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Tarkan
15 March 2026
Heading to the United States on a Three UK plan? Your experience will depend heavily on which plan you carry and when you signed up. Three's Go Roam service includes the USA in its "Around the World" tier, which means Complete plan customers and Pay As You Go users get their UK allowances unlocked in the US at no extra daily charge. Value plan customers, on the other hand, are limited to European destinations and will need to buy a pass or pay £5 per day for US roaming. With a 12 GB fair use cap on data and no local US calls included (only calls back to the UK), Three roaming in the USA works for short trips but has real limitations for longer stays or heavy data users.
The USA falls into Three's "Go Roam Around the World" zone, which sits between the Europe tier (49 destinations) and the "Around the World Extra" tier (92 additional destinations). This classification matters because it determines which plan types include US roaming automatically and which require a paid add-on.
Three has restructured its plans several times in recent years, and the roaming rules depend on both your plan type and when you joined or last upgraded. Here is how it breaks down as of March 2026:
Complete plans (joined after 22 June 2025): Go Roam is built into the plan. The USA is included alongside all Europe, Around the World, and Around the World Extra destinations. You use your UK data, minutes, and texts in the US with no daily charge. Data is capped at 12 GB per month under Three's Fair Use Policy, even if your UK plan includes more.
Value plans (joined after 22 June 2025): Only Go Roam in Europe (49 destinations) is included. The USA is not covered. To use your phone in the US, you need a Go Roam Around the World pass (from £12.50 for 3 days) or pay the daily roaming charge of £5 per day.
Plans joined before 22 June 2025 but after 1 October 2021: Both Value and Complete plans had Go Roam passes included, with the number depending on plan duration (14 to 56 days per year). Each pass unlocked 24 hours of roaming. These passes have since been replaced by the built-in system on newer plans.
Plans joined before 1 October 2021: Free Go Roam worldwide roaming was included regardless of plan type. If you have not changed or upgraded your plan since then, you still benefit from this legacy arrangement.
Pay As You Go: Go Roam in Europe and Go Roam Around the World (including the USA) are included at no extra charge. Data allowance depends on your active Data Pack or Add-on, with a fair use portion available for roaming. This makes PAYG one of the more straightforward options for US travel on Three.
An important restriction to understand: Go Roam Around the World only includes calls to UK numbers. If you need to call a local US number (a restaurant, hotel, or Uber driver, for example), those calls are charged at standard international rates from Three's price guide. Most travellers work around this by using WhatsApp or other messaging apps to contact local businesses.
Tethering is also restricted outside Europe. In Go Roam Around the World destinations including the USA, personal hotspot is not available unless you purchase a Data Passport (£7/day for unlimited data). If you need to connect a laptop or tablet to your phone's data while in the US, the Data Passport is the only option through Three.
Check your plan type before you fly. Log into My3 or the Three app to confirm whether your plan includes Go Roam Around the World. If you are on a Value plan joined after June 2025, the USA is not included and you will need a pass.
Buy Go Roam passes in advance. Passes can be purchased through the Three app before departure. Buying in advance means they sit on your account ready to activate when you arrive. The 7-day pass at £25 offers better value per day than the daily £5 charge.
Set your Spend Cap correctly. If you have a Spend Cap on your Three account, it must be high enough to cover any daily roaming charges or pass purchases. If your cap is too low, roaming will be blocked entirely. Check and adjust this in the Three app before you travel.
Remember: calls to US numbers cost extra. Go Roam only covers calls back to the UK. Calling a local US number from your Three SIM while in the US incurs international call rates. Use WhatsApp calling, FaceTime, or Google Voice for local contacts.
Watch the 12 GB data cap. Even if your UK plan includes 100 GB or unlimited data, the Go Roam fair use policy limits roaming data to 12 GB per month. Three will send warning texts as you approach the limit. After 12 GB, additional data is charged per MB at out-of-allowance rates.
Three's Go Roam is genuinely useful for the USA, especially on Complete or PAYG plans where roaming is included. But the 12 GB data cap and the lack of local US calling create friction on longer trips or for heavier data users.
