Travel Bolt-on confusion

[RicWalLar]

I'm travelling to USA for just over 3 weeks My tariff doesn't include Travel Inclusive so I need the Travel Bolt-on for which I'm charged £6 per day when I use it. I wanted to check how it works so went into my local O2 shop, but they were no help at all (subsequent call to Customer Service confirmed they gave me completely wrong information). I wanted to ensure the £6 charge covers calls made to phones within USA (eg for booking a restaurant table). The shop said it wasn't included & would cost me £2/minute but Customer Service confirmed what I believed & how I read the terms: it is included. After all, it says on the Terms (emphasis added): 

"O2 Travel is the perfect way to stay connected in selected destinations outside our Europe and O2 Travel Inclusive Zones. It costs £6 a day, and that gets you all the data you need, plus unlimited minutes and texts, both where you are and back to the UK.

There's no upper usage limit on data, but data speeds might vary. These allowances won't affect your standard UK allowances. Voicemail (901) is included."

So I've added the Travel Bolt-on to my account.

But Customer Service also said I have 5GB of data already available as a bolt-on to my tariff. But there is absolutely nowhere I can see this and I knew nothing about it. So now I don't know (I was getting a bit confused & didn't ask) whether I'll get this phantom 5GB usage before any £6 charge kicks in! I would think that I should do, though if I make a voice call or text I guess that would trigger the £6. Confused? Moi? 

[MI5]

I worked in Death Valley in the 90's and we had a good (analogue) phone signal then.

That was carrying a brick attached to a battery the size of a suitcase though

No guarantees that technology hasn't "improved" since though @RicWalLar 

[jonsie]

I always had a good signal in Death Valleyand travelling down through Nevada and Arizona and back to California.

[RicWalLar]

Thanks. I remember the brick phones, had my first in 1986. Anyway, it’s just in case. Satnav might be useful for Grand Canyon > Furnace Creek > Reno but not that many opportunities for getting lost, I think. 🌅

[Oxonian]

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@RicWalLar wrote:

Ironically whilst typing this I received an email from O2 saying my Travel Bolt-on is activated. Hmmm. Maybe I'll remove it before I travel, though if the O2 SIM stays in an envelope during the trip I shouldn't risk any charges!

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There is a suggestion @RicWalLar in some posts on this community that it is also important to make sure that voicemail is turned off. 👍 

[pgn]

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@Oxonian wrote:

There is a suggestion @RicWalLar in some posts on this community that it is also important to make sure that voicemail is turned off. 👍 

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True, @Oxonian - and mentioned in passing further up the thread - Voicemail, the scourge of many a trip into areas where the "free to activate" O2 Travel is the sole "value proposition" offering available. 

Free to activate before you leave Blighty's shores, that is, otherwise the SMS to enroll in O2 Travel costs you, as covered elsewhere earlier this week 😖

[Oxonian]

Thanks @pgn, it was not clear whether your advice had actually registered with @RicWalLar or not. 👍 

[RicWalLar]

Thanks for the voicemail tip, I’ll make sure it’s turned off. I never get any voicemail messages anyway, but Sod’s Law and all that 🙄

Still weighing up the £6/day or USA SIM options. Tricky.

[RicWalLar]

The thing is: most data use will be on WiFi when at hotels or niece’s home in Reno, so out of 25 days it probably won’t be that many. And for satnav I’ve downloaded offline Google maps which I guess will work OK. But changing to USA SIM means potential issues if any credit card authorisations are needed (texts to normal UK number obviously won’t appear). And hassle of telling people and WhatsApp of the temporary number. And for the same ~£30 cost I get 5 days at £6 but what, if anything, do I need to do (apart from deactivating voicemail) to prevent accidentally triggering the charge? Presumably I just need to turn off roaming until and unless I choose to use it.

[MI5]

@RicWalLar 

In theory, turning off data roaming should leave you able to receive any calls or texts which will be free, however, your phone may use data in some circumstances, so keep data off completely.

[RicWalLar]

👍