O2 extends USA roaming for England fans in tournament

O2 has extended its USA roaming benefit for eligible pay monthly customers for the rest of England's tournament run. The move applies until midnight on 20 July Pacific Time.

Eligible pay monthly Classic Plan customers travelling in the United States can use mobile data, calls and texts and receive a credit for the cost of a roaming bolt-on bought during the offer period. Customers on Volt, Plus Plan and Ultimate Plan tariffs are also covered under the wider roaming arrangement.

To qualify, Classic Plan users must log into their MyO2 account and activate an O2 Travel Bolt On priced at £7 per day or buy a 1GB, 3GB or 5GB data bolt-on. O2 will automatically credit back those charges for eligible use between 6 July and 20 July.

The offer does not apply to Pay As You Go customers and is limited to eligible pay monthly users travelling in the USA.

O2 linked the roaming change to England reaching the quarter-finals, with the national side due to play Norway in Miami. It presented the offer as support for customers following the team overseas during the tournament.

Roaming charges have remained a sensitive issue for UK mobile users since many operators reintroduced travel fees after Britain left the European Union. O2 has kept EU roaming included across its plans up to 25GB and said the USA move builds on that approach.

It describes itself as the only major UK network to include EU roaming as standard at no extra cost up to that limit. The latest change temporarily extends that principle beyond Europe for a defined period tied to the football tournament.

Virgin Media O2 Chief Executive Officer Lutz Schüler commented in a company statement: "Whether travelling in Europe or heading across the Pond, we're now giving our customers one less thing to worry about this summer by crediting back roaming charges in the USA for the remainder of the tournament. From cheering their team on from the stands or sharing the excitement with friends and family back home, our customers can focus on the scoreline, not roaming charges, with the freedom, connectivity and confidence to make every moment count."

Extra perk

Alongside the roaming offer, O2 is also extending a retail promotion through its Priority rewards scheme. Priority from O2 members can claim a free Greggs hot drink on the morning after the Norway v England match.

The drink offer is available from 8am to 11am through the Priority app in Greggs stores nationwide. O2 said the promotion is aimed at supporters watching from home across different time zones.

For customers travelling to the US, the practical benefit is the temporary removal of an extra daily cost that would otherwise apply to some tariffs. At £7 a day, the charge can quickly add up for holidaymakers or fans staying through several match days.

The arrangement also shows how operators continue to use sports tie-ins and loyalty perks to differentiate consumer offers in a competitive mobile market. In this case, O2 is linking an international roaming concession to a football moment with broad public attention.

The roaming credit applies only during the specified period and only to eligible monthly customers who take the required bolt-on steps. Calls, texts and mobile data in the USA are included under the credit-back arrangement for those users.