How to Avoid High Roaming Charges When Calling Abroad

You Don’t Have to Come Home to a Shocking Phone Bill

You’re boarding your flight. You’ve triple-checked your passport, grabbed your charger, and even downloaded a playlist. But there’s one thing most travelers overlook—until it’s too late.

Roaming charges.

They creep in silently—when your phone connects to a foreign network, when an app refreshes in the background, when someone calls, and you answer without thinking. And just like that, your relaxing trip ends with a three-digit surprise on your phone bill.

If you’ve been there before, you’re not alone. And if it’s your first international trip? This guide will help you make sure it never happens.

Why Roaming Charges Hurt More Than You Think

Roaming isn’t just about data. It includes voice calls, texts, voicemail pings, and even those tiny app syncs you didn’t realize were running. Carriers know most people won’t catch every setting before takeoff—and they charge accordingly.

You might think:

• “I won’t use my phone much.”

• “I’ll just answer a few calls.”

• “It’s probably covered in my plan.”

But here’s what that can mean:

• $1.99/min for answering a call

• $0.50 per text, even incoming

• $10–$15 per day for roaming “passes” that reset at midnight

• Background data syncing your photos or maps the second Wi-Fi drops

That’s not mismanagement. That’s how international mobile billing is designed.

And yes, it happens to smart travelers too.

8 Common Mistakes That Trigger Roaming Fees

Understanding the traps is step one. Here are the habits that get even savvy travelers caught:

1. Forgetting to turn off roaming manually
   Just switching to airplane mode isn’t always enough. On some phones, background processes still try to connect.

2. Leaving mobile data on “just in case.”
   Even a few seconds of weak connection can trigger app updates, email fetches, or map loading.

3. Accepting calls abroad
   Many carriers charge you for receiving calls outside your home network. Doesn’t matter who called—it costs you.

4. Not checking which countries are excluded.
   Roaming plans might include Canada and Mexico—but not the Caribbean or Asia. You’ll still get charged.

5. Relying on Wi-Fi, that’s unstable.
   Many phones automatically switch to cellular when Wi-Fi drops—even during a call or download.

6. Failing to disable voicemail forwarding
   If someone calls you and it goes to voicemail, guess what? That’s billed, too.

7. Using apps that ping in the background
   Messaging apps, cloud services, and even weather widgets are data-hungry—even when you’re not using them.

8. Thinking airplane mode solves everything.
   It helps—but if you turn Wi-Fi back on for hotel internet and forget data is also enabled, you could reconnect to cellular accidentally.

Now that you know the traps, let’s look at the supposed “solutions” that most travelers are told—and what they really deliver.

Popular Fixes (That Only Solve Half the Problem)

There’s no shortage of advice on how to beat roaming. Some of it works—some just shifts the cost. Let’s look at the main ones:

1. Buy a Roaming Add-On or Travel Pass from Your Carrier

These are marketed as “worry-free” daily roaming bundles—usually around $10/day. They let you use your phone like at home (calls, texts, data) in certain countries.

But here’s the catch:

• It resets every 24 hours, even if you use just one text

• It might not include calling local numbers in your destination

• Not every country is covered

• You’re locked into your home carrier’s pricing

It’s not really freedom—it’s a leash with a slightly longer lead.

2. Buy a Local SIM or eSIM When You Arrive

This works if you’re:

• Staying in one country for a while

• Have an unlocked phone

• Don’t mind replacing your current SIM

You’ll get local rates, which are often much cheaper. But every SIM you buy means:

• Losing your regular number

• New data plans and top-up rules

• Activation/setup issues

• Needing to relearn this process in every new country

For most people on multi-stop trips, this becomes more hassle than it’s worth.

3. Use Wi-Fi + Calling Apps

Apps like WhatsApp, Skype, and Viber seem like the perfect fix. And they are, until you try to call someone who doesn’t use the app.

Or you realize:

• Wi-Fi is too weak for clear calls

• The person you need to reach doesn’t use the app

• You can’t call landlines or support hotlines

• You still need data when you leave your hotel

Apps are great for talking to friends. But what if you need to call your airline, hotel, or bank?

That’s where all of these “fixes” fail.

Mytello: The Simpler Way to Call Without Roaming—or Wi-Fi

If you want to avoid roaming charges without the downsides of SIM swaps, unstable Wi-Fi, or app dependence, there’s a third option:

Mytello.

It lets you make international calls from your regular number on your current SIM without using roaming, the internet, or an app.

Yes, really.

Here’s how it works:

• You register for free

• You enter the international number you want to call

• Mytello gives you a local access number for your country

• You call that number like a normal call—Mytello connects the rest

No roaming charges. No app is needed. No internet dependency. No SIM change.

Just your phone, calling any number in over 200 countries.

Why Mytello is the Most Travel-Friendly Option

✅ Keep your own number
Still want your friends or bank to reach you on your regular number? No problem. Mytello doesn’t require you to change anything on your phone.

✅ Call anyone—not just app users
Landlines, mobile phones, businesses, hotels, support lines—no limitations.

✅ Works without Wi-Fi or mobile data
Mytello uses your carrier’s local access lines to make the connection. You don’t need to be online. You don’t even need a smartphone.

✅ No roaming, no contracts
You don’t need to subscribe to anything. You pay only for what you use—and rates are listed per country.

✅ Credit never expires
Load once, call when you want. There’s no “use it or lose it” trick here.

✅ Works in over 200 destinations
Even if you’re country-hopping, Mytello stays consistent. You don’t have to learn new SIM rules or switch apps every week.

And yes, there’s a free trial call so you can test the voice quality yourself before adding credit.

Real Scenarios: What’s the Smartest Option?

Let’s match the method to the moment.

Quick Checklist: Phone Settings Before Your Flight

Whether or not you use Mytello, these settings help protect you:

• ✅ Turn Data Roaming OFF (iPhone: Settings > Cellular > Roaming)

• ✅ Switch off Cellular Data entirely unless needed

• ✅ Turn off app background refresh/sync

• ✅ Disable auto-updates

• ✅ Switch voicemail off or to manual retrieval

• ✅ Save key local access numbers if you’ll use Mytello

• ✅ Download Mytello’s Android app or iPhone for easier dialing.

These steps help reduce the chances of being auto-connected and charged while abroad.

Final Thought: You Can Still Use Your Phone Abroad—Smartly

Avoiding roaming charges doesn’t mean turning your phone into a paperweight. It just means knowing how to call in a smarter way.

So, to sum up:

• Roaming charges are real and expensive

• SIM swaps and eSIMs are useful but not ideal for every traveler

• Wi-Fi apps help. But have limits

• Mytello gives you global calling freedom without the setup headaches or surprise bills.

Whether you’re calling your family in Germany from a train in France, checking in with a hotel in Istanbul, or getting help from your bank back in the States—you don’t need roaming, data, or another app.

You need Mytello.

➡️ Try a free call now
➡️ Check rates for your next destination

No contracts. No tricks. Just calls that work without roaming charges.