Why I love using #RoamOn when travelling @RogersBuzz #familytravel #travel #tech
It feels like just yesterday that travelling across the border (US/CAN of course) used to mean switching into Airplane mode, then double and triple checking to make sure you don’t accidentally incur crippling roaming charges. I remember hearing horror stories from friends and family who had forgotten to switch their phones off during a trip down south and had a figurative heart attack when they received their bills!
I was SO thrilled when I saw a commercial for Roam Like Home from Rogers a little while back. It felt like it must be a hoax. How could a phone company make it SO affordable and easy to use your phone when travelling to the US? My husband and I called in to Rogers (we’ve been customers for almost twenty years now….yup…let’s not touch the age thing) to ensure that this deal was for real. We were planning a trip across the border and wanted to make REALLY REALLY sure there were no hidden fees, charges or costs associated with doing the forbidden…..(turning our phones on!).
I made sure to ask (a good four times to be extra sure) and I was surprised to learn that it’s really that simple. You simply text TRAVEL to 222 before crossing the border, that’s IT. It automatically turns on RoamON. You pay $5 per 24 hour period and you are free to use your phone exactly as you would at home. We have the Share Everything plan which allows me to tweet, check Facebook and all of my other 94,000 (sometimes it kind of feels like that many) social networks, text family and stay connected for $5 a day. Again…I cannot get over how amazing it is.
We had the pleasure of checking out an incredible performance of La Nouba by Cirque de Soleil while away and I just had to share pictures online. I couldn’t decide which part I was more enamoured by, the incredible performance or the fact that I could share pictures so easily online while travelling (for only $5 per day).
I was convinced there surely must be some sort of catch of course…so I called Rogers (again!) to ask what happens if someone is travelling for an extended period of time, like 2-3 weeks (totally thinking this is where I’d realize it would add a couple of hundred dollars to your bill). Once again I was shocked to learn that there’s a monthly MAXIMUM of $50 for roaming charges. Umm….WHAT? Since when do phone companies give you a maximum for charges? So basically if you’re travelling from Canada to the US for 29 days and would like to use RoamON while you’re away, it will cost you a maximum of $50 in addition to your regular monthly fees. Yup. Insane. I know. THIS is why I love using #RoamOn when travelling.
This is just a quick snapshot of some of my #RoamON tweets…and some great pictures I managed to get while at the Cirque de Soleil courtesy of Rogers.
I love the fact that you didn’t have to worry about incurring additional fees during your travels. It helps to save some money during the holiday season.
I didn’t even think roaming charges were a thing. Maybe it;s just here in the US, but I travel quite a bit and there are no roaming charges anymore. Glad you found a solution.
What a great idea! I have also been hit with those horrible roaming charges. I got home to a $500 cell phone bill one time and one time only now I have been leaving my phone at home just because of this. What a terrific idea.
This sounds awesome. Especially if you’re going to be traveling for just a few days. Does it work everywhere or just US/Can?
AWESOME! I never have even heard of this until you just showed me!
Looks like a great show, and sounds like a wonderful service, too!
I never knew anything about why you are suppose to switch your phone to airplane mode. This is news to me and I could not imagine opening up that bill like the people that forgot.
What a great companion to have! So glad you enjoyed the show so much!
We just switched to Rogers and I was told about this. We don’t travel but if we do I’m so glad to know it’s there!
I remember the first time we crossed into Canada, in Sarnia we can still use US signal with out roaming but we lost that after a few miles out. We started to use a map and Yelp to scope out where to eat and we kept getting texts from Verizon about our plan usage. Oops. So we called them right then and there. They switched us to a roaming plan for about $5 and then we just turned it off when we got back.
That’s an extremely reasonable price. I’m gonna have to try that out when I travel out of country!
Roam on sounds really cool. I don’t think we have this in the states.
Wow! This really sounds like a great service. I bet you can save a ton of money using it.
sounds like a great program. i’ll have to look into it when I travel next.
That is pretty cool! I was afraid of going over data allowance while in Hawaii 😛
Roam sounds awesome, this is something I could use for my travels back and forth from Canada to the US!
What a great round up! I am looking to do a lot of traveling for 2015 so this will come in handy!
I hate how I can’t use my cell in that states when I go over for a weekend; this sounds great!
While I don’t travel out of the country, my husband does. This sounds like such an affordable plan. I need to pass the info on to him!
LOL on asking more than once to be sure. I do that too. 🙂 This does sound very nice for traveling!
That is wonderful! I will have to share this with my husband for his business trips
I remember when you could incur roaming charges very easily. This would have been great to have back then!
That sounds like a really useful service. I remember roaming here in the states once and the charges were ridiculous.
A great service to have. Have it check it out.
This sounds like a great service. I wondering if it would work in other countries as well or if it is only exclusive to Canada and US.
If we ever visit Canada, I will most definitely have to look into this service! Roaming charge are no joke.
I’ve never heard of this before, it’s a great invention!