Tracfone International Calling
From within the United States, you can make international calls from your Tracfone at the same rate of one unit per minute, including calls to Canada and Mexico. You can either dial an international access number each time or set up special "800" numbers corresponding to your most frequently called numbers. These "800" numbers can be added to your list for easy dialing.
How to call
Tracfone has teamed up with Auris Technology to provide this service. Once you’ve purchased and activated your handset, you dial the international access number and then dial the international number. As long as you call to one of these countries there are no additional charges.
New Global Card
The new $10 Global airtime card adds a new set of global destinations to those available on the basic international calling plan.
Frequent Numbers
Because it is cumbersome to have to dial the access number every time, you can designate up to ten numbers as Frequent Numbers for your international calls. Tracfone then assigns a special "800" number for each of those Frequent Numbers. Then when you dial the 800 number, you are connected to your international calls.
Tracfone to Canada and Mexico
With the International Neighbors feature, you can create up to three local Mexican phone numbers for your friends or relatives. When they dial the local number, the call connects to your Tracfone. They pay for the local call, and you are charged at the standard rate of one unit per minute.
Signing up for a local number is easy.
In Canada
- Go to http://www.tracfoneild.com. Click on the International Neighbors plan in the middle, then and enter your phone number and IMEI number and click submit.
- Choose your country as Canada
- Pick your region from the list: either Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Kitchener, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria or Winnipeg.
- Then click "Assign Int'l #"
In Mexico
- Click on the International Neighbors plan in the middle, then and enter your phone number and IMEI number and click submit.
- Choose your country as Mexico
- Then you choose your country as Mexico.
- Pick your region from the list: either Aguacascalientes, Celaya, Ciudad Juarez, Cuernavaca, Culiacan, Durango, Guadalajara, Irapuato, Leon, Mazatlan, Mexico City, Monterrey, Puebla, Queretaro, Reynosa, Saltillo, San Luis Potosi, Tepic, Tijuana, Toluto, or Torreon.
- Click "Assign Int'l #".
Calling the UK (and the Queen)
You can dial landlines in the UK but not mobile phones. For example, a test call was made successfully to the public number for the Queen of England to congratulate her on a recent happy occasion!
When NOT to use your Tracfone
International calls, while no more expensive than regular Tracfone calls, are still not cheap compared to international calls made on a landline with an international calling plan. For example, calls to the UK landlines usually only cost a few cents a minutes, which is still cheaper than what one Tracfone unit/minute usually costs. If you have access to any landline, it may be cheaper, though less convenient, to use a prepaid international calling card.
When to use your Tracfone
When it's an emergency, or if you just NEED to make a call, then being able to make the international call from your Tracfone is a great convenience. For example, if you're on vacation in the USA, and you've gotten a Tracfone for the few days or weeks you'll be here, then being able to make calls back home on your Tracfone at the same rate is fantastic.
No International Text Messages
Update 2012
There is still no international texting available on the recent Tracfones. The people who report success seem to be using some of the older phones that allow it due to some technical glitch.
Currently International Texting in the Tracfone "family" is only officially supported on the Net10 or Straight Talk Android phones with an unlimited plan.
Summary
In the end, international calling is a nice feature that Tracfone has added, especially as there are no additional charges.