three-week plan’s features include:

• 1000 minutes of domestic talk
• unlimited domestic and international texts
• unlimited data with up to 2GB at 4G LTE
• 100 minutes to 80+ countries

The 100 minutes of international calls is a welcome feature that wasn’t included in the T-Mobile plan.

An Ultra Mobile Tourist SIM Kit can be purchased at T-Mobile Brand retail stores or T-Mobile Preferred retail stores. For more information, Ultra Mobile has a handy list of questions and answers.

Have you used Ultra Mobile Tourist Plan? If so, what was your experience?

If you’re visiting the USA, you might be interested in my other posts:

• 31 Fabulous things to do in San Francisco
• A detailed guide to biking the Golden Gate Bridge
• Inside Eastern State Penitentiary: the “magnificent ruin” of Philadelphia
• Lunch at the United Nations, New York
• Visit McSorley’s Old Ale House, New York City

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Image by TeroVesalainen from Pixabay