AT&T Passport now offers 1GB and 3GB flat rate travel data

AT&T has updated its Passport program, offering two batches of data at two different flat rates. The Passport program, which is relatively new, is a way for travelers to get a certain amount of data to use while abroad. With this program update comes both 1GB and 3GB options, both offered at a flat rate, meaning you can pay just once to get the data on a one-time basis.

Before this point, AT&T's Passport program called these options "Silver" and "Gold" packages. Both of those monikers are gone and replacing them are simple data amounts: 1GB and 3GB. The change isn't only by name, though. AT&T's tweaked Passport offering gives greater amounts of data, with both quantities listed above being made available to the customer for 30 days.

AT&T Passport 1GB is priced at $60, which can be paid a single time as a flat rate or on a monthly basis as a recurring charge. The 3GB offering is a better deal if you expect to use 3GB — it is $120, basically giving you an extra gigabyte for "free" (when compared to the 1GB/$60 rate, anyway). That larger 3GB plan can likewise be paid on a single-time or recurring basis.

With AT&T Passport, customers are given unlimited text messages and unlimited access to AT&T Global WiFi hotspots. However, minutes are priced at $0.35/minute, potentially giving users flashbacks to the dark days of cell phone ownership. Given that price, it may be better from a financial standpoint to make voice calls using a free app over data — voice calls with Messenger or WhatsApp, for example.

Though you'll still need to be careful about your data usage under such low caps, these new options are much better than the previous Passport offerings, which at the lowest end gave customers 200MB of data for $40/month. The Passport service covers about 200 countries, a list of which you can find here.

SOURCE: AT&T