# Planning a trip to the US



## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

We haven't been out of Mexico in 5 or 6 years, but we are thinking of taking a short trip to Florida this spring.

When I take my AT&T Mexico cell phone with me, is it simply a matter of dialing 1+(area code)+7 digit number to dial a US number (using my AT&T sim) ? Will the data access somehow magically be properly charged to my Mexican account ?

Earlier this year on an internal Mexican flight they announced - those travelling on to the US will need to undergo a CBP interview at this point (Mexico City). Is that true even for US citizens and does that process add even more time to the sign in process at the airport ?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

lat19n said:


> We haven't been out of Mexico in 5 or 6 years, but we are thinking of taking a short trip to Florida this spring.
> 
> When I take my AT&T Mexico cell phone with me, is it simply a matter of dialing 1+(area code)+7 digit number to dial a US number (using my AT&T sim) ? Will the data access somehow magically be properly charged to my Mexican account ?
> 
> Earlier this year on an internal Mexican flight they announced - those travelling on to the US will need to undergo a CBP interview at this point (Mexico City). Is that true even for US citizens and does that process add even more time to the sign in process at the airport ?


 You have to turn on roaming to use a Mexico AT&T phone in the US. If the plan includes free US calls like mine does, then there won't be any charge but you do need to turn on roaming. I'm not sure if you need the +1 but it doesn't hurt and I have all the numbers stored that way and they work. One quirk will be that if you call someone, the number that shows up on their phone may not be your Mexican number. I can't remember. And if they want to call you, I believe they will have to use the +52 in front of the number and they will be billed for an international call.
I haven't been to the US for awhile, don't know about any new checks before departing.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

I remembered something. I have MagicJack which I use a lot to call the US from our house in Mexico. It has a US phone number. Works great making and receiving calls. They provide an android app which I have used from time to time. They allow me to forward my US incoming calls to my Mexican cell phone. I haven't used that feature much, but I have used that app to receive US text messages in such cases where a US firm insists on 2 factor authentication. (Now that doesn't work in some banking situations). My US IP/Magic Jack phone can't receive text messages, but my Mexican cell phone does.

Anyway - back to that app. If I bring that phone, with that app, on our trip into the US I should be able to at least make free calls using our US number. That sure seems a lot easier than worrying how to dial/receive calls while on the trip...


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

Can you walk into something like a 7-eleven in the US (or an ATT storefront), buy a sim and get 30 days usage - without signing up for an annual pay-as-you-go plan ?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

lat19n said:


> Can you walk into something like a 7-eleven in the US (or an ATT storefront), buy a sim and get 30 days usage - without signing up for an annual pay-as-you-go plan ?


I assume so. You can in every other country in the world. I have never done it in the US. I used to have a T-mobile SIM card that was prepaid. Every time I went to the US, I would go online and add $10 usd to it.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

When you are in the US or Canada, your Mexican phone acts as if it's a US or Canadian phone for calling out, that's the easiest way to think of it, at least for me. So you just dial as if you were using a phone based in that country. If it's a local call, you just dial the area code and number, if it's a long distance call within the US or Canada, you put 1 in front of the number.
If you are trying to phone a Mexican number whle up north, you have to do it as if you were using a US phone- 011 52 area code and number.
But if someone up north is trying to call you, they have to call just as if you were in mexico- 011 52 area code and number and they will pay int. long distance charges. So I just get my friends and family to call, let it ring once or twice and hang up and I call them back.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

surabi said:


> When you are in the US or Canada, your Mexican phone acts as if it's a US or Canadian phone for calling out, that's the easiest way to think of it, at least for me. So you just dial as if you were using a phone based in that country. If it's a local call, you just dial the area code and number, if it's a long distance call within the US or Canada, you put 1 in front of the number.
> If you are trying to phone a Mexican number whle up north, you have to do it as if you were using a US phone- 011 52 area code and number.
> But if someone up north is trying to call you, they have to call just as if you were in mexico- 011 52 area code and number and they will pay int. long distance charges. So I just get my friends and family to call, let it ring once or twice and hang up and I call them back.


