For travellers with older handsets, dual-SIM juggling, or a dedicated travel phone. 190+ destinations.
Travel data eSIM on a reusable SIM card
One card, many destinations. Load a plan per trip, switch from the card app, and use it all on a phone that has never heard of eSIM.
- Runs travel data on phones with no eSIM support at all
- One card stores many destination plans, roughly 13 to 60 by model, one active at a time
- A failed install is recoverable on travel plans: we can issue a fresh QR
- Data only, no phone number, so your usual line keeps handling calls and SMS
- Top-ups land on the installed profile without a new QR or a new install
- Confirmed cards: eSTK.me, 9eSIM v2 and v3, eSIM.me - third-party hardware we do not sell or support
A travel eSIM on a reusable card solves two things at once. The obvious one is hardware: a phone with no eSIM support can still run a data plan, because the card presents itself as an ordinary SIM. The less obvious one is tidiness - a card holds many profiles, so a single card can carry last year's Japan plan, this month's Spain plan and a spare regional plan, switched from the card's own app.
The risk profile here is much gentler than with the UK number. If an install goes wrong on a travel plan we can issue a fresh QR, so experimenting with a card costs you time rather than the product. That makes travel data the sensible thing to try first if you have never used one of these cards.
One card, a shelf full of trips
Depending on the model, these cards store roughly thirteen to sixty profiles with one active at a time. For someone who travels a few times a year that is effectively unlimited: you keep buying plans as you go, they accumulate on the card, and you activate whichever destination you are flying to.
One active at a time is the constraint worth knowing. You cannot run two destination plans simultaneously on a single card, so a trip that crosses regions is better served by a regional plan than by hopping between two country plans mid-journey. Our catalogue covers 190+ destinations plus regional and global options, which usually makes that a non-issue.
Installing without burning anything
Buy the plan as normal - no account, crypto payment - and the order page shows the QR image along with the SM-DP+ address and the activation code. The card app takes either. Install over Wi-Fi with any VPN switched off, because a VPN can block the connection to the SM-DP+ server and that is the most common reason an install stalls.
If it does stall, this is the product where that is recoverable: contact support and we can issue a new QR for a travel plan. Do not take that as a licence to install the same plan twice on purpose, but it does mean you can try a card without gambling the purchase.
What to expect once it is running
The travel eSIM is data only and carries no phone number, so nothing about calls or SMS changes: your usual line, if any, keeps doing that. On the destination side, turn on data roaming for the card's line when you land, exactly as you would with an eSIM installed directly on a phone.
Adding more data to a plan that is already installed does not need a new install or a new QR - the top-up lands on the same profile, on the card, wherever it happens to be. That is worth knowing before you buy the largest plan out of caution: you can start small and extend.
Which card, and what it will not do
Our profiles install on eSTK.me, 9eSIM v2 and v3, and eSIM.me. Choose by the devices you own: eSTK.me and 9eSIM v3 can be managed from an iPhone through the card's menu, while eSIM.me needs an Android phone or a PC reader to download a profile onto the card. All three are third-party hardware that we do not sell, earn nothing from and cannot support.
A card does not unlock a carrier-locked phone, and it does not change which countries a plan covers or where its data breaks out. It is a way to carry the profile, not a way to change what the profile is.
Put a travel plan on a reusable card
- 1
Get the card before the trip, not at the airport
These ship from the maker or a reseller, so order early. Installing a plan takes minutes, but waiting for a card does not.
- 2
Check the phone is unlocked
A carrier-locked handset rejects other operators' profiles from a card just as it would from a QR code.
- 3
Buy the destination plan
Pick the country or region and pay in crypto. The order page then shows the QR plus the SM-DP+ address and activation code.
- 4
Install onto the card on Wi-Fi, VPN off
Scan the QR from the card app or paste the activation details. If it fails, support can issue a fresh QR for a travel plan.
- 5
Activate the profile and turn on data roaming
Make the destination plan the active profile on the card, put the card in the phone, and enable data roaming for that line when you arrive.
- 6
Keep the card for the next trip
Buy the next plan when you need it and add it alongside the others. Switch between them from the card app, one active at a time.
Questions & answers
Can I use a travel eSIM on a phone that has no eSIM?
Yes, with a reusable eSIM card. The plan installs onto the card, the card goes into the normal SIM slot, and the phone treats it as an ordinary SIM. Our travel profiles install on eSTK.me, 9eSIM v2 and v3, and eSIM.me.
How many travel plans fit on one card?
Roughly thirteen to sixty depending on the model, with one active at a time. In practice that means one card can carry years of trips: you add each plan as you buy it and activate whichever destination you are travelling to.
What if the installation fails?
On a travel plan it is recoverable. Contact support and we can issue a fresh QR, unlike the UK number where the install is single use. Most failures come from installing without Wi-Fi or with a VPN active, since a VPN can block the SM-DP+ server.
Can I use two destination plans at the same time?
Not on one card: these cards keep one profile active at a time. For a trip crossing several countries, a regional or global plan is the cleaner answer than switching between country plans mid-journey.
Do top-ups work when the plan is on a card?
Yes, and they need no new install. Adding data goes to the profile that is already on the card, so there is no second QR and nothing to reinstall. You can start with a small plan and extend it if the trip runs long.
Does the card change coverage or speeds?
No. The card only carries the profile; the plan still covers the same destinations and behaves the same way on the ground. What the card changes is which phones can use it, and how many plans you can keep in one place.
More destinations
Related guides
Travel data eSIM on a reusable SIM card
One card, many destinations. Load a plan per trip, switch from the card app, and use it all on a phone that has never heard of eSIM.
Browse Travel eSIM →