Three roaming charges: Everything you need to know before using your phone abroad

Whether you’re jetting off to somewhere warm, visiting friends abroad or traveling for work, you’ll need to understand the Three roaming charges to avoid getting a nasty shock. That’s especially the case if you’re going to mainland Europe, where fees have changed markedly for new customers since Brexit. We’re here to help, though, and have broken down everything you need to know about Three’s roaming charges into manageable chunks.

Luckily, the various Three plans are easy to understand and cover dozens of countries around the world for a reasonable fee. You’ll also only pay the 24-hour Go Roam fees to access your allowance if there’s a “chargeable event”, meaning that you’ve called a number, sent a text or used data. It will cover you for a period of 24 hours, irrespective of the time zone.

Three roaming charges: The basics

1. Customers who signed up before 1 October 2021

If your Three pay-monthly plan began before 1 October 2021, the 24-hour roaming charges below won’t apply. Instead, you’ll be able to use your data, minute and text allowances as normal in 71 countries around the world. However, be aware that hefty charges will apply if you go over your allowance or call non-UK numbers.

As a popular example, here’s what you’ll pay in the US if you were a pay-monthly customer before 1 October 2021.

2. Customers who signed up on or after 1 October 2021

If you began your pay-monthly Three plan on or after 1 October 2021, you have to pay a 24-hour fee to use your allowance in a country in Europe or other selected destinations around the world – but not until 23 May 2022. This charge covers you for 24 hours, regardless of time zones, and will only kick in if you make a call, text or use data. The plans are known as Go Roam in Europe and Go Roam Around the World, which we’ll examine in more detail below. However, let’s run through a couple of examples first.

Here’s what you’ll pay in France after 23 May 2022, if you signed up for a pay-monthly Three plan on or after 1 October 2021.

And here are the fees for Australia after 23 May 2022, if your plan post-dates 1 October 2021.

Three’s latest pay-monthly offers

Three roaming charges: Go Roam in Europe

As you can see from the French example above, when you make a call, send a text or use your data in a European country after 23 May 2022, you’ll pay a 24-hour Go Roam in Europe fee to access your allowance. The exception is Ireland, where you can use your data, minutes and texts as normal. 

This means you can text and call any UK or EU numbers for £2 for 24 hours, as well as use up to 12GB of your data allowance. However, if you go over your allowance, you’ll end up paying extra fees. For example, here are the costs for Italy:

It’s worth bearing in mind that both the Go Roam in Europe and Go Road Around the World features are designed for short-term use. If you use them for more than two months in any 12-month period, Three might suspend international roaming on your account. We’d always recommend picking up a local SIM card if you’re staying somewhere for a length of time, though, as it will save you a lot of money.

Three’s latest PAYG offers

Three roaming charges: Go Roam Around the World

The Go Roam Around the World function is very similar to Go Roam in Europe, but it costs £5 for a 24-hour period if you call someone, ping off a text or use any data. Naturally, it also covers more of the globe and there are bigger differences between the extra fees you’ll pay in countries. However, unlike in the EU, you won’t be limited to 12GB of data and can use all of your allowance. Again, you won’t have to pay the 24-hour fee until 23 May 2022.

You can find a full list of the Go Roam Around the World destinations with their individual tariffs here and, again, remember this isn’t a long-term solution: you can only use the feature for two months in 12. As an example, here are the pay-monthly roaming costs for Singapore:

Three’s latest pay-monthly offers

Three roaming charges: Data Passport

If you need a quick data boost for finding directions abroad, seeking out the best restaurants nearby or uploading precious holiday snaps, look no further than Three’s Data Passport. It gives you all-you-can-use internet for a day (until midnight UK time) in 89 destinations worldwide for £5.

It’s ideal for users who don’t usually have an unlimited plan and is valid in countries such as the US, Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Canada and many others. It also means you can use your phone as a portable hotspot and share the data with, say, your laptop. To enable it, either follow the instructions here or click the link that will automatically land in your text inbox when you arrive in the country.

Three’s latest SIM-only offers

Three roaming charges: Exceptions

But what about the places that aren’t covered by Three’s Go Roam in Europe, Go Roam Around the World or Data Passport? Well, unfortunately, they’ll be a lot more expensive to visit because they rely on steep traditional roaming fees. For instance, here are the costs for India:

With prices per megabyte rising to as high as £6 in countries such as Nigeria, it really is worth seeking out a local SIM for the length of your stay or using your existing one as sparingly as possible. Three also has some top tips for saving money on roaming, which we’ve rounded up in the next section.

Three’s latest pay monthly offers

Three roaming charges: How to reduce costs

Whether you’re in a country that isn’t covered by Three’s daily roaming fees or you simply want to reduce the amount you use your phone to avoid going over your allowance, the mobile network has a handful of pointers. We’ve summarised them below.

• Use Wi-Fi wherever possible and download files such as tickets, music or videos to your device in advance. You can also keep in touch with home via apps such as WhatsApp or Signal, which let you call over Wi-Fi.
• Switch on Flight mode. This is a good solution if you don’t want to use any data at all, while still using your phone for taking photos or getting directions via GPS.
• Buy a local SIM. As we’ve mentioned above, this is the best way to save money if you’re abroad for a decent amount of time. Just make sure you do your research to avoid signing up for extras you don’t need.
• Avoid data-hungry apps. If you’re in a beautiful part of the world, it can be tempting to constantly post photos to Instagram or Facebook. However, these consume a lot of data so it’s worth doing so sparingly or, again, waiting until you’ve got a trustworthy Wi-Fi connection to upload your beach selfies.
• Turn off automatic updates. Apps can download updates in the background, hoovering up data, so it’s worth switching these off where possible.

Three’s latest PAYG offers

Three roaming charges: Deals

Like the look of Three’s roaming plans and are thinking of switching to the network or upgrading your existing contract with the company? We’ve collected all of this month’s best Three deals in one place to help you nab a bargain.

And, if you’d like to size up the competition, why not head to our roundups of the best SIM-only deals, best unlimited data SIMs and best PAYG SIMs too?