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Data, minutes, or both? Picking the right travel plan
Most travellers need data and nothing else. The exceptions are specific, and worth knowing before you are standing in a foreign airport.
Photo: Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0
If your trip is maps, messaging and the occasional video call, a data plan covers everything. WhatsApp, Signal and FaceTime all run over data, and none of them need a phone number to work once you are set up.
When you actually need a number
- Your bank sends SMS codes. Many still do, and many still refuse to send them to app-based logins.
- You are renting a car or a flat. The agency will call, and they will call a phone number.
- You are working. Clients call. Some of them will not message.
- You are somewhere with patchy data. A voice call gets through on signal that will not carry a video stream.
Ask one question: is there anyone who has to be able to ring me?
If the answer is no, buy data. If it is yes, a plan with minutes and SMS costs a little more and removes an entire category of problem.
One thing to plan around: a travel number is not issued instantly. The line is provisioned after purchase, usually within a few hours. Buy it a day ahead rather than in the taxi.
