Plenty of people call the USA from the UK, whether for business or personal reasons. Despite being popular, most carriers charge a lot of money and offer pretty poor connections. As such, a UK to US call can be sketchy at best.

Luckily, it doesn’t have to be if you know your options. In this article, we’ll cover how to call the USA from the UK and suggest ways to reduce your calling costs. Hopefully, by the end, you’ll be able to call internationally at low rates and with good connections!

How to Call the USA From the UK in 4 Easy Steps

Setting up a UK to US call isn’t actually too difficult. Thanks to systems like international country codes and the North American Numbering Plan, you can connect to anyone you want in the US.

Here’s how to call the USA from the UK using these systems.

1. Put in the Country’s Exit Code

The first step is to dial the UK’s country exit code. As the name suggests, this is the number you need to dial to make an international call. For the UK, it’s ‘00’.

2. Dial the US Country Code

The next step is to add the US country code. Also called the International Subscriber Dial (ISD), it’s a system you may already be familiar with. Each country has a numerical prefix that links a telephone number with that country.

Luckily, the US country code is easy to remember: it’s ‘1’. This is also the country code for Canada, American territories, and the Caribbean. As such, the next step is pretty important.

3. Add the Area Code

To make sure your UK to US call is going to the right place, you need to add an area code. Regions in the USA have specific area codes, and most states have several. If you have the telephone number you want to dial, you’ll already have the area code. It’s usually the first 3-digit section of the phone number.

Some examples of American area codes are:

• California: 209, 213, 310, 323, 408, and more
• Hawaii: 808
• New York: 212, 315, 347, 518, and more
• Virginia: 276, 434, 540, and more

As mentioned, you should already have the area code of the number you’re trying to dial. It’s not super important that you know which region it’s for; you just need to recognize which part of the phone number it is.

4. Complete the Phone Number

Finally, you need to enter the rest of the recipient’s phone number. There should be 7 digits remaining. To clarify, an American phone number is formatted in the following way:

+1 (AAA) NNN-NNNN

In this example, A stands for the area code and N is the telephone number.

Providing you’ve dialed the number correctly, your UK to US call should now be connected!

Is Calling the US From the UK Expensive?

The cost to call the USA from the UK depends massively on your carrier. Some offer much lower rates than others, although none of them is super cheap. Below are some examples of international calling rates. Of course, for this, we’ve used British cell phone carriers, so the prices are in pounds (GBP).

• EE: £3.42/min for mobiles and landlines
• O2: £0.17-0.99/min depending on plan
• Virgin Mobile: £1.20/min

As you can see, the cost of making a UK to US call can vary wildly depending on your plan and carrier. Some (such as O2) are very cheap but have poorer coverage than networks like EE. So, if you’re using your standard mobile phone, you have to find the right balance between quality and cost.

It almost goes without saying that it’s just as expensive to call internationally from an office landline. While the prices will again vary, most will charge a premium to call outside of the country.

Pay Attention to Time Zones When Calling the US

If you’re in the UK, the idea of a country having multiple time zones is a bit strange. Well, the USA has 6 (or 12, depending on who you ask). The 6 standard timezones of the contiguous United States are: 

1. Hawaii Time
2. Alaska Time
3. Pacific Time
4. Central Time
5. Eastern Time
6. Mountain Time

While it’s not necessary to go through them all, it’s worth noting that they sit anywhere from 9 to 4 hours behind British Time (GMT or UTC). So, bear this in mind when you go to call internationally, as you don’t want to call in the middle of the night!

How to Reduce Your Calling Costs to the US with Textr

Luckily, Textr offers a way to make high quality, low cost international calls. You can purchase a virtual phone number to make the process easier, and also record calls whenever necessary. Your options for this include:

WeTalk

WeTalk is a suitable option for personal phone calls from the UK to the US. You simply download the app on your phone, and you can buy a virtual phone number. This can be from the UK, US, or CA, making calling much easier. 

You can make outbound calls to the UK from as little as $0.016/min. Prices for calling the US from the UK are just as low, and there are other plans such as unlimited calls and texts.

Textr Team

Alternatively, for business use, take advantage of the services offered by Textr Team. You can currently buy a virtual phone number for the US and CA, then call out to the other countries. The UK virtual numbers service is launching soon.

With Textr, you get unlimited nationwide SMS and MMS messages, and talk minutes (in the US). It also provides a platform for collaborating with team members and interacting with customers. You can do everything from creating campaigns to tagging and assigning numbers.

Better still, there’s a 7-day free trial so you can test everything Textr has to offer. Don’t like it? No problem, although we’re certain you will!

So, what are you waiting for? Download Textr Team today on your smartphone or computer!