Gettin’ Carried Away

I started traveling around the same time that my friends and I got cell phones. I can still remember that one word that made our parents shudder at the thought of shelling out big bucks for a phone bill. And that word was… roaming. Now that I am a frequent traveler, and I’ve been paying my mobile bill for quite some time now, I’m a little more concerned with the extra costs. Which carrier offers the best deal for American travelers?

I have decided to start a new series of posts and explore a different carrier in each article. I’m doing it in alphabetical order to eliminate bias. First up? Alltel.

THE LOGISTICS

National Freedom Plan

This is the main national plan offered by Alltell Wireless. You are covered all across the nation. Alltell calls it the Freedom Plan, since you also have access to My Circle and Anytime Plan Changes.

The most affordable plan costs $39.99 per month

• 1 My Circle Number
• 500 minutes
• $0.40 per additional minute

The most expensive plan costs $199.99 per month:

• 20 My Circle Numbers
• 6000 minutes
• $0.25 per additional minute

International Dialing

International dialing is free. You must add it onto your existing plan, and you may only call the following countries:

• Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Bonaire, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and U.S. Virgin Islands for $1.29 per minute.
• Mexico for $0.79 per minute.

To call other countries not included in the above list, you’ll have to purchase an international add-on for $3.99 per month for discounted rates. For example, the standard rate for the UK is $0.65 per minute; with the add-on, the price is $0.20 per minute.

The North American Freedom Plan offers toll-free calling from the U.S. to specific areas in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as back to the U.S. The cheapest plan starts at $59.99 and includes 10 My Circle Numbers, 450 daytime minutes. All North American Freedom Plans come with 1000 nights/weekends anywhere covered in the countries listed above, in addition to unlimited mobile-to-mobile in the U.S. only.

The last international feature is Cruise Ship Roaming. The standard rate on a cruise ship could be as much as $2.49 per minute, in addition to a $0.50 toll. With this feature, you’ll pay up to $0.13 per minute if you’re on one of these ships.

MY ANALYSIS

National Plans

You can change your plan at any time without extending your contract, which is unheard of with most other carriers.

With the cheapest plan, you only get unlimited to calls to one number and just 500 minutes to any other number. However, all National Freedom Plans $49.99 and higher include:

• a certain number of daytime minutes
• 5, 10 or 20 My Circle Numbers (which you can change at any time)
• Unlimited mobile-to-mobile
• Unlimited nights/weekends
• Free nationwide long distance

That $199.99 per month plan is the most expensive and comes with the 20 My Circle Numbers. However, did you know that Alltell offers a $99 per month Unlimited Calling Plan? The website says that the plan offers unlimited to calling to unlimited numbers 24/7, in addition to free nationwide long distance. So why would you choose the $199.99 per month plan?

International Dialing

It’s pretty cool that you don’t have to pay extra to call certain areas in Canada, Mexico, etc. However, if you do purchase the international add-on, calling Canada only costs $0.10 per minute. In the long run, if you’re an avid traveler, getting the add-on should save you more money than purchasing both the North American Freedom Plan and the monthly international add-on. I’ve also never heard of Cruise Ship Roaming being offered on a network. Seems like a lot of unique options here to me.

** All prices are projected for your average, run-of-the-mill mobile phone, and none of them include text/picture messaging, web browsing or emailing.

Also, Alltel recently merged with Verizon Wireless in January 2009. Alltel users will continue with their existing plans; however, once the contracts are up, Alltel users will most likely convert to Verizon plans. Verizon is currently unsure if they will continue the My Circle Plan once all Alltel contracts have ended.

A design created by Howie Guy, director of the UK company Design Q, has been causing a stir (and somewhat of an uproar) in the travel industry this week. Why? Just take a look at this photo from the Daily Mail.

It’s all about cost efficiency these days, and Guy has come up with a plan to produce 50% more seats on planes, while reducing the cost of a flight at the same time. The catch? Passengers will have to face each other. Oh no! The horror!

Seriously, folks? What’s so bad about facing each other? We do it on buses and trains (occasionally, depending on where you sit). Heck, we even do it at the airport when we’re waiting for our departures. So, what is the problem with facing each other during a flight?

Of course, this seating arrangement would not be convenient for someone on an overseas flight… or even for someone flying across the country from New York to California. However, Guy has considered this and stated that this design is intended for aircrafts making 30 to 80-minute journeys. Even so, I think I could deal with this for up to two hours, at least, especially if it means paying half the price for a flight. $100 round-trip to NYC? I’d take that!

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a little traveling hiatus since my trip to Pittsburgh in August. FEAR NOT! I will be making my yearly trip to NYC next month. Anyway, when I don’t have the time (or the money) to travel, I’m naturally envious of those who are planning trips. So when a friend of mine says, “I’m dreading my upcoming weekend in Disney,” I’m thinking… are you nuts?

~* Over nine hours to Germany? Let me gear up! *~

What is it about traveling that people don’t like? I find that most people are annoyed with the travel process rather than the trip itself. I’m sure we all wish we could be like Samantha from Bewitched, twitch our noses and be whisked away to a far off place in a matter of seconds. However, we must endure long lines at the airport, frequent stops on a road trip or some 50+ steps up and down subway platforms to get to our vacation destination. But seriously… what’s so bad about that?

Let’s take flying, for example. Usually, even if you factor in the packing, the transportation to the airport, the check-in/security lines and the wait for the departure, you’re going to get to most places a lot faster by plane. If you decide to take a road trip, your vacation should be about the drive and the places you see along the way. Finally, if you arrive in a city and decide to take public transportation to your hotel, keep in mind that you might be saving tons of money on cab fare.

Heck, I’ve been through a lot of crappy times for the sake of a trip. In Italy, we made the mistake of not buying return tickets to Rome when we took a day trip to Florence, so we ended up on a five-hour local train instead of the hour (and some change) express. In London, my 110-minute Tube ride from Heathrow Airport to Canary Wharf cost under £5, when a cab ride could have been about £70-80!

~* THRILLED about our five-hour journey back to Rome! *~

I think that a lot of our struggles with traveling have to do with the fact that most of us live in a fast-paced world that is in a constant state of rush hour. We’re all in a hurry, even if we left the house a full hour-and-a-half before we have to be somewhere. And because we’re in a hurry, we then become impatient. We want it, and we want it now!

Instead of complaining about all the time you spend standing in lines or sitting in a waiting area, you could be doing a lot of other things with your time. Those are the key words here… your time. It is your personal time that you choose to spend any way you want. Listen to your favorite album, read a new book, buy a Sudoku puzzle book, catch up on emails, call an old friend, etc. And yes, I know that traveling can be exhausting at times. But I’m going to leave you with this thought… Out of the 300+ billion residents in America, only about four million will visit the UK in a given year (says Forbes Traveler).

Stats vary around the world, but the point is that only a fraction of the country will see a given historic landmark, unfamiliar country town, famous river, well-known piece of art, etc. You could be one of the few people in your town who has walked atop the Great Wall of China, taken a ride up the Mississippi River in Louisiana or strolled about the Irish countryside. When it comes to that, waiting in a security line for an extra 25 minutes really doesn’t bother me.