Telstra international roaming: what it costs, and when a travel eSIM is cheaper

• Postpaid day passInternational Roaming Day PassA$10.00 a day (A$5.00 in New Zealand), 2 GB a dayIn over 80 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, Europe, Vietnam, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA.For postpaid mobile plans. Turn it on in My Telstra first. Charged on each day you use your phone overseas. Past the daily data, a top-up is added automatically on non-Upfront plans; Upfront plans get an offer by text. A top-up is valid for 31 days. Standard calls and texts are included.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packTelstra Pre-Paid 3 Day Travel PackA$10.00 for 0.4 GB over 3 days.In 38 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: Vietnam, India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada. In Europe it covers France, Germany, the UK and Norway among others, but not Italy, Spain or Switzerland.Includes 15 minutes of calls and 15 SMS or MMS.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packTelstra Pre-Paid 7 Day Travel PackA$15.00 for 2 GB over 7 days.In 38 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: Vietnam, India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada. In Europe it covers France, Germany, the UK and Norway among others, but not Italy, Spain or Switzerland.Includes 25 minutes of calls and 25 SMS or MMS.Checked 1 Nov · Source
• Prepaid packTelstra Pre-Paid 14 Day Travel PackA$25.00 for 4 GB over 14 days.In 38 destinations. Covers Japan, Bali and Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. Not covered: Vietnam, India, the Philippines, the UK, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Canada. In Europe it covers France, Germany, the UK and Norway among others, but not Italy, Spain or Switzerland.Includes 50 minutes of calls and 50 SMS or MMS.Checked 1 Nov · Source

• A Day Pass day is charged when your service is used overseas to make or receive calls, send a text, or use data, including background data. Receiving a text does not start one. On Upfront plans a day runs for 24 hours from first use; on other plans it ends at 11.59pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, which is late evening in Japan and Bali and the afternoon in Europe, so one local day can count as two Day Pass days.
• Telstra says the Day Pass can take up to 2 hours to activate, so switch it on in My Telstra (Services, Extras, International Roaming) before you fly.
• Pre-Paid: roaming is on by default. A travel pack starts the moment you buy it, so buy it once you are overseas, in the My Telstra app. There is no auto-recharge. Calls and texts in both directions use the pack's allowance, and you can use more than one pack at once.
• Cruise ships use satellite networks, so the Day Pass does not cover calls, texts or data on board.

On non-Upfront plans, if you leave the Day Pass off in a Day Pass destination, Telstra charges pay-as-you-go data at A$3.00 per MB: 100 MB costs A$300.00. Telstra says this is not recommended because it can be far more expensive.

Where there is no Day Pass, pay-as-you-go rates vary by country, and Telstra texts them to you on arrival. Upfront plans have no pay-as-you-go: without the Day Pass you need Wi-Fi.

For a trip of 7 days, using the cheapest option from Telstra that lasts the whole trip and holds the data, against the cheapest single travel eSIM that does the same. Light use is about 0.5 GB a day and moderate use about 1 GB a day. A day pass is counted for every day of the trip; a pack is bought again, one after another, if it is shorter than the trip. The carrier options include calls and texts on your own number where stated; a travel eSIM is data only. A postpaid reader is compared with the day pass and a Pre-Paid reader with the packs, because you can only buy your own plan's.

Try your own trip in the roaming calculator, or compare plans for Japan, Bali and Europe.

Telstra's Day Pass is started by your Telstra line being used overseas. The things to avoid are the line using data (including background data), making or answering calls, and sending texts.

Telstra's support pages say turning data roaming off stops your phone using mobile data abroad, while Wi-Fi still works. That covers data only. It does not stop a call you answer or make from starting a Day Pass day.

Receiving a text does not start a Day Pass, so you can still get bank codes on your Telstra number. Don't make or answer calls or send texts on it unless you want a Day Pass day. Telstra says switching roaming off does not stop charges if MessageBank is used, and that call forwarding is charged at roaming rates. To be sure no costs are incurred, Telstra says to switch the service off, or remove it, on your device.

Our guide to keeping your Australian number has the full setup.

• Check your roaming settings in My Telstra before you leave, and decide on purpose whether the Day Pass is on or off. On an Upfront plan with the Day Pass off you need Wi-Fi, and the line will not receive texts.
• Keep your Telstra SIM in a phone so you receive Telstra's roaming usage text messages. If you move it to a data-only device, change your notification preference to email.
• Track your usage under International usage in My Telstra.
• Switch off data roaming on the Telstra line if a travel eSIM is your data line, and leave calls to the eSIM's data apps. Wi-Fi still works.
• Do not use the Telstra line on a cruise ship. Telstra says the Day Pass does not apply on board.