Some of you travelers who are on a budget or are staying in a country for a long while might choose to use an unlocked smart phone and a local SM card for the most economical phone/text/data plan. What do you do when your card runs out of minutes or data?
You need a refill or recharge. Depending on the country, sometimes that involves logging on to your account and adding money. In other places, you can buy extra minutes/data in the form of a scratch off lottery card. You buy the card, call the number on it, and then enter the scratch off code. You are all set.
If you are traveling in a larger city, you will usually find a phone store where you can do this easily. Smaller towns may not have a phone store. What do you do there?
Look for a corner store or a small grocery with the sign displaying the word “recargas” or “recarga aqui.” It means “refills” or “recharges.” That’s what you call the extra phone data in Latin America.
A store with a sign like this will hook you up.
