This article is reposted from US Credit Card Strategy, by Kuku

[Updated 2023.7] The previous eBay purchase link expired, so the link in this article has been updated.

Ultra has long been a good phone plan for people using a U.S. number outside the United States. I had not written about Ultra before because it is so common. After procrastinating until now, I happened to see that Ultra recently added eSIM support, so I am updating everything together.

Buying Ultra Paygo

At the moment, it can only be purchased online (sold by Mint Mobile on eBay). Although it says some offline T-Mobile stores also sell it, in reality it has basically disappeared from stores. Purchases on eBay do not support shipping outside the United States.

Be sure to verify the “Paygo” wording shown in the image. Cards with the “Paygo” wording can only be used for porting and cannot activate the Paygo Plan. Be especially careful with secondhand transactions.

This card is also sold on Xianyu, though the price will definitely be a bit higher. Just make sure the card face has the Paygo wording.

About Ultra

Founded in 2011, Ultra is the parent company of Mint Mobile. Both Ultra and Mint are T-Mobile MVNOs. Their coverage is T-Mobile’s coverage area. Ultra has many prepaid phone products, including plans that allow free international calls, including to mainland China. If you are interested, you can look into them yourself. This article mainly introduces the Paygo Plan.

Paygo Plan Overview

Ultra is best known for its Paygo phone plan ($3/month). Note that this phone card has Paygo printed on the card face; other Ultra cards that do not say Paygo are not this plan, so check carefully when buying!!! It looks like this:

Plan Features

The official introduction page is below, and it includes all FAQs:

https://www.ultramobile.com/paygo/

The specific limits are as follows (3x 100):

Pros

  • Cheap and cost-effective: $3/month, with 100 free U.S. texts each month, 100 minutes of U.S. domestic calling, and 100MB of U.S. data.
  • Supports international roaming. Even if you are outside the United States, you can still get service, receive calls and texts, and place calls yourself. However, roaming rates are very expensive when you are not using Wi-Fi Calling, though it is quite convenient for receiving texts.
  • Supports Wi-Fi Calling. Even if you are outside the United States, using a phone that supports Wi-Fi Calling is equivalent to using it inside the United States for calls and texts.
  • [New] Supports eSIM.

Cons

  • The included plan services are limited.
  • There is no data while roaming.
  • Calls and texts while roaming are very expensive, as described below.

Roaming fees in particular are painful. I have tried it myself.

Who It Is For

This plan is suitable both for keeping a number active, somewhat similar to the Redpocket $30/year phone plan, and for long-term use, depending on your needs. Here are a few example use cases:

  • You are in China, have U.S.-related business, and do not need to make long phone calls.
  • You are returning to China, need to keep a U.S. number, and occasionally need to call the United States.
  • You are in the United States, rarely make calls, rarely send texts, and do not use data.

Ultra Paygo activation: Ultra Paygo supports activation both inside and outside the United States, but outside the United States it only supports activation by porting in a number and does not support choosing a new number.

Plan Details

On the main page, you can view your plan usage. In most cases, it is enough.

Ultra’s included services are limited, with a 3×100 min/text/MB limit. If you exceed the allowance, you will be charged. When not roaming, the rates are:

  • $0.03/min for calls
  • $0.01 per text

If that is not enough, you can buy add-ons, as shown here:

Charges for overages and add-ons are both deducted from your Ultra wallet. I have used Wi-Fi Calling for a long time without being charged extra. Be very careful not to use Ultra Paygo while roaming without Wi-Fi Calling. I once accidentally made a U.S. call from China that cost around $100; see the rates below.

Voicemail also uses calling minutes, including the playback time when checking voicemail. I recommend disabling voicemail. If you usually do not make phone calls, leaving it on is also fine; just do not listen to the messages.

International Calls

Ultra Paygo also supports international calls, but they are paid, and the cost is deducted directly from your Ultra wallet. You can look up the rate schedule in the middle of the Paygo introduction page.

https://www.ultramobile.com/paygo/

These are the rates for calling Chinese landlines and mobile phones from within the United States or via Wi-Fi Calling. They are not too expensive: all are $0.25/minute.

