Originally published at: US Credit Card Guide

[Update 2025.3] Based on information shared by readers, Ultra’s regular phone plans gave an extra reward to users who referred someone to Ultra last year. The bonus was a one-time $10 or $25 in account credit.

[Update 2024.9] The sign-up bonus through a referral link has now increased to $25 in account credit (previously $10). This $25 is enough to cover one month of the 3Gb plan ($19/mo), which is basically a free month.

Before You Start

This article covers Ultra’s regular phone plans. If you are interested in Ultra Paygo’s $3 plan, please see:

Sign Up for Ultra

All non-Paygo Ultra plans come with a referral bonus. Feel free to use our referral link:

Buying an Ultra SIM Card

If you are in the US, you can sign up directly, and this way you can also get an extra $10 credit. International users can buy it on Amazon, which supports direct shipping to China. If you want to receive the referral bonus, you need to have a blank SIM card on hand (the official website sells them for $9.99 each and does not ship directly to China; if you already have a blank SIM card, you can use the referral link above to get the $10 bonus).

  • Amazon link for Ultra mobile plan SIM cards (non-Paygo), with direct shipping to China available (note: outside the US, activation requires porting in a number; you cannot activate with a new number of your choice).
  • It is unclear whether the Trial card included here can be converted into a regular card, but interested readers can give it a try.

About Ultra

Ultra was founded in 2011. Ultra and Min are both MVNOs on T-Mobile’s network, and they were formally acquired by T-Mobile in March 2023. Coverage is the same as T-Mobile’s coverage footprint. Ultra offers many prepaid phone products, including plans that let you make free international calls (including to mainland China). This article mainly introduces Ultra’s regular plans (non-Paygo).

Ultra Regular Plans

Ultra’s non-Paygo prepaid plans are actually a great fit for long-term use in the US and offer excellent value. Key features include:

  • All plans are prepaid plans
  • Website support in Chinese, English, and Spanish
  • Low cost + free international calling from the US (including China)

At certain times each year, the prepaid plans also go on sale, usually at 20% off. If purchased annually, the cheapest plan with 3G of data and unlimited talk costs only $72 per year (saving $48).

Main Advantages of Ultra

Main Drawbacks of Ultra

  • Call me free is not supported in mainland China, Macau, or Taiwan

Who Ultra Is Good For

Ultra’s regular plans are somewhat similar to those of its sister company Mint Mobile, but its strong free global calling features make it especially interesting for:

  • People in China with US-related business needs who need to make long international calls to multiple countries
  • People in the US who frequently need to call family back home (for example, older relatives who do not use WeChat) or call multiple countries
  • People who want others to reach them through Call me free at local calling rates while they receive calls for free (for example, in Hong Kong)
  • Trips back home to visit family or for travel; it is especially useful because with Wi-Fi calling, you can call and text domestic numbers in China for free

Ultra Activation

Ultra supports activation both inside and outside the US, but outside the US it only supports activation via number port-in and does not support choosing a new number.

SIM Card Activation

Activation page (this page is standalone as well):

https://my.ultramobile.com/activation/

  • Supports porting in a number: port-in is recommended, because Ultra reuses many of its own numbers, and porting in can help avoid spam calls and ads
  • Supports activation outside the US: including China

Just follow the required steps. If activation does not work, try using a US IP address. For a port-in, you need the number’s account number, PIN, and billing address.

Enable Wi-Fi Calling

After activation, remember to enable Wi-Fi calling as soon as possible.

Just enter a US emergency contact address (in practice, any address will do).

eSIM

Ultra Mobile began supporting eSIM in December 2022. You need to call customer service at 888-777-0446 to switch your SIM card to eSIM. Customer service will send the eSIM QR code to your email, and you can activate it by scanning the code.

Port-Out, Number Change, and SIM Replacement

To port out, you need to contact customer service to obtain your account number and PIN. It appears number changes are supported; the official instructions say:

  • To get a new number: Text GOGO and your ZIP code to 6700
  • If that does not work, you can also call in. If you activate Ultra Mobile without porting in a number, many numbers are recycled and may come with lots of spam calls, so if you run into that, you should definitely change your number.

The account page also supports SIM replacement. The replacement card is a regular prepaid SIM card (the card face does not say PayGo), and each one costs $9.95 (note: this card can also be used to replace a PayGo SIM card, but it cannot be used to activate PayGo).

Key Features

Below are several standout features of Ultra Mobile. They are very practical in real-world use.

International Calling

Ultra’s biggest highlight is its support for free international calling. Most destinations are free or very low cost for both calls and texts:

Supported countries and regions are listed below:

For example, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan:

For how to use it, here is the example for calling mainland China:

Just follow these steps:

It also works over Wi‑Fi calling, which effectively lets you call back home for free while you are abroad.

Other common questions:

utalk

If the country or region you want to call is not on the list above, Ultra also offers some free calling minutes to certain other destinations, though with a few limitations. See:

globe-unlimited

This Globe feature is specifically designed to work with a telecom provider in the Philippines, so we will not go into detail here. For more information:

Roaming Rates

Ultra supports roaming. If you are outside the US and do not have Wi‑Fi Calling enabled, you can still use calls, texts, and data, and the rates are not expensive:

  • Calls: $0.25/minute
  • Texts: $0.05/message (send/receive)
  • Data: $0.2/MB

Using mainland China as an example:

Call me free

This is an excellent feature: people in other parts of the world can call your US number at their local calling rate, and you receive the call for free.

According to the official FAQ, unfortunately only a limited number of regions are supported. Mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan are not supported, while Hong Kong is supported:

  • Dial the number shown in the image below
  • The voice prompt will ask you to enter the recipient’s Ultra US number

Other Notes

  • It is so strong that there is not much else to add.

Other US SIM Cards

Non-Paygo Ultra Mobile plans all come with a referral bonus. Feel free to use our referral link:

Summary

Very powerful.