Hi - just found this forum and it has been very helpful already.

So, here's the question: Do you know if any of these global SIM cards have the ability to show call history (itemised billing) and credit balance online?

Also which ones can you top up online via credit card?

Thanks for your help!

SM

No DIRECT experience but I think GT SIM shows the calls and charges. Gleaning from the postings here, although it seems SMS charges are not shown rapidly.

T-MO USA does not do this for their prepaid. VZW did do it. T-MO Germany prepaid does not show itemized calls. SIMYO also in Germany does. Mixed bag by prepaids. T-MO US postpaid show call details.


Stan

GT-sim does show all calls online, including incoming calls with callerid where available (even the free ones). Near real time usually.

Last time I checked, it still wasn't billing for sms or gprs. As it's postpaid (to credit card) , it doesn't need to be topped up.

The 09 card looks like it is planning some sort of online call access, but there doesn't seem to be a way to get a userid/password for it yet (more important they get outgoing calls working first, no point having call detail without it).

Hop Mobile, GT-Sim and - I think - Mobal too.

You DON'T have this feature with 09, United Mobile and Travelsim.

About credit card no problem, pay attention that sometimes you have different kind of payment.

09 doesn't provide this information, but Callbackworld does. If you use it in to trigger your calls, you'll get the statement you are looking for.

It's a "substitute billing" after all.
Using CBW billing as an online billing for 09 or UM is OK as long as you restrict yourself to triggering outgoing calls in "free-incoming" countries. But what about non free incoming calls, SMSes or retrieving VM (which has no "long" public number to be accessed from another phone)?

You're correct on this point. Unfortunately, the hard you fight to pinch a cent, the worse your documentation is for corporate reimbursement. If you take your contract mobile phone to another country and just stop thinking about saving money, your documentation is perfect for the bean counters back at corporate headquarters. Conversely, a receipt for a prepaid SIM from a foreign party shop will make them complain.

My wife has a client in Hong Kong, she purchased a prepaid SIM for HK$100 (US$12) and worked for ten days off it. With one HK$100 reacharge. Her coworker, used a T-Mobile US phone and paid US$1.49 per minute and racked up a US$491 roaming bill. The bean counter was more concerned that my wife could have made a personal call or two on the company's dime than the US$469 she saived them.

To answer your question directly. HOP has itemized records. Mobal gives you a nice corporate type bill, but they charge more than most contract carriers.

With a little effort, it's possible to create your own call record even if the carrier doesn't provide one. With United Mobile, I can call a free number to get my current balance before a business trip. Then I keep a log of calls I make (date, number called, length of call, cost). The cost per call can be calculated by adding the 25 eurocent connect charge to the minutes I talk times the cost per minute published in their rate table. I double check this against the remaining balance after I place my last call on my trip. Works OK if you don't make a real lot of calls and your accounting dept. will accept this sort of documentation.