Buying a Cell Phone in US to use in France
 

I would like to purchasing a cell phone and sim card for use in France, however I need to have it in hand when I arrive at the CDG Paris - airport. I have to make calls as soon as I land so purchasing one in the city is not an option. My last trip I used my international phone from sprint, however the charges were much greater than what I have seen for French phones. Can anyone provide detail as to who to purchase a reliable cell phone and sim card from that will deliver to the US. I only need phone and texting capabilities. All of the reputable websites I have seen online have been for picking up in Paris or for delivery to a french address, which is not an option for me. Thanks

I have had good luck with www.callineurope.com

If you have an unlocked phone that will work you only need to buy the SIM card it's $29.00. If you need a phone, too, it's $58.00.

Rates are reasonable. All incoming calls are free. Calls w/in France are $0.39/min. Calls to US are the same. Texts from France to France are $0.19, texts to US are $0.39 ea. Incoming texts are free.

It is not prepaid. Service is billed after the fact to your credit card. Phone number is valid for 3 months and will renew automatically IF you use at least $20.00 worth of service per quarter, otherwise number will expire and you'll need a new SIM next time.

They will deliver to you in the states at the following rates:

US Post (sim card only – Continental US only – no guaranteed delivery date) $6
FedEx Ground - Check transit time: USA - Canada $12
FedEx 2nd Day $18
FedEx Express (Next Business Day) (By 3PM - not available in all locations) $24
FedEx AM Priority (Next Business Day) (By 10:30AM - not available in all locations) $36

We plan to use them again for next trip. We will be using their old phone, replacing the expired SIM card and I have an unlocked unused BlackBerry WorldEdition that we will order an extra SIM card for as well. (Their BB/Smartphone rates are not bad, either. Wish they had an iPhone options.)

Any unlocked quad band phone will work for you, maybe even the phone you are now using. Contact Lebara for the SIM which you can either purchase at CDG upon arrival or have one sent to you free in the USA. To have one sent requires your filling out the form (which is only available in French) and simply include your address, ignoring the part that automatically states <i>France</i> at the end of the form. Many people, including myself, have done this successfully. It takes about 2 weeks to receive your new SIM. You can set it up on line and charge, recharge the prepaid SIM on line as often as you need.

www.lebara.fr

Lebara SIMs come with unlimited free inbound calls/texts and has some of the cheapest call rates available. For example, calls to the ÜSA are 0.09€ per minute with a .15€ connect fee. SMS cost .15€ to the USA, .10€ to a French mobile.

Thanks very helpful

I've also used CiE in the past and it's worked well. I'd go for the Lebara option now though... did you realize that places like
tigerdirect.com or newegg.com will sell you an unlocked quad band
phone for as little as 30 bucks? Or check Kijiji.com or craigslist for local unlocked phones for sale.

I was checking this out for an upcoming trip to Amsterdam as well. Cellhire.com appears to have a similar program where they will let you rent a SIM card for $10 a week, plus a $20 setup charge that includes mailing it to you in advance.

That´s a great deal sferguso. Cellhire sells you for $10 a week what Lebara gives you for free, and charges you $20 for what I am not sure. Cellhire rates are up to 8 times more expensive per minute for calls to the USA ($0.79 per minute vs. 0.09€ per minute) even though they are only double the cost for domestic French calls.

A good friend of mine, who is from Paris, actually works for Cellhire. When asked how his company continues in business when other companies such as Lebara or free.fr dramatically undercut them he points out that the thrust of their business is offering customized mobile phone solutions to large corporate customers. Tourists like us would be much better off to avoid them completely.

Hi, I need some advice. Still undecIded about which phone to buy.
Has anyone heard of or used any of the following companies for purchasing a cell phone for travelling?
NATTONAL GEOGRAPHIC
EUROBUZZ
CALL IN EUROPE
To my completely unknowledgeable eye these seem to be among the best that I have found.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Sarastro,
Maybe you can help. I tried the Lebara site and the SIM order form specifically says for French residents only. I'll give it a couple of weeks and see what happens. It's worth a shot. But for someone who already has an unlocked phone, and needs to make a call immediately (or needs to know their number before they leave the state) I think that CIE is a reasonable alternative.

sbrian - you´re right about the Lebara site but I filled in the request anyway and received my SIM in about two weeks. Even if you do not receive one by mail, you can buy one as soon as you arrive at CDG for 10€ (which includes 7.50€ talk credit) at almost any tabac or magazine store such as Relay.

Before anyone commits himself to an expensive call plan such as Call in Europe or Eurobuzz because he needs to make a call immediately upon his CDG arrival, there are coin/credit card operated pay phones throughout the terminals. As expensive as payphones can be, using one and then purchasing a Lebara SIM is much cheaper than what you will pay for many of these plans which are directly marketed to tourists.

Anyone needing a mobile phone can purchase one in France for as little as 30€ (which includes the SIM and talk time) from Auchan, Carrefour, Giante, or Phonehouse (with locations all over Paris).

t

Compared to the cost of airfare and lodgings, I don't think that CIE is particularly expensive. (Especially as compared to the usurious charges from Verizon. LOL). I think it's worth the extra expense to know what the phone number is to give to friends and family on both sides of the Atlantic before I leave. So if the Lebara SIM cards arrive in a few weeks, I'll give them a whirl, but most likely we'll go with Call in Europe.

I ordered the cards to, sbrian. I will see if they show up, though I think they will try to send them to Albuquerque NM France!!

I'm trying to figure out if it's worth the risk of taking my iphone to both france and morocco. The main reason I would like to is the built in GPS (for the medinas). Unfortunately I no longer have two weeks before I leave, and I'm not flying into Paris, but rather Nice. Any ideas?

MANY thanks!

TF

PS: You might want to read the thread on chips in credit cards... one's credit card might not work in an French payphone.

Just my two cents worth

TF

Debit NM----I ordered Lebara SIM cards, and, sure enough, within two weeks they were in my mailbox, addressed to me in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, FRANCE. lol.

And sbrian, when you order the Lebara SIM cards, they do tell you what your French phone number is, so you can share with friends and family before you leave for your trip.

TravelinFeet - does your iphone have the maps already loaded upon which the GPS places your position or does the phone rely upon maps positions which are downloaded real time?

All of the airport pay phones I have seen accept both EMV and magentic strip credit cards.

Sarastro: I have absolutely no idea. How would I tell? And thanks!!

I only mention this TravelinFeet because most smart phones download map information real time meaning for you GPS to be effective in France, and show your location on a map, you would need a data plan to download the map information.

Data plans complicate the mobile phone solutions and add cost.

If you have a gps, take it with Europe chip. No fees for data plan then. I like the above suggestion: Make the call you have to make from a pay phone, then, when in town, buy a phone and a sim card in France. Let the salesman set the phone up for you and make sure they change the phone's language to English from French. By the way, I found out the hard way. A French chip will NOT work in Spain. You have to buy a Spanish chip. when in Spain. Been there done that at midnight-1:00 AM and no working phone in Madrid. Landlady was waiting for a call from me. But that is another story.