Cheap phone for use in Germany?

[Michael in ABQ]

Our teenage son was invited to spend a few weeks with his uncle in Germany. We need to get him a phone so he can communicate with his uncle in Germany and with us back in the US. Our kids have never had phones and I would prefer to get him something without internet access. Just a simple phone that can take a SIM card with prepaid minutes in Germany - and preferably one that he could also use in the US in case there is an issue during his layover in DFW. That's not a huge concern as he will be escorted to and from each flight by an airline employee as an unaccompanied minor. Once he's in Germany though he'll probably take the bus or bike or walk to places and needs a way to reach his Uncle.

We've got a pretty short timeline so I don't have time to scour eBay for a particular model.

Any recommendations?

[travel2020]

Lot of options under $100 at Bestbuy. I have older models of Nokia and LG that I’ve used as a 2nd phone with local SIM while traveling. Just make sure the phone is unlocked and supports the frequencies used in US and Germany

See
https://www.gsmarena.com/network-bands.php3?sCountry=Germany
And
https://www.worldtimezone.com/gsm.html

If the phone you get supports eSIM, you can also get an eSIM online and have it setup ahead of arrival:
https://www.airalo.com/germany-esim

[Sailor Sam]

I happen to be in Germany right now!

I knew from previous international travel my U.S. provider woudn’t support an international plan. I ended up getting this sim car —> Orange Holiday - Europe Pre-paid SIM. It works in a huge list of countries, and I have no complaints. I did have to order it from Amazon, because the Orange website does direct sales for eSIMs, but in this case via Amazon is not a scam.

The card does say its only good for 14 days, but that restriction is lifted once you register the card.

If your kid’s phone supports an eSIM you also have that option, direct from the Orange website.

[Michael in ABQ]

I happen to be in Germany right now!

I knew from previous international travel my U.S. provider woudn’t support an international plan. I ended up getting this sim car —> Orange Holiday - Europe Pre-paid SIM. It works in a huge list of countries, and I have no complaints. I did have to order it from Amazon, because the Orange website does direct sales for eSIMs, but in this case via Amazon is not a scam.

The card does say its only good for 14 days, but that restriction is lifted once you register the card.

If your kid’s phone supports an eSIM you also have that option, direct from the Orange website.

We ended up buying a $90 Nokia flip phone at Best Buy last night.

It looks like that only has 30 minutes of talk time. I'm primarily looking for something her can use to call other phones in Germany (his aunt and uncle) and then call us back in the US. I didn't realize the phone I bought has Wi-Fi, so potentially we can install WhatsApp - but I don't want him reliant on that.

I may just ask his Uncle if he can buy a SIM card there to have waiting for him.