Consider a travel eSIM USA if your trip is longer than a week and you rely heavily on navigation, ride-hailing apps, and streaming. The 12 GB cap can run out quickly in a country where distances are long and data consumption adds up: Uber and Lyft, Google Maps for driving, checking restaurant reviews, booking hotels on the go.
If you are on a Value plan, the cost comparison is straightforward. A 14-day Go Roam pass costs £60. A TurkSIM eSIM for the same duration often costs less and gives you full 4G speed on AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile networks without the 12 GB ceiling.
The local calling issue matters more in the USA than in many other destinations. American businesses still rely heavily on phone calls: confirming restaurant reservations, coordinating with Airbnb hosts, calling an Uber when the app connection drops. Go Roam charges international rates for these calls. A US eSIM with a local data connection lets you handle all of this through VoIP apps over data, effectively bypassing the calling restriction.
The USA is a data-hungry destination. Coast-to-coast road trips, multi-city itineraries from New York to Los Angeles, and business trips that span a week or two all put pressure on Three's 12 GB fair use cap. Once you hit that ceiling, data charges per MB kick in, and the bill shock can be significant.
Full-speed data on America's biggest networks. TurkSIM connects to AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile directly. That means native 4G LTE speeds across Manhattan, the Pacific Coast Highway, and everywhere in between. No fair use throttling, no 12 GB ceiling within your plan allotment.
The tethering problem disappears. Three blocks personal hotspot in Go Roam Around the World destinations unless you buy a Data Passport at £7 per day. If you need to connect a laptop to your phone's data in the US (working from a coffee shop, checking emails at the hotel without trusting public Wi-Fi), a TurkSIM eSIM includes tethering with no extra charge.
No per-minute fees for local contacts. With data from a US eSIM, WhatsApp calls, FaceTime Audio, and Google Voice all work over the local network. Calling your Airbnb host, a taxi, or a restaurant to change a reservation costs you nothing beyond your data plan.
Your Three number stays reachable. Dual SIM keeps your UK number active for incoming calls, texts, and banking verification codes. The TurkSIM eSIM handles all data, so your Three SIM does not consume any of its 12 GB roaming allowance. You can even keep Go Roam available as a backup if your eSIM data runs low.
Perfect for longer stays. Two weeks in Florida, a month-long road trip through the national parks, or a three-week business assignment in New York. These trip durations push Three's daily passes or data caps to their limits. A TurkSIM plan covers the full duration without daily arithmetic.
Yes. The USA is included in Three's Go Roam Around the World zone. Complete plan customers and Pay As You Go users can use their UK allowances in the US at no extra daily charge. Value plan customers need to purchase a Go Roam pass or pay £5 per day.
Three's Fair Use Policy caps roaming data at 12 GB per month, regardless of how much data your UK plan includes. Once you hit 12 GB, additional data is charged at out-of-allowance rates per Three's price guide. If you need unlimited data, a Data Passport at £7 per day is the only Three-native option.
Go Roam Around the World only covers calls to UK numbers. Calling a local US number from your Three SIM while in the USA is treated as an international call and charged at standard rates. Use WhatsApp, FaceTime, or other VoIP apps over data for local US contacts.
Not with standard Go Roam. Personal hotspot (tethering) is only available in Go Roam in Europe destinations. In the USA and other Around the World destinations, tethering requires a Data Passport (£7/day for unlimited data). A travel eSIM is an alternative that typically includes tethering.
The Complete plan offers the most straightforward US roaming, with Go Roam Around the World built in at no extra charge. Pay As You Go also includes the USA at no extra cost and requires no contract. Value plans require purchasing a Go Roam pass or paying £5 per day for US access.
Yes. Most smartphones from 2019 onward support dual SIM. Keep your Three SIM active for your UK number and incoming calls while the TurkSIM eSIM handles data on US networks like AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile. You select which SIM handles data in your phone's cellular settings.
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