What are the best options for maintaining a US phone number while living in Thailand?

I am going to use a low cost plan with O2 in the UK that will allow me to add a travel bolt on for only £6 for 24 hours should I need to phone home.

For those who use Google Voice, do you only have a Thai phone & Thai phone number or do you keep your US phone in the cheapest plan and only use it when you need to transfer funds or to return calls to the US; or do you get rid of your US phone and plan for good? Then what do you do if you travel back to US to visit?

I use the lowest price plan from T-Mobile and the highest price plan from AIS. Switching between the two is fast and simple.

I have been using a usa Skype number for my 2 step verifications for 52 usd per year for the past 4.5 years. At the time when I signed up, Skype was not recommended by others for 2 step but so far I have been lucky.

Do you have Verizon? I use their WiFi calling option for texts.

I've used Google voice for 6 years. Only had one, maybe two apps that I couldn't use it for the 2 step verification but they allowed alternative methods so no problems. All other apps worked just fine with it.

I've used Google Voice 6 years. Free. Great for calling toll free numbers, friends, SMS verifications. Set it up before you go because I think setup requires verification through another US phone # .

i have red pocket it’s 10$ a month and i turn that e sim cellular data roaming off. then for data when im traveling i use Airalo (5gb 13$) for another e sim to run at the same time. so monthly it’s about 23$ total for everything. my cellular data is off on my US sim and it’s kept on for my travel sim. i do not use any foreign phone #s so if you need a thai phone # then this won’t really help. but if you just need data while you’re abroad while still keeping an active US #, this route has worked well for me. anyone in europe or asia i need to call or contact i just use whatsapp over wifi or using my Airalo travel data. i still get all my normal US phone calls and texts even tho my US phone #’s esim roaming is off and basically not in use at all. hope this helps

Google Fi has been very reliable and affordable for the 3+ years since we left the states. As Fred mentioned, activate and port your number before you leave. Just make sure your phone is unlocked or it will be useless.

Google Voice: Port your U.S. number to Google Voice before you leave. You can receive SMS codes and calls via Wi-Fi or data without needing a physical SIM.

T-Mobile Prepaid or Pay-As-You-Go: Keep your U.S. number active on a low-cost plan (~$10/month) for occasional use.