The BT Mobile Travel Data Pass add-on is a great way to keep costs down when you’re abroad.
You get 500MB every 24 hours while roaming in the following countries:
- Andorra
- Australia
- Canada
- China
- India
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- Thailand
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates
- United States
Each 24-hour allowance costs £6, and you can order online.
Don't forget, if you're in a Roam like Home country, you can use the data in your BT Mobile plan. If not, you’ll have to pay for data.
Check out our tariff guide for more details
How it works
You can add a Travel Data Pass to your account at any time at www.bt.com/mymobile.
Or, we’ll send a text when you start using data in a country covered by our add-ons. Just reply with "500" to buy the add-on, and we'll text you back when it’s on your account. This usually takes about 10 minutes, but it can take up to 30 minutes.
After that, you’ll get 500MB of data every 24 hours. Each 24-hour allowance costs £6, so if you don't use it, you'll lose it. We'll send you a text each time we update your allowance.
So that you know, it doesn't count towards your spend cap or data roaming cap - you'll pay the normal data rate for the country you're in until your next 24-hour allowance kicks in.
Don't worry; we'll text when you're almost at the end of your allowance, and again when you've used it all up.
The charge will be added to your account straight away and will appear under "One-off charges" on your next bill.
How can I stop, start or remove a Travel Data Pass from my mobile number?
You can keep it on your account, ready for when you’re using data in one of the 12 countries.
- Your allowances will automatically start when you start using data in an eligible country (as long as you’ve not previously replied STOP to one of our texts).
- The data allowances and any charges will automatically stop when you stop using data. For example, when you turn off data roaming or leave the country.
- If you want to stop getting allowances, reply STOP to one of the texts we send you. You can still use the remaining balance of that allowance until it runs out.
- If you’ve previously replied STOP, you can restart them by replying START to our text.
- To remove the add-on from your mobile number altogether, visit www.bt.com/mymobile or get in touch with us.
Data taken from my add-on, but I was connected to Wi-Fi or had my data turned off
There are lots of ways your smartphone can use data without you knowing. Here are a few examples:
- Some phones use mobile data if a wi-fi connection is poor or running slowly, for example, Wi-Fi Assist on iPhones
- Some phones will switch to mobile data when the screen is off, or to save on battery
- If a mobile is powering up after being switched off, it might connect to data before it connects to a wi-fi network
- Software and apps can automatically update in the background using data, even if the phone's not in use
- Backup software like iCloud or Dropbox can use data to back up and store files
- Some phones have an automatic 'heartbeat' feature that establishes a brief connection to the mobile network even when data is switched off on the handset.
To control how your phone or apps connect to the network and whether they use Wi-Fi or data, check your phone settings.