Bank and Cellphone Network

[Reemahabitat]

Hello! Just had a couple of questions, hope you can help.

I just did a soft landing. i am here until PR card arrives and then will leave to return in 6 months or a year's time. Given this situation,
1. could anyone advise on the best cellphone network i should have? looking for prepaid plans so i dont have to make payment every month when i am not in canada.
2. the bank i should open an account in. My friends suggested TD bank buti am worried about transaction fee given its a more commercial bank. Any experience of new immigrants will be highly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[xylene]

1. Public mobile is an option
2. New immigrants usually have get the first month free with most Banks including TD

 

[Kumuluswolken]

For phone networks I can recommend "Public Mobile".
Their network is working pretty well and is accessible all over Canada. You can get unlimited texts and calls + 500MB of data for 30$ per month. If you rather have more data you can get unlimited texts and calls + 5GB for 40$. You can get cards for putting money on your account in every Shoppers store. I was always happy with their accessibility and service.

Downside is that its a bit difficult to get the initial SIM card. There are no official "Public Mobile" stores, just normal phone vendors that also sell Public Mobile SIM cards and it can be a bit of a pain to research a store that sells SIM cards and is close to you. You also need to be aware that they don't have an official customer service. If you have problems there is an online forum where you can go to.
And the last thing I would wanna tell is that they also sell add-ons for "international calls". So you can purchase an additional 400 minute contingent for (I think it was) 15$ for international calls where the remaining minutes also get rolled over to the next month every month. Sounds nice, but it is not really so "international". They just allow calls into 15 or so different countries, so if you want to make international calls you should first research if your country is on this list.

That being said, I'm very happy with them. My wife started out with Chatr, they are in a similar price region, but after having some problems there she also switched to Public Mobile where since she didn't have any problems.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hello! Just had a couple of questions, hope you can help.

I just did a soft landing. i am here until PR card arrives and then will leave to return in 6 months or a year's time. Given this situation,
1. could anyone advise on the best cellphone network i should have? looking for prepaid plans so i dont have to make payment every month when i am not in canada.
2. the bank i should open an account in. My friends suggested TD bank buti am worried about transaction fee given its a more commercial bank. Any experience of new immigrants will be highly appreciated.

Thanks

1. If you don't intend to do much text/phoning while in Canada, get a Pay as you go Plan. $100 good for 1 year, and you can top it up if necessary.

 

[xylene]

1. Public mobile is an option
2. New immigrants usually have get the first month free with most Banks including TD

I meant the first year free

 

[xylene]

For phone networks I can recommend "Public Mobile".
Their network is working pretty well and is accessible all over Canada. You can get unlimited texts and calls + 500MB of data for 30$ per month. If you rather have more data you can get unlimited texts and calls + 5GB for 40$. You can get cards for putting money on your account in every Shoppers store. I was always happy with their accessibility and service.

Downside is that its a bit difficult to get the initial SIM card. There are no official "Public Mobile" stores, just normal phone vendors that also sell Public Mobile SIM cards and it can be a bit of a pain to research a store that sells SIM cards and is close to you. You also need to be aware that they don't have an official customer service. If you have problems there is an online forum where you can go to.
And the last thing I would wanna tell is that they also sell add-ons for "international calls". So you can purchase an additional 400 minute contingent for (I think it was) 15$ for international calls where the remaining minutes also get rolled over to the next month every month. Sounds nice, but it is not really so "international". They just allow calls into 15 or so different countries, so if you want to make international calls you should first research if your country is on this list.

That being said, I'm very happy with them. My wife started out with Chatr, they are in a similar price region, but after having some problems there she also switched to Public Mobile where since she didn't have any problems.

Public mobile is available in most Walmarts.

 

[Reemahabitat]

Thank you so much everyone!

 

[NFury]

i opted for Chatr (prepaid). Got it from Rogers store. its readily available with them and i was able to get it working in 20 min (including the registration/fee etc). the sim costs $10. i opted for a $45 plan which had 4GB data and Canada wide unlimited calling and texts (local, national and international). you may need to check on how to keep it active (if that is the case) with the sales guys.

as far as the banks are concerned, every bank has newcomer offers. Most of the banks are providing 1 year free banking except TD (which has only 6 months free). Few banks will offer credit cards too starting from $1000 - $3000. Check what they are offering (like $$ in credit, or free cheque books etc) and decide.

 

[subodhp]

I recommend Fido who have a 45$ plan that includes intl calling (country specific) and more calling/data than you would ever use