New EE Euro Pass offers holidaymakers free texts, calls and data
No need to buy separate talk, text and data add-ons anymore.
Mobile network EE is now offering customers unlimited texts and calls, and a set data allowance, for £4 a day while in Europe with its new Euro Pass.
The new add-on options mean EE customers no longer need to buy separate talk, text and data add-ons when heading across the Channel, as they did previously.
We’ve taken a look at what you get for your money.
Euro Pass
With Euro Pass, customers get unlimited calls and texts to standard UK and Eurozone numbers so you can keep in touch with home as well as using your phone locally while on holiday.
Unlike offerings from some rival networks, calls and texts used abroad don’t come out of a user’s home allowance – they’re on top of that.
Customers on more expensive 4GEE Extra plans already benefit from unlimited calls and texts in 39 European destinations. However they can add the Euro Data Pass for just £3 a day.
With both Euro Pass and Euro Data Pass, customers can use 100MB of data a day at “full speed”. They won’t be cut off from the internet after that though – instead they can use an extra 400MB a day at a slower speed. The speed reduction means the extra data is more suitable for email and social networking rather than downloading large files.
EE customers can opt-in for these add-ons either before they leave the UK or when they’re abroad by texting EUROPASS or EURODATA to 150. They then only pay the daily fee on the days they use their phone.
Other EE data options
EE customers that need more data than that offered by Euro Pass can buy a bolt-on from EE once they arrive at their destination – a menu appears when you open the browser on your phone.
EE also offers a range of roaming offers outside Europe. How much they cost depends on where you’re going, how much data you want and how long you want it to last.
For example, if you’re going to the US you can buy 20MB of data for £3 to use within 24 hours or 200MB for £20 to use within seven days.
One nice feature is that you can’t use data abroad at all without actively buying a data pass – so you won’t come home to a shockingly large bill.
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What do other networks offer?
Most networks now offer add-ons for travellers that cut the cost of calls, texts and data abroad.
Vodafone EuroTraveller costs £3 a day and lets you use your home calls, texts and data tariff in 40 European destinations. Vodafone WorldTraveller works the same way, costs £5 a day, and covers 30 countries further afield.
O2 Travel costs £1.99 a day and gives pay monthly O2 customers unlimited data in Europe. Pay-as-you-go customers have usage capped at 50MB per day.
O2 contract customers can make and receive voice calls in Europe for 50p per call for calls up to 60 minutes while pay-as-you-go customers pay 18p a minute.
O2 doesn’t offer much for travellers outside Europe though – you’d be well advised to turn off data roaming and just use local Wi-Fi.
It’s a similar story with Virgin Mobile. Virgin Media Travel passes are available if you’re travelling within the EU: 10MB costs £1.50, 50MB £6 or you can buy 250MB for £20. But outside Europe you’ll be paying per MB with the cost high and dependent on your destination.
Networks which offer inclusive data roaming
Regular travellers should check out either Three or Carphone Warehouse’s iD network.
Both offer simple and cheap options for using your phone abroad.
Three’s Feel At Home lets both monthly contract and pay-as-you-go customers use their normal tariff in 10 European countries and eight more worldwide.
iD’s TakeAway plans work in a similar away but cover 22 countries: 20 in Europe plus the US and Australia. TakeAway tariffs start from £25.50 a month.
The golden rule with either of these options is to check your destination is covered before you set off.
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