Roaming Rates

Ultra Paygo supports roaming, though data roaming is not supported. If you are outside the United States and have not enabled Wi-Fi Calling, you can still use calls and texts, but it is more expensive. The rates are as follows; if you have deep pockets, feel free:

  • Calls: $3.59/min
  • MMS: $0.25 each for both sending and receiving
  • SMS: $0.5 each to send; $0.1 each to receive. Note: when roaming without Wi-Fi Calling, receiving texts is also charged separately and does not count toward the 100-text allowance.

Usage

SIM Card Activation

Activation page. This page is also separate, and you should likewise see the Paygo wording:

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

  • Supports number porting: I recommend porting in. Ultra recycles many of its own numbers, and porting can help avoid a lot of spam calls and ads.
  • Supports activation outside the United States, including in China.
Just follow the instructions. If activation fails, try using a U.S. network IP. To port in, you need to provide the number’s account number, PIN, and billing address.After activation, you will see that the $13 purchase price is used for activation.

Enabling Wi-Fi Calling

After activation, remember to enable Wi-Fi Calling right away. Because it uses the T-Mobile network, Wi-Fi Calling has recently not been working in China and requires some setup. See the reference.

Just enter a U.S. emergency contact address (in practice, you can write almost anything).

eSIM

Ultra Mobile PayGo started supporting eSIM in December 2022. You need to call customer service at 888-777-0446 to have your SIM changed to an eSIM. Customer service will send the eSIM QR code to your email; just scan it to activate.

Ultra Paygo supports both web login and the app. The web page looks like this (both links can be used to log in):

Refills

You can refill by credit card or with Recharge cards, which are basically like gift cards.

  • Credit card refills support $5, $10, and $20 per transaction
  • Recharge cards support $10, $15, and $50 refills
  • A single account can store up to $150 in account balance
  • If there is a wallet balance, Ultra will use the balance in the wallet first

This is suitable for using up certain wireless service credits, such as the $10/$20 credits Amex previously offered on the Green/Platinum. I believe many people fully loaded their wallet balance to $150 at the time.

Note: if the account balance is insufficient, or if auto-refill fails, the account can only continue for 90 days, after which the number will be canceled.

Porting Out, Changing Numbers, and Replacing SIM Cards

To port out, you need to contact customer service to request the Account number and PIN. It seems number changes are supported. The official site says:

  • To get a new number: Text GOGO and your ZIP code to 6700
  • If you cannot change it this way, calling should also work. If you activate Ultra without porting in, many numbers are recycled and may receive lots of spam calls. If that happens, be sure to change the number.

The account page supports SIM replacement. The replacement SIM is a regular Prepaid SIM card (the card face does not say Paygo), priced at $9.95 each. Note that it is a regular card, so it cannot be used to activate a new Paygo plan; it can only be used to replace a SIM card.

Other Notes

  • Ultra Paygo does not support upgrading to other Ultra Prepaid Plans. If you want to switch, you must port this number out.
  • Because it uses T-Mobile service, if Wi-Fi Calling cannot be used in China, you may need to adjust DNS settings or use proxy/VPN tools. For details, see the “美卡攻略-潮酷社群” Knowledge Planet.

At present, it can only be purchased online through eBay, sold by Mint Mobile. Although it says some offline T-Mobile stores also sell it, in reality it has basically disappeared from stores. Purchases on eBay do not support shipping outside the United States.

Be sure to verify the “Paygo” wording shown in the image. Cards with the “Paygo” wording can only be used for a SIM swap and cannot activate a Paygo Plan. Be especially careful with secondhand transactions. This card is also sold on Xianyu, but the price will definitely be a bit higher. Just make sure the card face has the Paygo wording.

Non-Paygo Plans

Ultra’s non-Paygo Prepaid Plans are actually very suitable for long-term use in the United States, with excellent value. We will introduce them separately later. The key features are: low price + free international calls from the U.S. including to China.Ultra’s non-Paygo Plans all have a referral bonus. You are welcome to use our referral link:

The Prepaid Plans are shown below, and they are quite cheap.If purchased annually, the cheapest plan with 2G data and unlimited talk is only $48 per year.

Other U.S. SIM Cards