Guides · Families · Updated May 2026
What do I do with my kid's US phone plan while they're in Israel?
Your kid is going to Israel for a year. You figure: cancel their line, save fifty bucks a month, done. Then you call your carrier. Here's what you actually need to know before you touch anything.
What you're actually paying per line
This is the most common misconception. Say your family pays $250 a month for five lines. That's $50 a line, right? So canceling one saves $50 a month, $600 over a gap year?
Not usually. Carriers use tiered pricing where the first lines are much more expensive than the add-on lines. On T-Mobile, for example, the first two lines might cost $150 combined — and lines three, four, and five get added for $33 each, or sometimes as little as $10 a line.
If your kid's line is the fifth line on the plan, canceling it might save you $10 or $33 a month — not $50. Over ten months, that's $100 to $330 in actual savings, not $500. That number matters a lot when you start adding up the costs of the alternatives.
First thing to do: call your carrier and ask exactly how much your bill will drop if you remove that specific line. Get a number before you make any decisions.
Key terms: suspend, cancel, port out, park
Before you do anything, make sure you know what you're doing. These four things are not the same:
Suspend
You keep the account open and the number yours, but pause service. No calls, no data, reduced or no monthly fee. The downside: carriers typically only allow suspensions in 30-day increments, and any remaining contract term is usually extended by the length of the suspension.
Cancel
The account closes. The phone number gets released back into the carrier's pool and can be reassigned to a stranger. Once it's gone, it's gone — you can't get that number back.
Port out
Same effect as canceling with your current carrier, except you take the number with you to another provider. The number stays yours; the account with the original carrier closes. Carriers sometimes charge a porting fee.
Parking service
A service that holds a phone number for you without providing full wireless service. You port your number to the parking service to keep it safe while your kid is away, then port it back to a carrier when they return. Some parking services also offer voicemail and SMS forwarding. The most well-known is Google Voice.
Before you cancel or port out: check these first
Device installment plans
Did your kid get a "free" or discounted phone when they signed up? That deal almost always comes with strings attached. The subsidy is spread across your monthly bill — cancel the line early and the carrier will demand the remaining balance upfront. A $800 phone that was "free" with a two-year plan might have $400 still owed on it. Find out before you cancel.
Contract obligations
If the line is under contract, early termination may trigger a fee. Carriers have moved away from traditional contracts, but device financing agreements function similarly. Check the terms.
Bundle discounts you might lose
This one surprises people. Your five-line plan might include a free streaming service, a sixth line that's free, or a rate that only applies above a certain number of lines. Drop one line and you might not just lose that line's cost — you might lose the discount that was keeping the rest of the plan cheap. Ask your carrier specifically: "If I remove this line, does it affect any other discounts or promotions on the account?"
Do the math on porting out
If you've done all the above and decided the monthly savings are worth pursuing, porting out to a parking service is one option. But the math doesn't always work in your favor.
Here's what porting out actually costs:
- Port-out fee — your carrier may charge a fee to release the number, typically $0–$15
- Port-in fee to the parking service — Google Voice charges $20 to port a number in; other services vary
- Monthly parking fee — Google Voice is free to hold; other services may charge a small monthly fee
- Port-back fee — when your kid returns and you want the number back on a carrier, you may pay another $20 or more to port it back out of the parking service
Add that up: you might spend $40–$55 in fees for the privilege of saving $10–$33 a month. If your kid is gone for ten months and their line only costs $15/month to keep suspended, porting out doesn't save you anything — it costs you money and adds hassle.
Google Voice is the cheapest parking option
If porting out makes financial sense for your situation, Google Voice is the most cost-effective parking service. It's free to hold a number and costs $20 to port in. It also provides voicemail and basic SMS forwarding, which can be useful. The $20 port-back fee when they return is the main cost to factor in.
The bottom line: do the actual math before you act. Monthly savings × months away, minus all fees and lost discounts. For a lot of families, porting out is more trouble than it's worth.
Suspension: often the better option
For most families, suspending the line is simpler and safer than porting out. Here's why:
- The number stays yours, with no porting fees in or out and no risk of it being recycled
- No device installment complications — the account stays open, so financing agreements aren't disrupted
- No lost bundle discounts — suspending a line typically keeps it counted toward your plan's line total
- Easy to undo — when they come home, you just reactivate
The tradeoffs: suspensions are usually capped at 30 days at a time, so you (or your kid) may need to actively renew it each month. And if there's an existing contract, the suspension period typically extends it — a ten-month gap year could push a contract out by ten months on the back end.
Many carriers allow a certain number of free suspension days per year; beyond that, they may charge a small monthly suspended-service fee (often $10 or less, still cheaper than full service). Ask your carrier exactly how their suspension policy works before you decide.