Here’s some bad news for T-Mobile customers who like to travel around North America while streaming Netflix. As of next month, the carrier is ending one of its more interesting perks on most plans: Unlimited LTE data in Canada and Mexico will no longer be available. [More]
mexico
Flying From Mexico To The U.S.? Here’s What You Need To Know About New Laptop Rules
By 7.19.17
Although the U.S. has lifted the laptop ban on all foreign airlines it put in place in March, travelers flying here from Mexico with such large electronic devices will get their chance to grumble over new, longer security checks. [More]
Motorists Swarm Over Border With Mexico To Get Cheaper Gas… In California
By 1.11.17 — Updated: 1.12.17
Near the Mexican border, something strange is happening. Motorists are driving across international boundaries to fill their gas tanks with cheaper fuel and save some money, but it’s not Californians driving to Mexico. [More]
Uber Will Now Take You From San Diego To Tijuana, Won’t Bring You Back
By 3.17.16
Want a one-way ticket to Tijuana? You can get one from Uber now: the ride-hailing company is providing cross-border trips from San Diego to the Mexican city. There’s one catch, though – passengers have to find their own way home. [More]
6 Things We Learned About Bluetooth ATM Skimmers In Mexico
By 9.17.15
If you took a summer vacation this year, you may have spent it on a beach, on a boat, or at a theme park. Security journalist Brian Krebs spent his summer vacation doing something that sounds super-fun to us: hunting down compromised ATMs in Mexico. He found quite a few, and also learned who might be behind all of his fraud. [More]
Unsanitary Growing Conditions Lead To Partial Import Ban On Mexican Cilantro
By 7.27.15
Bad news for cilantro lovers: U.S. officials have implemented a partial ban on imports of the herb after health officials linked hundreds of illnesses to cilantro growing in feces- and toilet paper-covered fields in Mexico. [More]
Would You Have Spotted This Skimmer Found On An ATM In Mexico?
By 7.22.15
Banks and credit unions here in the United States are reporting ATM card fraud that originated with skimmers in the touristy town of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Imagine the opportunity from a criminal’s point of view: an area full of American tourists with nice, magnetic-strip cards! Would you have been a victim? It helps if you know how to spot a compromised cash machine. [More]
T-Mobile Customers With Grandfathered Plans May Have To Pay $10/Month To Call Mexico, Canada
By 7.9.15
Earlier today, T-Mobile announced that subscribers to its Simple Choice wireless plans would soon be able to make calls to/from, and access 4G LTE data in, Mexico and Canada at no extra charge (though you do have to take the step of opting in to the new plan). But what about those T-Mo users who have been holding on to their pre-“Un-carrier” plans? If they want access to this call-anyone-in-North-America option, they’ll have to ditch their old plan or pay up. [More]
T-Mobile Plans To Cover Canada & Mexico At No Extra Charge, But You Must Opt-In
By 7.9.15
We’ve heard numerous stories over the years of Americans who unwittingly or inadvertently tallied up huge voice and data bills while roaming internationally in Canada or Mexico, and wireless providers have been perfectly happy with the substantial fees they earn each year off callers traveling north and south of the border. Today, T-Mobile announced that, starting next week, all its Simple Choice plans will cover calls and data usage in many areas in Canada and Mexico. [More]
Tiny Walmarts Take Bodega Form, Invade Mexico
By 12.31.14
For several years now, we’ve followed the proliferation of tinier and tinier Walmarts across the American retailscape. From the supermarket-sized Walmart Hometown stores to the gas station and convenience store called Walmart To Go, the retailer has experimented with store formats that are not enormous. Now the Tiny Walmart Menace has spread to Mexico, where its mini-grocery chain called Bodega Aurrera Express hopes to use low prices to draw customers. [More]
Samsung Says My New TV From Groupon Is Secretly Mexican
By 9.19.14
Rob bought a TV from Groupon Goods, and found himself in a weird dilemma where Groupon promised that his new TV would have a manufacturer’s warranty. He had no reason not to believe them until something actually went wrong with the TV. Samsung told him a few different things: that they don’t warranty items bought online, or that his television came from Mexico or Canada. What? [More]
Walmart Mexico Investigated Over Promotional Cockfight
By 9.18.14
Walmart’s Mexican operations are being investigating by authorities in the city of Boca del Rio, where customers complained a Walmart store hosted a cockfight to promote a soft drink company. The retailer says it’s the customer gripes are overblown and that, while there were indeed roosters pecking at each other, no actual cockfighting took place. [More]
Alaska Airlines Cancels All Your Wedding Guests’ Flights, Forgets To Tell You
By 6.22.12
Rochelle has a destination wedding planned this November in Mazatlan, Mexico, and she and most of her guests planned to travel on the same Alaska Airlines flights from Seattle. They reserved this travel far in advance. Too far in advance, apparently. Alaska Airlines has since cut their number of weekly flights to Mazatlan, forcing the couple and their guests to find different flights on different days. The schedule change prevents some guests from attending altogether. The problem: the airline didn’t actually tell the couple about this, instead letting them find out from another guest who booked her travel through Orbitz. [More]
Stuck In Mexico Without Any Bags Thanks To Gate-Checked Carryon
By 5.7.12
Edwin’s wife flew to Mexico last week, toting only her carry-on luggage. United Airlines personnel made her gate-check the suitcase, telling her that it was too big and that she would definitely get it back when she landed. She hasn’t seen her suitcase since, and suspects it might have been stolen. United, as of yesterday, refused to give Edwin or Mrs. Edwin any answers. [More]
Shareholder Sues Walmart Board Over Mexico Bribery Allegations
By 4.25.12
The fallout continues over WalmartMexicoGate, a term I just made up right now that will likely never be used again. A shareholder in the nation’s largest retailer has filed a lawsuit against the company’s board of directors over the bad press tied to allegations that Walmart spent millions of dollars bribing folks in Mexico. [More]
Kodak Uses Creative Shipping To Solve Printer Problem In Mexico
By 8.11.11
Joe got Kodak to agree to send him a replacement printer when his kept showing “replace the cartridge” error messages, even after installing several completely new cartridges. There was just one problem. Joe lives in Mexico. Kodak, based in the US, doesn’t ship internationally. How to get around this cartridge conundrum? Deb in Kodak’s executive customer service had an ingenious idea… [More]
For Some Reason, Mexican Reader Finds This Halloween Costume Offensive
By 10.14.10
Javier, a Consumerist reader who lives in Mexico, crossed the border to do some shopping at Walmart. He noticed this costume in the Halloween section. He finds it offensive. “I was wondering if we might also find a costume like this,” he writes, enclosing an old photo of a white performer in blackface. [More]
More People Buying Mexican Coca Cola
By 9.21.10
Perhaps it’s the glass bottles. Or it could be the lack of high fructose corn syrup. Maybe it just tastes better. Whatever the reason, a growing number of folks on the north side of the Rio Grande are drinking Coca Cola bottled in Mexico. [More]
