www.CostaRicaTicas.com

A few minor changes to the earlier posts:

I left SJO on Monday & talked with the fellow at the airport ICE booth [again]. Didn't ask about SIM cards because I already had one (as I said earlier, I bought a Motorola Razr for $80 from Newegg online).

Yes, you can recharge the phone online. HOWEVER, the phone must be in Costa Rica. They had failed to mention that requirement in the two previous conversation I had with them.

On the other hand, for 10,000c you'll get a two month expiration. I got my new system in February & my minutes actually expire about 2 1/2 months later. Paid 10k colones.

Once you have it it's easy to dial 150 at any time & select option 1 to hear your remaining minutes and expiration date. Calls to the US are about 30c a minute. Haven't figured out the cost for local calls yet.

You can also recharge once you're in town over the phone using a cc number though I haven't tried that yet. It's simply a different option once you dial 150.

This works well for me since I just turn off my expensive AT&T phone & dial my voicemail twice a day, then return calls to my customers. They're usually oblivious to where I am, though once I left my phone on they they sometimes got some Spanish pre-recordings. By never turning it on I avoid that. The Caller ID shows up as "Unknown" & I just blame the cell company.

/dddick

There was a story in yesterday's la Nacion about 3G service and there was one line at the end of the story that mentioned that ICE would have 10,000 prepago GSM SIMs available beginning April 19.

http://www.nacion.com/2010-04-06/ElPais ... 24533.aspx

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Women are like beers. I've never had one that I didn't like. Just some that I like more than others! --Western

You are not actually re-charging your phone online, but you are buying the recharge code. You must then enter the code into the phone (which must be in CR obviously).

According to their website (http://www.masterpago.com), re-charges over ¢2500 give you 60 more days. You don't have to re-charge for 10,000. Initially, I'm pretty sure that you have to buy the ¢10,000 SIM to get 60 days, but then when you recharge, you only need to recharge for anything over ¢2500. So you can recharge for ¢2501 and you should get 60 more days.

Has anybody gotten a SIM recently at the airport? They are supposed to get a bunch more numbers on Monday.

An update on SIM cards. None were avaiable at the airport yesterday although she said they would have them next week. I had a couple weeks left on mine so I only needed recharge cards. The new thing she told me was that starting next week (I guess when the new SIM's come in) that all recharges, even the 2500, are good for 90 days. She said if I recharged a 2500 card now it would be 60 days but if I wait till next week it will be 90 days. I bought 2 2500 cards and I'll try it next week and let you know what happens. This will be great for me because I never overlap 90 days but sometimes do on 60. I'm on ground for a couple weeks if any one needs any info.

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Knowledge speaks...Wisdom listens

Anyone have an update on this?

Could one of you guys please check at the ICE booth in the baggage claim area of Juan Santamaria?

Thanks. Sailor

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If Its Wet And Moving Underneath Me, I'm Having Fun
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"Two things are wanted by a true man, danger and play -- therefore, he seeks a woman as the most dangerous toy." Friedrich Nietzsche

I just called the ICE airport branch and was told they have the prepago SIM cards available now

_________________
Knowledge speaks...Wisdom listens

Thank you Seabee!

Your effort is appreciated and I will take advantage of this in a few weeks.

Thanks again, Sailor.

_________________
If Its Wet And Moving Underneath Me, I'm Having Fun
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"Two things are wanted by a true man, danger and play -- therefore, he seeks a woman as the most dangerous toy." Friedrich Nietzsche

Hello guys I'm the http://www.masterpago.com administrator. In http://www.masterpago.com you can refill your prepaid SIM 24 hours a day and 7 days a week no matter if you are in or out Costa Rica. Don't bother wait until you are in Costa Rica to go mas x menos or ICE...just go to http://www.masterpago.com when you in or out Costa Rica and refill your SIM using the PINs or a brand new method called "Tiempo Aire" (Air time). Air time doesn't need to call 150 (IVR) to activate the refill, cause there is no secret codes. You just could buy air time, from 50 colones to 10.000 colones, and presto...you'll receive a message in your phone with the new balance. It works pretty fine no matter if you are in or out Costa Rica. If you or your prepaid phone is not in Costa Rica or it’s not on by the moment you purchase the air time...don't worry...your balance will be updated anyway.
If you prefer to buy PINs http://www.masterpago.com works equally fine. The secret codes you receive could be printed wherever you are. Don't forget to print those secret codes and keep them safe. When you arrive Costa Rica just call 150 and follow the instructions (there is an english spoken option for you convenience).
If you want to preserve your prepaid phone number so your friends in Costa Rica could find you, just refill it from time to time with as less as 50 colones (US$0.1) of air time and your phone number will be alive 30 days more.
http://www.masterpago.com is as safe as any other internet site you use to buy things. The site is an authorized ICE product reseller and there is no need you give information like name or ID to purchase the prepaid products, unless you choose to enroll in masterpago.com loyalty program.
Soon http://www.masterpago.com will be selling other interesting things like movie tickets and data cards refills.

Sounds like a good program Cfernandez2010.

A great addition is if we could purchase the original SIM online and have it delivered in the USA before we leave. I thought would be to partner with someone like Amazon to do the shipping.

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Play Safe

On my arrival May 27 at Juan Santamaria, there was a ICE booth directly in front of gate 7.
The young woman was very helpful in getting a new cellphone, that I knew absolutely nothing about, up and working.

I did not ask where other booths are located. I did glance around the baggage claim area, but did not notice a ICE booth there. With so many arrivals milling around, I could have easily missed it.

The airport has certainly improved since I was last here in November. I have a feeling there is probably an ICE booth on the other end of the terminal from where my flight was gated.

_________________
If Its Wet And Moving Underneath Me, I'm Having Fun
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"Two things are wanted by a true man, danger and play -- therefore, he seeks a woman as the most dangerous toy." Friedrich Nietzsche

There is an ICE station in the baggage claim area. It's on the same side as the duty-free shop and currency exchange booths, about half way between the duty-free shop and the exit to the immigration inspection area. I got a card there a couple of weeks ago while I was waiting for my bag.