How to Reload Your Phone to Telephone Philippines

Learn simple but effective ways to get prepaid phone credits to telephone Philippines from anywhere in the world.

If you are currently working or studying abroad for a long period of time, the most important item that you should have on your person at all times is a cellphone. The gadget comes useful for translating languages and getting directions via special features. It also helps you keep in touch with your family and friends.

What's impressive about the features of modern phones is that they enable you to call and send SMS messages to your loved ones who may be living overseas. This service is called roaming. Basically, its function is to allow you to "roam" anywhere without losing your network's signal.

Smartphones are now installed with a special tab for roaming on the settings section. Instead of having to call your service provider, you can turn on/off your roaming settings with a single click. Thus, it is faster to tweak your phone's call and SMS settings according to the country you're currently in.

In the Philippines, there are three main cellphone networks, namely: Smart, Globe, and Sun Cellular. These SIM cards can be used whenever you travel from one country to another, assuring you that you don't need to purchase new SIMs. However, when using these cards abroad, you can be sure that a call to the Philippines will be costly.

Knowing this, you have to be aware of how you can reload your prepaid credits if ever you want to telephone Philippines or other countries again. You will be happy to learn that foreign areas also sell load cards, though they are usually expensive. To save money, there are some tips that you can follow.

First of all, you may want to purchase a whole box of prepaid scratch cards before leaving the Philippines. You can either use them while still in the country, or bring them with you to your destination. It is important to understand that these cards have expiration dates, so make sure to take note of them.

Let's not underestimate the denomination of Filipinos who are residing all over the world. It is a known fact that Filipinos are "everywhere", and like you, they may be missing their loved ones at home. Therefore, it is not impossible for a country to have a Filipino store where you can load your phone at a lower price.

Another great thing about the roaming ability is that it allows your phone to operate common SIM services. Sharing load overseas is possible, although it is not popular. Contact your network provider if you want to know more about this service.

Finally, when all else fails, you can turn to the Internet. You can use Skype, Facebook, and Yahoo! Messenger to communicate with your loved ones. On the other hand, if you really want to reload your phone, prepaid credits are also up for grabs in some sites, such as eBay.


Morbie eLoading is one site that offers reloading services to Philippine prepaid SIMs all over the world. Its services accommodate both foreign and local needs. Plus, payment is done via debit/credit cards and PayPal for the benefit of those abroad.

Call to Philippines Using International Roaming Services: Globe vs. Smart vs. Sun Cellular

Using your cellular phone abroad can be pricey. When calling someone outside the country using activated roaming service, the entire process is almost the same as phoning another person in the Philippines. In the Philippines, the three giant mobile telecommunications providers -- Smart, Globe and Sun Cellular offer both outbound and inbound roaming services, so you can travel abroad and call Philippines without even changing your phone's SIM card.

How do international roaming services work? Mobile phone carriers usually have roaming agreements, basically allowing subscribers to use the same wireless network when traveling outside the country. In general, you don't need to do anything as the foreign carrier will handle it, and you will notice another telecom provider's name on your phone's screen.

By using international roaming, you can travel overseas and still enjoy the convenience of your own mobile phone. Telecommunication service providers have their own outbound roaming service offerings. Here is a brief overview on Smart, Globe and Sun Cellular's international roaming service offerings, so anyone traveling abroad can call Philippines in the most convenient way.

For Globe Telecom, the company offers postpaid and prepaid international roaming. Roaming activation must be done at least 24 hours before departing the country. To activate your roaming, you will need at least P100 credit balance; otherwise, your roaming activation request will not be granted.

Make sure you maintain a balance of P80.00 so you can call to Philippines while roaming abroad -- take note, if your balance is less than this, you cannot make a call. Furthermore, you will need a minimum of P100 balance everyday to maintain the roaming service. For postpaid subscribers, the roaming services are pre-activated, although it is still encouraged to contact Globe's roaming hotline (+63-7301212) before you leave the country.

Sun Cellular also offers international roaming services for Sun subscribers. Their outbound roaming allows users to use their Sun cell phones while traveling to any destinations around the world. But of course, the availability of roaming services worldwide still depends on the partner operators.

There is no activation fee when subscribing to Sun Cellular International Roaming Service. You only have to pay for the calls that you made. When computing your call charges, the call rates of the country for which you are roaming will apply and this include applicable surcharges/taxes.

Smart offers postpaid and prepaid international roaming service too. For Smart Postpaid and Infinity, the international roaming is pre-activated for the following plans: Smart Postpaid Plans 1800, 2500 and 3500; Infinity Plan 3500, 5000 and 8000; and Smart Postpaid Plans Below 1500. There are no applications or roaming deposit fees needed.

For Smart Prepaid subscribers, international roaming is available in selected countries. The call rates differ every month depending on the call charges of the roaming operator and the current foreign exchange rate. To receive and make calls, you should maintain at least a balance requirement of 1 minute roaming call rate + 25 pesos.

It is very important to understand how to use your phone while traveling in another country. Today, many OFWs prefer using international roaming services to call to Philippines as this option saves them lots of money and load. Getting in touch with their loved ones has never been this convenient and easy via text and call.

Ways to Make a Call to United States

Filipinos are one of the hardest working people in the world. They are highly sought in American hospitals, schools, construction sites, IT companies, shipping lines, and other areas of work for their diligence, selflessness and willingness to go beyond the call of duty. The American military also does not lack Filipino-American soldiers and officers.

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are based in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Korea, and other leading economies in the world. There are Filipino-Americans making names for themselves today, and the world is taking notice. There is a Filipino fashion designer at Bloomingdaleís, an executive chef in the White House, economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, actors in Hollywood, fighters in the UFC, and a finalist in American Idol, to name a few.

Back home, Filipinos in Manila and all over the country are proud of their friends and families who are doing well in the U.S. But some things never change; these include the need to get in touch with loved ones through a phone call. Emails are great but there are more emotions involved when one hears the voice of someone he or she loves over the phone.

There are several ways to call a loved one in the U.S. and one of them is through conventional long-distance calls. The two leading landline phone companies in the Philippines are PLDT and BayanTel, and both provide international call services. The international direct dialing (IDD) service conveniently allows Filipino families to call people abroad direct from their home phone; bills are paid at the end of the month along with the regular telephone bills.

Meanwhile, the three leading cell phone companies are Globe, Smart and Sun. They also provide direct-dial capabilities so that people in Manila can make a call to United States anytime. International texting is also available.

However, cell phone users need to load up since international calls are much more expensive than when calling someone within the Philippines.First-time callers might be surprised that their available call minutes wonít last very long. As a result, the conversation might be cut short and callers end up dissatisfied.

There are several websites that allow Filipinos in the United States to top up mobile phones in the Philippines. One such website is morbie.com. From anywhere in the U.S., Filipinos may simply enter the website and purchase call minutes online and have it sent to a cell phone all the way to the Philippines so that a friend or relative back home can make a call.

Topping up a cell phone online makes international calls very convenient. Morbie.com offers call minutes using the three leading cell phone companies, Globe, Smart and Sun. This service encourages friends and relatives in the Philippines to stay in touch with loved ones in America or elsewhere in the world.

Finally, another way of making a call to the U.S. is on Skype. Seeing someone as you speak used to just be a thing in sci-fi movies. Now it's for real.

The one big problem of Skype, however, is that it is slow and messages get garbled most of the time. What most people do today is to use Skype and the telephone at the same time. Filipinos make a call to United States and turn on their computers at the same time so that they get to see the person they are talking to without sacrificing audio quality.