Best Deals UK Mobile to US Mobile?

I've looked through search and can't find any threads that specifically discuss this question.

My sister has an android phone but can't use Skype because she's not with Verizon (apparently that's the only carrier Skype is officially dealing with at this point in the US). I can't use Skype to call her because it ends up costing her to receive the call. We've tried Google talk but it doesn't work here in the UK (yet).

My phone is android as well but I can't seem to find anything in the marketplace that addresses this issue. I'm sure this is on purpose so that international calling doesn't end up being free or super low-cost.

Have suggested my sis get a phone card but she's ditzy (in the most loveable way!) and won't get around to doing it.

What do you guys use? I don't mind footing the bill on my end but it's a real drag that US carriers make people pay for in-coming calls and texts!

Cheers

Hi,

Jenn/(UKY user: ChillyWilly) suggested a Skype-to-go number for this situation, so I got one and have been very pleased.  Essentially it provides you a UK local number that you call with your UK mobile (so you're only using local minutes).  Once you call the UK local number, you enter whatever international number you want to call, and the call is put through.  To call a US mobile phone it's only 2.3 cents/minute.

Hope that helps.

Carl

I knew nothing about Skype to go - cheers!

Because me and my husband are a million miles away ( )we talk with Yahoo video chat and it's free for both of us. If we are not around a computer I got an international calling card that I use on my mom's cell phone (that's the only phone she has) and it doesn't cost her or him anything. I got it at Walgreens and there is an option in there to save your pin to that particular phone so you don't have to dial it you just have to dial the phone card number and the UK number and it's reloadable so you don't have to buy a new card everytime. Hope this helps!

Hi,

Jenn/(UKY user: ChillyWilly) suggested a Skype-to-go number for this situation, so I got one and have been very pleased.  Essentially it provides you a UK local number that you call with your UK mobile (so you're only using local minutes).  Once you call the UK local number, you enter whatever international number you want to call, and the call is put through.  To call a US mobile phone it's only 2.3 cents/minute.

Hope that helps.

Carl

I bought a US phone number from Skype.  Cost is around £35 for the year.  And I have the Skype app on my phone.  Now the Skype app only works when you have a Wifi connection.  Which is fine, because we have one at home.  I also bought a package with Skype that gives me unlimited calling to the US for £4 a month.  This is to any phone, landline or mobile in the US, not just Skype phones. 

I did this initially, as an experiment.  I was thinking of getting rid of our land line. I have mobile phone, of course and the only reason I could think to keep the land line was that it was cheaper for my family to call than my mobile.  I have done the Skype solution for about a month and it works well, and I have figured that it saves me and my family and friends a chunk of change.  Right now my phone line is £11.00 a month.  Then I am paying the phone company £3 a month for the right of cheap phone calls to the states: 3p a minute.  Then the bill for my calls was around £3 to £5 a month.  So, I am cancelling the land line in January, when the contract is up and I will save over £100 next year, not to mention that my family and friends all have national call plans, so calling me on the US Skype number saves them as well.

I bought a US phone number from Skype. 

I kinda like this idea. So, with a mobile calling the Skype number, is it free? Or does the caller have a charge as well?

The sticking point in all of this is my sister's mobile. She can't use Skype but if she can call a Skype number for free I think that's the option for me!

I kinda like this idea. So, with a mobile calling the Skype number, is it free? Or does the caller have a charge as well?

The sticking point in all of this is my sister's mobile. She can't use Skype but if she can call a Skype number for free I think that's the option for me!

This should work well for you. What you are paying for when you buy number from Skype is the ability for people who are not on Skype to be able to call you. If your sister has a call plan on her mobile or landline that includes calls anywhere in the US, it won't cost her anything.  You can most likely even get a number that would be local to her, so even if she doesn't have the national call plan, it won't cost her anything. 

Make sure you can use the Skype app on your mobile (your mobile needs to be able to connect to wifi.) If your phone does not do this, then you will either need to buy a skype phone or answer her calls on your computer.

If you already have a good/cheap way to call the States, then you only need buy the US Skype number. You don't buy the outgoing minutes from Skype, but you will only be able to receive calls.   But if you don't have a good call plan, check out the offer from Skype.  I pay £4.00 a month for unlimited calls to the US, good for calls to any US non-toll numbers, cell or landline.

The skype options seem to work well for my needs, as I communicate frequently with folks in UK, CH, GDR, and IT.  Being in the states with a Verizon account makes it very easy for me to accept skype calls from overseas on my phone (as well as being able to use my computer for skyping).  Purchasing a skype number that is local to your contacts can also save quite a bit of money on fees and charges over direct dialing. 

I'm lucky that all of my contacts use blackberry mobiles, and can use the BBM messenger service for short notes and simple conversations without charges.

We set one of our cell phones up with an O2 pay as you go plan, and added the International Favorites bolt-on. It gives you either 3 or 5 numbers in the US that you can call through a UK number, and a us based number (You pick the area code) for them to call you, it gives you 3000 minutes to use. It runs £10 for the 3 number setup (Which we have) and, I think, £15 for the 5 number plan

We set one of our cell phones up with an O2 pay as you go plan, and added the International Favorites bolt-on. It gives you either 3 or 5 numbers in the US that you can call through a UK number, and a us based number (You pick the area code) for them to call you, it gives you 3000 minutes to use. It runs £10 for the 3 number setup (Which we have) and, I think, £15 for the 5 number plan

That sounds amazing! Hmmm. Must investigate!

If youre on PAYG giffgaff is a good deal (theyre essentially O2, but sims are only available online) as it costs 8p a minute for calls or per text...This could be of help to you.. Your sister should only be charged for minutes used..

A quick google brought me back the FRING app. Apparently it allows users to make free calls to app users over WiFi*  Dont know if this would be of help to you and your sister...

I need to invest in one of these as it could be handy when calling my sister..

*AT&T refuses to allow customers to use 3G/Edge with VoIP its against their T&Cs