I notice several posts recently on phones when in Canada, but I have more confusion . I would not be using my U.S. phone much in Canada, but still want to have one. If I use my Verizon phone, it adds about $40 per month or89 cents per minute in addition to my hefty phone bill. But I can suspend my service for up to three months (saving about $129 per month) and buy a prepaid phone for use in Canada. It seems I buy a phone and then buy minutes. Is this correct? Can I use these same minutes to call the U.S.?How have your experiences been ?

barnrt wrote:I notice several posts recently on phones when in Canada, but I have more confusion . I would not be using my U.S. phone much in Canada, but still want to have one. If I use my Verizon phone, it adds about $40 per month or89 cents per minute in addition to my hefty phone bill. But I can suspend my service for up to three months (saving about $129 per month) and buy a prepaid phone for use in Canada. It seems I buy a phone and then buy minutes. Is this correct? Can I use these same minutes to call the U.S.?How have your experiences been ?Howdy!We are traveling in Canada this summer and have Verizon share everything plan. I just called Verizon and added Canada to our phones for $15.00 a month. This gives us 1000 minutes calling on the phone and unlimited texting. We tried the prepaid once years ago traveling in Canada and it didn't work out for us. "Happy Trails"Chiefneon

We are in Canada now (two month trip) and bought a cell phone...poor decision or poor choice but it cost us $112 and is only useful (useless) in Canada. Reception is not great at all. We are getting wifi every other day (more than we thought) so that would have been good enough for us.Donna

dcason If you are not satisfied with the phone you bought, many larger stores will take returns with money back.BTC

Often prepaid phones have coverage for restricted area, let's say Atlantic Canada - 4 provinces: NL, NS, PEI, NB.:C

Or use your computer to make calls. Google phone and Skype both work fine, providing you have wfi, of course.Gary Haupt

Prepaid phone for use when in Canada...HELP | Good Sam Community

22 Replies

wny_pat1
Explorer
Aug 13, 2013
Fisherman wrote:
Most definitely.

Thanks.
bsinmich
Explorer
Aug 13, 2013
The best deal I have seen is what my son did. He has Straight Talk from WalMart with $45. mo for ulimited talk, text & data. For Canada you can buy a month of service for $55. for the month. The best part is it has Verizon for the carrier. I like Veriozn coverage but not their rates and plans. I have had problems getting the Canada feature and it usually ends up costing me about $60-70 for a few weeks of Canada coverage. This year OnStar called with a good plan for the summer. Their network is also Verizon and they don't care where you call to or from. Same high rates everywhere.
I_am_still_wayn
Explorer
Aug 12, 2013
GoneCamping wrote:
Just be aware that Verizon phones don't have or use sim cards,

This is simply not true. My Verizon Motorola Droid has a sim card. I put it in myself so I know!
Fisherman
Explorer
Aug 12, 2013
Most definitely.
wny_pat1
Explorer
Aug 12, 2013
JaxDad wrote:
Don't waste your money on long distance with a prepaid cell phone, it's one of the big money makers for the phone co's.

Instead get a 'prepaid long distance' card. They look like a credit card, lots of co's offering them. They have a scratch off panel that reveals a PIN code. You dial the 1-800 number on the card, then put in the PIN code, then you get dial tone again. Then you dial the number you want.

This way you pay 2 or 3 cents a minute instead of 20 or 30 cents a minute.
You use this with your cell phone? Can you call the states using one of those prepaid long distance cards???
wny_pat1
Explorer
Aug 12, 2013
Harvey51 wrote:
http://www.speakoutwireless.ca/
A very big thanks for the link!
GoneCamping
Explorer
Jun 12, 2013
Just be aware that Verizon phones don't have or use sim cards, you may have to find an unlocked phone with a sim card on CL or Ebay...
free_radical
Explorer
Jun 11, 2013
Little Kopit wrote:
Jim and Barb wrote:
If you have an extended contarct with them they may not let you Temp.suspend service. Also be sure about the rates Canada has independantly owned Cell service. The roaming charges are very high. I will be stopping at the first Wallmart I come across in Canada and get a throw away phone.

Doesn't have to be Walmart. You might consider buying at a Canadian store for a Canadian product. I've seen Walmart give up on some issues, including rv products, when the local buyers made it very clear that they would buy from a Canadian source.
:C

WM would be my last choice!

Stop at any Big Shopping Mall,,these always have several big name phone providers,
so you can quickly compare prices...
Harvey51
Explorer
Jun 10, 2013
7/11 stores have a cell phone service they call Speakout. Petro Canada has one, too. A SIM card is $10, also $10 minimum charge every year which includes 40 minutes of air time. They usually have a phone package for $100 or so that includes at least $50 air time. These use the Rogers network which isn't the best on the Alaska Highway. http://www.speakoutwireless.ca/

The trouble with popping in a Sim card is that most phones are locked to work only on one carrier, and half the US companies use a different kind of card than Canada does.
Community Alumni
Jun 08, 2013
I agree that it can be very confusing. We spend about 6 months a year in the US spread over a 10 month period and have a Canadian plan that we use. I have never found an economical way to have a cell phone that will work everywhere with all the moving back and forth that we do.

We use the internet for regular communication and a cell phone for very brief conversations with family when we are not in a wifi area. I keep my cell phone on 7/24 for emergencies and unless I actually use it, I do not incur roaming charges.