Finding a mobile plan should be easy

The need to stay connected has never been stronger for Canadian travellers, but it comes at a cost. Roaming charges are fees that your provider will charge you if you use your mobile phone outside of your provider’s coverage area. These charges happen often and travellers are looking for ways to avoid them. Text messages, phone calls, social media, video streaming, emails, video calls, maps - it’s hard not to use your phone when traveling.

Even if it’s just to send a quick text message or give a call to family members, your provider can charge you. It’s important to prepare accordingly before travelling. The best way is to find a good travel plan with your provider, but there are additional things you can do to reduce the risk of incurring roaming charges.

Read our blog article for more tips on how to avoid roaming charges when traveling.

Every year, the best phones become more and more expensive. If you want a plan with the best smartphone without having to purchase it upfront, be prepared to pay a premium every month for the duration of your contract. On the other hand, if you want to save money, we recommend that you bring your own device instead.

If you decide to purchase your device upfront, you will not be tied to a two year contract and will have bargaining power. This means that you can switch providers (or plans) at will! Found a better offer with a different provider? You can negotiate with your provider or switch providers in a heartbeat.

Read our blog article for more tips on how to save on your monthly phone plan.

Device financing is a way of spreading out payments for the purchase of a mobile device. It often comes with no upfront payment or interest fees.

With device financing, the cost of the phone is usually split in 24 monthly payments at 0% interest. For example, if you are buying a $960 smartphone on a 24 month plan, you will be paying $40 per month for the phone on top of your monthly plan.

Device financing can be worth it if you want to buy a smartphone without having to pay the full balance upfront. The main downside is that you will be tied to a 24 months contract with your provider.

Read our blog article to learn more about device financing.

If you cancel your current cellphone contract, you will need to pay a cancellation fee. This fee depends on the device financing cost and the time left before the end of the contract.

For example, let's pretend that you’ve agreed to a 24 month device financing contract with your provider, and that there’s 6 months left to it. You still have to pay a quarter (6 months left out of 24) of the cost after any upfront payments you may have made. If the device cost was $1000 and you paid $200 upfront, the financing is for $800. The cancelation fee would therefore be $800 (device financing cost) x 1/4 (time left on the device financing contract)= $200.

After you've paid the device financing balance, your device should be unlocked for free by your provider.