Three roaming charges in the USA
Three built its name on roaming — Go Roam was genuinely revolutionary when data abroad was a luxury. In 2026 the USA sits in Go Roam Around the World, and while Three is still the cheapest of the big four to take to Florida, "cheapest of the four" still means £70 a fortnight, with the tightest data caps of the lot. Here's the full picture.
What Three charges in the USA
- Go Roam Around the World data passport — £5 a day on current plans to use your allowance in the US. Cheapest daily rate on the high street; it triggers automatically on use, on UK-midnight days.
- The fair-use cap — the headline catch: even "unlimited" UK plans are capped abroad under fair use (historically 12GB a month while roaming). Hit the cap and you're throttled or buying add-ons — on a plan you thought was unlimited.
- Older plans — some legacy tariffs still include Go Roam without the daily charge but with the same caps; check yours in the Three app before assuming either way.
Fortnight total: 14 × £5 = £70 per phone. Family of three: £210. And the 12GB roaming cap is a real ceiling for a modern fortnight — one teenager's TikTok habit meets it by day nine.
Where Go Roam frays on a Florida holiday
- Speed management abroad — Three has long applied traffic prioritisation to roaming traffic; busy-park uploads can crawl at exactly the wrong moment.
- Hotspot limits — tethering allowances abroad are tighter than at home; the villa-wifi-is-broken backup plan may not stretch to three tablets.
- The cap is shared with your month — data you burn in Florida is your UK allowance; land home with the meter run dry and you're topping up in baggage reclaim.
The £16.99 alternative — more data than the cap allows
Here's the quiet irony: our 15GB / 30-day plan at £16.99 gives you more full-speed US data than Three's fair-use cap lets most plans use — for around a quarter of the fortnight's passes. It installs alongside your Three SIM; you flip the Three line's data roaming off, and WhatsApp, iMessage and your number carry on over the eSIM's data as if nothing changed.
- One phone: £16.99 vs £70 — £53 back.
- Family of three: £44.99 total vs £210 — and 45GB between you instead of sharing a cap.
- Serious data users: 20GB for £23.99, or a fresh 2GB every day for 14 days at £29.99 — configurations Three simply doesn't sell abroad.
Five minutes before you fly
- Check the phone: eSIM-capable (iPhone XS+, Galaxy S20+, Pixel 3+) and unlocked — Three phones sold since 2014 are unlocked by default, one less job.
- Buy the plan; the QR arrives by email immediately. Install on home wifi — you've got 180 days, and the 30-day clock starts when you land.
- On the tarmac at MCO or MIA: Florida eSIM on, its data roaming on, Three line's data roaming off.
- Keep the Three line active for verification texts from your bank — they arrive as normal; they just cost Three-roaming nothing with data off.
The FAQ covers the dual-SIM details, EID checks and hotspot questions.
Quick answers for Three customers
Is the USA definitely in Go Roam? Yes — it sits in Go Roam Around the World. On current plans that's the £5/day charge; some legacy plans still include it with no daily fee (but the same fair-use caps). Thirty seconds in the Three app settles which you're on.
What exactly is the fair-use data cap? Three has historically capped roaming data at around 12GB a month even on unlimited UK plans — hit it and you're throttled or buying add-ons. For context, that's less full-speed data than our £16.99 plan, on top of £70 of daily charges.
Can I hotspot the kids' tablets on Go Roam in Florida? Tethering allowances abroad are tighter than at home and vary by plan — the villa-wifi-backup plan needs checking before you rely on it. Hotspot is included on all our plans.
Why is the US £5/day when Europe is £2? Different Go Roam zones — the USA is in the "Around the World" tier. There's no EU-style cap protection either; the £5/day and the fair-use rules are the whole deal.
Will my Three number still work for calls and texts with your eSIM? Yes — the Three SIM stays active beside the eSIM with its data off. Incoming texts are free; take calls sparingly (roaming rates) or switch the conversation to WhatsApp, which uses the eSIM's data.
Straight verdict
Three is the least-bad roamer of the big four — if you're on a legacy plan with included Go Roam and a light data habit, a short trip can be fine. For a proper Florida fortnight, £70 per person for capped, speed-managed data against £16.99 for 15GB at full speed isn't a decision, it's arithmetic. Compare EE, O2 and Vodafone, or read how to pick a US eSIM before you buy anything from anyone — including us.