Internet in USA - SIM card or eSIM?

Advantages of mobile internet in the USA

• Use your phone for navigation in the car with Google Maps / Apple Maps and save yourself an expensive sat nav from the rental company
• Plan your public transport connections in the big cities
• Book tickets for attractions or events on the go.
• Communicate with your loved ones and send them pictures of your amazing experiences.
• Book a motel or a campground at short notice on your road trip when the day’s drive turns out longer than planned.
• Call an Uber or Lyft in the cities, as taxis hardly play a role in the USA any more.
• Keep an eye on the weather. In the Southwest and the Midwest in particular, conditions change fast, and warnings go out through apps.

Differences between SIM card and eSIM

Universally available internet connection during your USA trip, consider getting your own SIM card. These are available as regular SIM card or as eSIM.

Buy SIM card / eSIM for the USA

SIM card

Unlike in Japan, for example, you won’t get a tourist SIM from a vending machine at a US airport. Here is how to get a SIM card:

Order before your trip: This is the most relaxed way. The card is sent to your home, you insert it after landing and you are online straight away.

Buy on site: Prepaid cards are available in every Walmart, Target and Best Buy as well as in the carriers’ own stores. Cheap, but you need a US address for activation (the hotel address usually works) and you waste precious holiday time looking for one. The three networks in the USA are Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Verizon often has the best coverage in rural areas. Here is a list of common providers:

• T-Mobile Prepaid
• AT&T Prepaid
• Mint Mobile (uses the T-Mobile network)
• Visible (uses the Verizon network)

eSIM

For a holiday the eSIM is the most straightforward solution. You order it from home, receive a QR code by email and are online within two minutes of landing. I’ve had good experiences with Holafly, who offer unlimited data in packages from 5 to 90 days: https://esim.holafly.com/esim-usa/

Choose any package you like. After ordering, you’ll receive a QR code. Upon arrival in the USA, connect to the free WiFi at the airport and scan the code with your phone. The phone will handle all the settings. Now, just activate data roaming, and you’re ready to surf using the eSIM.

My tip: scan the QR code while you are still at home, but don’t activate the eSIM until after you land. That way you are online right at the gate and don’t have to fight your way through airport WiFi first.

Here’s a list of other providers:

• airalo
• Saily
• T-Mobile U.S. Pass (eSIM plans aimed at visitors, bookable through the T-Mobile Prepaid eSIM app)