AT&T ditches roaming charges with new $10 International Day Pass

We have all read horror stories on the internet about US citizens who go abroad and bring their mobile phone with them, only to discover their bills explode with thousands of dollars in international data roaming charges. It looks like AT&T wants to make those kind of bad bill surprises go away with its new International Day Pass program, which officially begins on Friday, January 27.

Under this new program, AT&T customers can get unlimited talk and text, along with the ability to use their current data plan, for just $10 per day. The plan is available in over 100 countries in all, spanning Central and South America, along with a number of countries in Europe and Asia like the UK, Italy, China and more. It’s also available in Australia and New Zealand and a number of Caribbean island nations.

This service is similar in nature to one that AT&T’s rival Verizon offers called TravelPass, which also charges the same $10 a day fee for unlimited talk and text, and a user’s current data plan, in over 100 countries. The exception is in Canada and Mexico, where Verizon only charges $2 per day.

The one minor caveat to this International Day Pass is that AT&T could remove it from your device if your voice, text, or data usage while overseas exceeds 50 percent of your of total voice, text, or data usage for two consecutive months. Obviously, the carrier doesn’t want you to use this day pass service beyond just a quick vacation trip.