I got hit by phantom roaming charges abroad — here’s how to avoid them

Think your device settings will save you. I made that mistake. I got hit by phantom roaming charges abroad — here’s how to avoid them.

Mobile I got hit by phantom roaming charges abroad — here’s how to avoid them Think your device settings will save you. Just recently, one Reddit user was horrified to find that AT&T had clobbered them with a $53k charge, after an eight-day European trip they expected to run them about $100 in roaming fees. You tend to feel sorry for these people, while also having lingering thoughts that they’ve been dealt a very tough life lesson.

Thankfully, my own roaming-fee surprise involved considerably fewer zeroes. I only incurred about $20 in roaming charges, so not a big hit, but what bothered me was that I’d done everything right to avoid using mobile data. How do you manage mobile data while traveling.

130 votes Buy an eSIM 40 % Use my carrier’s roaming plan 33 % Wi-Fi only 25 % I don’t use my phone while traveling 2 % You might be thinking I’m just as culpable, and maybe lucky I wasn’t charged more.