This article was originally published on WeChat official account — US Credit Card Guide.

For a guide on purchasing Mint Mobile, see here: Mint Mobile Purchase Guide (Usable from China)

Welcome to use the blog’s referral link:

Cashback sites currently offer up to $20 per purchase:

Click the referral link first, then open the Shopping Portal in the same browser. The two do not conflict with each other (as long as the latter page shows the refer bonus).

Mint SIM Cards

Mint has long supported activating SIM cards outside the United States, which is helpful for many travelers. This article covers two kinds of activation: the primary SIM card and the two Gift SIM cards included with each order. If you are activating within the U.S., simply follow the official instructions step by step. Here we focus specifically on how to activate these SIM cards outside the U.S., especially from mainland China. First, let’s distinguish between the primary SIM and the Gift SIM:

This is the primary SIM:

This is the Gift SIM (each order includes 2 gift cards), intended for you to give to friends for trial use, though you can absolutely use them yourself..

Primary Account SIM Activation (Outside the U.S.)

The author recently tested activating a SIM directly from mainland China, and it worked perfectly fine. After web activation, if you are outside the United States and have not enabled international roaming, you will not get service right away (you can purchase roaming after activation). For the activation steps, just refer to the official instructions; they will not be repeated in detail here. A few things to note:

  • It is recommended to change your password right away. Otherwise, later on you may be unable to log in to your account via SMS verification.
  • Turn off mobile data and immediately pay the $5 international roaming fee. As long as you do not use data, there will be no extra charges.
  • Your phone should pick up signal quickly, and then you can immediately switch to Wifi-Calling.
  • Port-in from other carriers is supported. The author ported a Visible number, and it completed almost instantly.
  • Once international roaming is enabled, you should receive mobile signal right away.

Gift SIM Activation and Upgrade

As we know, when Mint ships your order, it also includes two Gift SIM cards so you can “recruit” your friends. These promotional SIM cards can also be put to good use and can likewise be activated directly outside the United States.

  • Gift SIM can only be activated in the app. It comes with a 7-day trial, and the number assigned at that time is random (you can change it after upgrading).
  • After activation, you can upgrade to a primary Plan at any time (there is an upgrade option in the app). You will get a $5 credit, but you may not be able to receive cashback from cashback sites. The minimum purchase is 3 months, which comes to $45.
  • You can port a number to Mint, or choose to keep the randomly assigned number. The author ported over a second Visible number; it was easy and also completed almost instantly.
  • The port completes very quickly, and afterward the app will prompt you to set a password.
  • After that, the account interface becomes the normal one, and you can immediately purchase international roaming to receive service.

The full billing breakdown is shown below. Among the items, Provisioned Activation refers to the trial activation.

Refer Bonus

According to the trial email Mint sends after a gift card is activated, once the Gift SIM is upgraded, it will automatically receive a $15 refer credit. That is quite nice, since the gift card was originally given to you by a friend. Based on this, it appears likely that after a Gift SIM is upgraded, the primary SIM should also receive a bonus.

Other Notes

  • 1️ Before upgrading, the app interface is different from a normal Mint account. The web interface is also different. The web version is missing many features, but it is still much better than the app.
  • 2️ In theory, China IP addresses across the board should work fine. If the site is laggy, consider using a better connection method or Google Fi.
  • 3️ You can also use a browser-cache trick to open the account page directly on the web without a password. Since most people will need to upgrade anyway and likely will not need this trick, it is not covered here. Just use the app.
  • 4️ In the second half of each year, AMEX often releases a half-price AMEX Offer, and Mint also runs buy-one-get-one promotions, so do not miss them.
  • 5️ If you stay outside the U.S. for a long time, to avoid account issues, the recommended approach is “airplane mode + Wificalling,” which works very well. Similarly, Ultra Mobile’s $3 Plan can also be used this way. A separate Ultra Mobile guide may be written later.

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