Hot tips to avoiding global roaming charges

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Australians planning an overseas holiday needn’t worry about being stung by hundreds of dollars’ worth of fees from global roaming + all the extras like ATM charges and transaction fees.

The new Travelex Money Card comes with a swag of customer benefits, including no overseas ATM charges, no fees on spending while overseas, access to Travelex’s exchange rates via reloading the app, and no commission charges.

It also features free global Wi-Fi access without the roaming fees, 10 currencies available to top up online, in store or on app, and 24/7 global assistance if a card is lost, stolen or damaged.

Hitting the Oz market on May 3, the Travelex Money Card also trims transaction charges, as well as offering travellers merchant offers, such as discounted city tours abroad. The card will then be able to be used for up to five years.

But it comes as finder.com releases stats showing we’re all still getting screwed by global roaming charges.

The research found in the last two years, almost half a million Aussies have returned from overseas holidays to be shocked by a big mobile bill, thanks to global roaming fees.

The survey of 2,004 respondents showed on average, these Aussies opened at least one unexpected bill of $278 which represented 5.8 times their monthly plan cost. That’s a cumulative total of $92 million in global roaming charges.

Using mobile data, through social media and apps, was the main culprit for unforeseen expenses.

Alex Kidman, telco expert at finder.com.au, says there really shouldn’t be an element of surprise when Australians take their phone overseas.

“Phone providers are obliged to tell consumers when global roaming charges kick in — this is usually in the form of a text when you land at your destination,” he said.

“While Australians are more conscious about texts and calls, data usage can so easily creep up on us with apps running in the background.
“To make sure you don’t get stung, it’s a good idea to plan ahead and do some research. Either pick up a local SIM at your destination or find a roaming package at home.

“If you do take your phone with you, the key is keeping your mobile data off. Be aware of apps on automatic updates and video streaming: they chew up the most data .”

The research found women have bigger bill blowouts than men: on average, women accidentally spent $317, while men spent $233.

Tap into free Wi-Fi — Either via free hotspots or waiting till you get back to your hotel. Just make sure you never do any sensitive tasks like online banking from a public hotspot.

Download rather than stream — If you need to load up your iPad with some entertainment for a train trip, make use of the offline viewing function on Netflix, Stan and Amazon Prime. This allows you to download shows and movies when you’re connected to Wi-Fi, and watch them later without an Internet connection.

Disable auto-play — The moment you open Facebook, videos start playing and they are incredibly demanding data-wise. Disable Facebook’s autoplaying of video streams, and set its image quality to low. That way you’re only playing what you really want to watch, and really want to pay for.

Switch off updates and background data — Basically, turn off any setting that automatically uses data. The last thing you want is for your phone to begin downloading the latest Angry Birds update while you’re occupied bird watching in the Panama Canal.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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