Like Surabi said.
The only thing I would add is that you can use a '+' sign in front of the country code. It works everywhere in the world as the international dialing prefix. e.g. +1 xxx yyy zzzz for US and Canada numbers, +52 xxx yyy zzzz or +52 xx yyyy zzzz for Mexico, +502 for Guatemala, +44 for UK, etc. It saves you from having to remember the international dialing prefix which is different in different countries, e.g. 011 for US, 00 for Mexico, 0 for Europe. etc. Numbers that are stored in your contact list with a '+' and country code can be dialed from anywhere in the world with any SIM card without fussing with the specific international dialing prefix of the country you are located in.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

How about data ? I generally pre-download my traffic maps (I have the entire map of Mexico on mine at the moment) - but just for giggles let's say I turned on real-time mapping etc, on my Mexican phone, while in the US ? or pull down my Amazon Music live ? How's that handled ?


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## dvinton (Mar 8, 2019)

If your contacts phone numbers have the appropriate country code (i.e., +1, +52, ...) assigned, then your phone (as my iPhone does) will sort out how to call out regardless of what country you're in.

As mentioned above, your plan needs to accommodate international roaming. If you're only making calls "data roaming" doesn't have to be on, but you lose a lot of utility, i.e., Uber if it's turned off. To minimize data roaming charges you need to turn off the cellular data option for the majority of your apps. For example, Facebook and Google Photos are egregious data hogs! All your apps will work fine when connected to wi-fi, you just don't need them consuming your roaming data while away from the hotel or friend's home.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

you can call for free with whatsapp.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

citlali said:


> you can call for free with whatsapp.


I'm allergic to such things as whaptsapp, facebook, instagram, google etc.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

lat19n said:


> How about data ? I generally pre-download my traffic maps (I have the entire map of Mexico on mine at the moment) - but just for giggles let's say I turned on real-time mapping etc, on my Mexican phone, while in the US ? or pull down my Amazon Music live ? How's that handled ?


Depends on your plan. As mentioned previously, Mexico AT&T includes free access in the US. I turn on data roaming when in the US and it is included in my 2-4 GB/month free data.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

TundraGreen said:


> Depends on your plan. As mentioned previously, Mexico AT&T includes free access in the US. I turn on data roaming when in the US and it is included in my 2-4 GB/month free data.


Got it. Thanks.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Be cautious with buying a prepaid SIM card in the US. I did this last year as I was making 2 trips in a 30 day period, and the international roaming charges on my Canadian plan are ridiculous. I always use a prepaid Mexican SIM card in Mexico, so I thought a US one would be as straightforward. I have an unlocked iPhone. But when I put it in, it wouldn’t work. I contacted customer service but it still wasn’t working. Finally they had me download something from the internet. Then it finally worked (this took several hours to sort out...) Fast forward to my arrival back in Canada. Now my Canadian SIM card no longer worked. The code they had me download had locked my phone to the US Carrier!! It took a couple more days to get that sorted out and be able to use my phone again in Canada. They had to disable the SIM, which meant I wouldn’t be able to use it for the second trip. Because of this they did refund me the cost of the SIM/prepaid plan, but it in no way covered the time spent getting it to work in the first place, and then getting my hijacked phone back! I don’t remember which carrier it was. I was in a rural area with few options. 

I’m sure there are prepaid US SIM cards which wouldn’t cause such a problem, but I’ll not risk it again. Now I just rely on using WiFi and my Ooma app or WhatsApp for calling when I’m in the US. If I had a permanent Mexican SIM with free roaming in the US, I’d just stick to that (or the MagicJack app, which I’ve used as well).


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

OjoAzules- "If I had a permanent Mexican SIM with free roaming in the US..." What do you mean by that? I just use my Mexican Sin Limites plan when in Canada. It works just fine. There's no extra roaming charges.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

surabi said:


> OjoAzules- "If I had a permanent Mexican SIM with free roaming in the US..." What do you mean by that? I just use my Mexican Sin Limites plan when in Canada. It works just fine. There's no extra roaming charges.


In Post#4 on this thread the OP asked about just getting a 30 day SIM card to use while in the USA. I had a horrible experience when I tried that. Since the OP has a Mexican cell phone with roaming, I was saying that it makes more sense to just use that when he travels to the US (like you do in Canada). 

We currently spend more of the year in Canada than in Mexico (especially me, since I’m still working) so we keep our Canadian mobile numbers, and swap out our SIM cards with the Mexican chips when we’re in Mexico. The problem with using the Mexican SIMs in Canada is that it is then long distance for others in Canada to call us. I have a very reasonable (for Canada) cell plan that I’ve had for years, but it has ridiculously high international roaming rates. That’s why I tried getting a US 30 day SIM card, given how seamless that process is in Mexico. I won’t try that again in the States. I just rely on my apps and find Wi-Fi if I need to make a call.


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