How to get a new phone in USA?
Happy Friday! This is a continuation of the move to America. Today I am going to talk about getting a phone once you move. When moving country, phone coverage is invaluable. After arriving many will bring their own mobile from their home country. Others will have no mobile at all. Either way, it will be important to get connected.
US Cell Phone Market
The American market is vast and has a number of carriers. The main four national carriers that own their own network are AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. There are also several other service providers. These companies “piggyback” off another (usually larger) carrier, and price their own services independently. Some of the bigger providers include Boost Mobile, Cricket Wireless, Metro PCS, LycaMobile to name a few.
When I first moved I was told that Verizon and AT&T have the best coverage. A recent online review of cell phones gave their opinion on the best depending on what you are looking for in a provider. I personally go for the cheapest for texts and calls, any data is a perk (to me that’s what an internet package is for once I’m in my home).
Things To Consider When Getting Your First Cell Phone Plan
- What sort of coverage will you get? Is there a difference between where you work and where you live? Here is a nice blog which goes into details of Verizon coverage for example.
- If you are an immigrant like me, can you add on specials, such as international calls?
- For the customers who NEED data, what’s the speed? How much do you get and what happens if you go past your limit? Does it continue over?
- What will happen with the old (now foreign) number when you get a new phone and SIM?
- Does this provider only deal with specific brands of phones, or is there a caveat with different phone devices?
Getting Your First Cell Phone in the USA without a Social Security number or Credit History
When you arrive as immigrants or temporary visitors, you do not have a Social Security number (SSN) or a credit score. Getting an SSN can take a few weeks once you arrive and on top of that you need an address (I had to give a family friend’s address initially as I couldn’t get an apartment without an SSN, but then couldn’t get the SSN without an address!). If that is the case and you need a phone (whilst waiting for all the things to happen), there are a few options:
- Get a pre-paid phone package, which includes a phone and a SIM card (all paid for). Examples include:
- AT&T Pay As You Go Phone and sim card – these can be purchased off the shelf at any store or in Walgreens. Although there isn’t much choice, they are very affordable. After activation, you can add credit either over the phone or online.
- Bundled phone and sim card mailed to you after purchasing online from one of the huge number of suppliers such as Net 10.
- Use your own unlocked phone and get a pre-paid plan (from a provider such as AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile or many others). This type of ‘plan’ is usually a set combination of data, text and calls with defined limits. Since you have to pay ahead, timing of the purchase (and billing) will be determined by the user.
- Buy a phone separately and get a pre-paid plan from a phone service provider as above.
None of these type of pre-paid plans require a credit history or a contract to purchase which is ideal if you don’t want to put money upfront or involve any guarantors. This is the phone company’s way of checking that you are a reliable customer as they won’t want to risk losing money.
Once you have an SSN and a credit score, you can then get a post-paid plan, and from there you can get the best deal suited for you. I’ll go into what I have on a different post but always remember the main rules for paying money, for fun, convenience and fairness. Having a phone with unlimited data, or the latest model can be fun, and if it is worth it for you, get the more expensive plan. Personally it isn’t worth it, although I’m starting to come around. What I will pay for is the convenience, and I will go into that later.
Hope this post was useful, when I moved to New Jersey I used a great blog called expataussieinnj. This is a wonderful blog on moving to New Jersey, and was of great help. I would recommend checking out their blog!
Happy Friday Penny Pinchers!