Good news for AT&T customers! Via One Mile at a Time, AT&T is (finally!) offering an international data plan that’s competitive with other carriers, like T-Mobile and Verizon.
This Friday, January 27, 2017, AT&T will introduce the AT&T International Day Pass, that allows you unlimited talk, text, and data in 100+ countries. It will cost $10 per device for 24 hours of use.
I’ll share more about AT&T’s new international data plan. And show you how it compares to the international data plans from other carriers.
AT&T’s International Day Pass
Link: AT&T International Day Pass
Starting January 27, 2017, AT&T customers will be able to purchase an International Day Pass, which offers talk, text, and data in over 100 countries worldwide. Including popular destinations in Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean, along with Central and South America.
In the past, AT&T customers were charged per minute, message, or megabyte, when traveling overseas.
The International Day Pass will cost $10 per device, per 24-hour period. And you’ll get unlimited calls within International Day Pass countries and back to the US. Plus free texts throughout the world!
To use the new International Day Pass plan, you’ll need to add it to your account by logging-on to myAT&T. Once it’s added, it will automatically kick in each time you travel to one of the 100+ supported countries.
So if you sign-up for International Day Pass and decide you don’t want to use the service, be sure to remove it from your account before taking off on your next trip!
How Does It Compare?
Current AT&T customers will probably welcome the addition of the International Day Pass plan, because they’ll have a more affordable option for calling, texting, and using the internet while abroad.
That said, I don’t expect this new plan to lure other customers away from their current carriers. Because it isn’t cheaper or better in any particular way. In fact, it’s almost identical to Verizon’s TravelPass.
I use Google’s Project Fi and really like it. Million Mile Secrets reader Neo say’s it’s great too!
It works in 135+ countries, including popular travel destinations like Canada, France, India, Italy, Australia, and many more world-wide.
The best part is Project Fi automatically makes sure you’re on the network that provides the fastest data speeds, which vary between 4G LTE, 3G, or 2G, depending on your location and what networks are available.
You can read more about Project Fi in this post about the best phone for international calls, texts, and data.
Million Mile Secrets team member Scott has been happy using T-Mobile’s Simple Choice plan for free texts and data in every country he’s traveled.
With this particular T-Mobile plan, regular calls in Canada and Mexico are free. And the data speeds are good enough to tether, so he can connect his laptop to the internet through his cell phone.
On a recent trip to Europe, the data speeds through his T-Mobile Simple Choice plan were good enough for Google Maps navigation and email. But it was nearly impossible to load webpages.
T-Mobile customers also have the option of the ONE Plus plan, which offers faster speeds overseas but costs a little more.
And don’t forget to read this post about how to make free calls while you’re overseas!
Bottom Line
On January 27, 2017, AT&T will launch its International Day Pass plan, which allows unlimited talk, text, and data in 100+ countries. It will cost $10 per device, per day.
This is great news for current AT&T customers, because other cell phone carriers have offered similar international data plans for a while now. But I don’t think it will prompt folks to switch to AT&T.
Do you have any tips for staying connected while traveling? Share your experience in the comments!