Advice on keeping in touch - USA to UK

[MonsterKidz]

Can anyone offer me advice on the best and cheapest methods of
keeping in touch with family from the USA to U.K?

Are there specific call plans or other options? I have FaceTime, Skype, messenger, WhatsApp etc? Are they free from abroad?

Any hints or suggestions much appreciate x

Imessage, facetime, WhatsApp, Skype.. all free!

And facebook messenger too

WhatsApp is ace.

Great - I thought so but had a bit of a brain freeze about it!

What about calling from a mobile to
Mobile or a landline to landline? Is it £££?

FaceTime etc free if you're on wifi.

Look for mobile phone contracts that give you low rate/free minutes to call. Calling cards are often used as well.

Your main problem is the time difference

I use WhatsApp, FaceTime and then Skype to call internationally from my car. I like chatting when I'm driving.

Calling mobiles/landlines will cost you.. you can audio call through WiFi on all of the listed apps though.

Yep, you need internet calling.
If the person you want to call won't use skype/FaceTime etc, use yoyr Skype account, list up some credit and call the land line.

WhatsApp etc all need an internet connection. So if you have wifi, it's free once you have oaid for the internet. Data packages will cost, but get yourself a local SIM card and number and data oackafe, and it shouldn't be prohibitively expensive (I don't know what U.S. data packages cost)

For actual phone calls, we use google voice. It's super cheap to call cell phones and House phones in the U.K.

All of the above plus my friends and I leave voice memos for each other and send them via WhatsApp rather than just text messages

Verizon has good deals.
www.verizonwireless.com/solutions-and-services/international-long-distance-in-us/

I pay Vodafone (I think) £5 per month for unlimited minutes abroad.

I live in the UK but have family in USA

I tend to message via Whats App or send emails. If I want to speak I will use the WhatsApp to call. If I need to call someone who doesn't have those we have an internet based telephone system too. It's much cheaper. DH has it for business - pays about thirteen pounds per month and then a small amount for the calls.

I use whatsapp for calls and texts - all free.... it's great! We don't have a landline