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My wife and I recently got married, and finally got on our own cell phone plan. Welcome to the real world, I guess? Prior to that, we were on Verizon with our crappy iPhones. We have been on the hunt to find the best provider for our traveling lifestyle. We travel about every other month. Now, we are using Google Fi with our brand new Google Pixel 3 phones and we couldn’t be happier. Here is a full Google Fi Review of what it is, and why I couldn’t recommend it enough, especially for travelers!

Google Fi Review

Google Fi (formerly known as Project Fi) is a full cell phone service offered by Google. While nearly all major cell phone providers have in-person storefronts, Google Fi is done completely over the internet. While this may give some people anxiety, it gives me great relief! Ever since I got my first cell phone at 13 years old, going to the Verizon store was always a 2 hour ordeal for some reason. I hated it.

The largest reason my wife and I made the switch is the lack of flexibility with overseas usage with Verizon. Verizon charges a boatload for international usage. And many people have said the service is pretty weak when overseas. And I’ve heard the same thing with T-Mobile. With Google Fi, they use a variety of towers from other large carriers including Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Three. Their website says it is usable in 170 countries, and the price basically stays the same!

Google Fi Review – The Plan

Other than flexibility while traveling, I love how Google Fi has structured their plan. There is one plan for every Google Fi phone. Here is the plan pricing for a 1 phone plan for 1 month.

  • $20 for unlimited calling and texting
  • $10/GB for data. Once you go past 6GB in a month, the rest is free! But it will be slowed after 15GB.

I love this type of plan for many reasons.

1. It gives an incentive to be more wary of your cell phone use. Before Google Fi, I had unlimited data, talk and text, so I could be on my phone as much as I wanted. Now, I’m more conscious of time I’m spending on my phone using data.

2. It’s practical. If you work a typical 9 to 5, and you spend time at home, you probably have access to Wi-Fi. With Wi-Fi, you aren’t using data. So when you are out and about in the world with no access to Wi-Fi, it makes you think twice of using your data because your bill will go up.

Now, this may sound like a hassle to keep track of your data. However, it is all available real time in your Google Fi App!

google fi

Here’s where our wife and I stand right now.

It is extremely intuitive and user friendly for anyone wanting to monitor their data usage to reduce their data usage and bill.

Google Fi While Traveling

While you are seeing the world, your cell phone experience shouldn’t change. With Google Fi, it doesn’t change all too much.

  • Voice Calls (non Wi-Fi) – $0.20 cents/minute
  • Data – $10/GB. After 6GB, data is free.
  • Texting – Unlimited

I haven’t personally use my Google Fi just yet overseas, but I’ve heard great reviews from other people about it.

However, one piece of advice is if you are needing to make phone calls while overseas, is purchase a local SIM card. It will prove to be much cheaper than $0.20/minute.

Final Thoughts

I find that a cell phone is one of the best travel gadgets out there. My wife and I both have found ourselves become less “planners” per se when it comes to activities. We will typically find activities & restaurants when we reach our destination. If it wasn’t for our cell phones, we wouldn’t be able to have that luxury.

Knowing that our carrier works in so many different countries is alleviating, and having a great company like Google to support it is even better.

If you are interested in signing up, you can get $20 credit towards your bill using our link here.


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