Using Your Phone Abroad Over the Holidays: What It Costs and How to Pay Less

What a 10-day trip costs on each carrier

Details by carrier: Verizon TravelPass, AT&T Day Pass, T-Mobile roaming.

Cost by trip length and family size

Holiday trips tend to be longer than business trips, and families travel together, so per-line daily charges add up quickly. These totals assume every line uses its phone every day, which is what usually happens once maps, messages and photo backups are running.

Two things stand out. AT&T's 10-day cap makes long trips cheaper than on Verizon, as long as the trip stays inside one bill period. And on Verizon, the $100 International Monthly Plan beats TravelPass from about the ninth day, so if you're away two weeks or more, switch to it before you leave.

Going to Mexico or Canada?

Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all include Mexico and Canada on their unlimited plans, so a holiday trip there usually costs nothing extra. Check the high-speed data allowance on your plan if you'll stream or use a hotspot: on T-Mobile, for example, Experience More includes 15GB of high-speed data in Canada and Mexico and Experience Beyond includes 30GB.

Many prepaid plans include Mexico and Canada too, but not all. AT&T Prepaid's Unlimited Saver plan doesn't, for example. Check your carrier's plan page before you go.

On a prepaid plan or a smaller carrier?

Most prepaid carriers and MVNOs don't include roaming outside Mexico and Canada, and some don't sell day passes at all. A travel eSIM is usually the answer here. A few plans do include something:

• Visible: Visible+ Pro includes two Global Pass days a month. Visible+ includes one day in Mexico and Canada.
• Google Fi: Fi's plans include data abroad as part of the plan, with no day pass to trigger.
• Total Wireless: ALL ACCESS includes roaming in 140+ countries; MAX 5G and MAX 5G BYO include roaming in 30+. See Total Wireless plans compared.
• Everyone else: check your carrier's app for international add-ons, or plan on a travel eSIM.

How much data you'll use on a holiday trip

Buy a travel eSIM by data, not by days. Holiday use is often heavier than people expect: video calls home on the big day, photo and video backups, and maps in cities you don't know.

Video uses far more than anything else. Our guide to how much data streaming uses has figures by app and quality setting.

When the carrier pass makes sense

• A short trip: one to three days of use costs $12 to $36 per line.
• You'll only use your phone on a couple of days. You're charged only for days you actually use it.
• You need normal calls on your US number, all day. Calls from family, a doctor's office or work.
• Your phone is locked or doesn't support eSIM.
• Only one person in the family needs a connection, and everyone else is happy on Wi-Fi.

When a travel eSIM is cheaper

• Trips of four days or more with daily data use.
• Two or more travelers: carrier passes are charged per line.
• Heavy use: maps all day, video calls, photo uploads. Passes slow down after a daily allowance (Verizon's TravelPass after 5GB a day).
• Several countries in one region: one regional eSIM covers them all.
• You mostly message on WhatsApp, iMessage or FaceTime, which work over eSIM data the same as at home.

Keep your US line switched on with data roaming off, and set the eSIM as your data line. You can still receive texts, including bank codes. Our TravelPass vs eSIM guide walks through the settings step by step, and the same setup works on AT&T and T-Mobile.

Traveling with kids' phones

Each line is charged separately, and a child's phone can start a $12 day on its own: an app update, a game syncing, or a photo backup is enough if data roaming is on. Before the trip, decide which phones need a connection.

• Turn data roaming off on every phone that doesn't need it. They'll still work on hotel and family Wi-Fi.
• If a teen needs maps or messages, a small travel eSIM is usually cheaper than a pass on their line.
• Turn off automatic app updates and photo backup over cellular on all phones.
• Check the account after the first day. In My Verizon or myAT&T, day pass charges show up per line.

Set this up before you fly

1. Check what your plan includes abroad (My Verizon, myAT&T or the T-Life app all show it). Older plan names may have different allowances.
2. Make sure your phone is unlocked if you'll use a travel eSIM. Phones bought in the last 60 days often aren't. See how to unlock your phone.
3. Install the travel eSIM at home on Wi-Fi. It needs a connection to install, and holiday airport Wi-Fi is slow.
4. Turn on Wi-Fi Calling for your US line: calls back to the US over Wi-Fi are usually free.
5. Download offline maps for where you're going.
6. If you rely on text codes for banking, move the important accounts to an authenticator app.
7. Write down your carrier's international support number in case your phone is lost or stops working.

Visiting family for a month or more

For long stays, the per-day passes get expensive and even included allowances can run out. T-Mobile's terms also expect most of your use to be in the US, so months abroad on a T-Mobile plan can be flagged. For a stay of a month or longer, a local prepaid SIM or a longer travel eSIM is usually the cheapest option. Keep your US number by leaving the line active for texts, or by moving it to a cheap plan while you're away.

On a cruise

Holiday cruises are the exception. Out at sea, the ship's satellite network takes over, and neither carrier passes nor travel eSIMs work there. Verizon's Cruise Daily Pass is $20 per line per day, and AT&T's at-sea rate is also $20 a day. Ship Wi-Fi packages are often the better buy. In port, your normal pass or eSIM works.

If your phone is lost or stolen abroad

• Use Find My (iPhone) or Find Hub (Android) from another device to lock or locate it.
• Call your carrier to suspend the line so no one can run up roaming charges or receive your text codes.
• If you used a travel eSIM, contact the eSIM provider: most can reissue the plan to a replacement phone.

Traveling every holiday season?

If you go abroad more than once or twice a year, a plan with international data built in usually beats paying by the day. Our best international phone plans ranking compares them, including Google Fi and T-Mobile.