I think that Mint's roaming rates are a bit expensive. You're better off getting a prepaid sim from a local carrier there. Since the EU has no roaming charges between their countries, you can get a prepaid sim from any carrier in the EU and it will work in all the EU countries. One of the best and easiest to get while still in the US is Orange's (France's largest mobile carrier) Europe Holiday sim. Different sellers sell them on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RXYH2NW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fab_mSnCFbE3JHAXQ . It's full speed.
When I was traveling in Europe with it, I was forced to be on Orange while in France. That was fine since they are the largest there. In Germany and Switzerland, I actually was able to go into mobile networks settings on my phone and select any of those countries carriers. So, if one carrier wasn't great, I could just switch in the settings. I pretty much kept it to the largest carrier in those countries though, Telekom and Swisscom.
With the Orange holiday sim, it's 20GB for around $50. If you look up Mint's rates for somewhere in Eastern Europe like Poland, it's $0.20 per MB. So for 20GB that would be $4,096. Even for a more reasonable 1GB, the price with Mint would be $204.
Make sure that your phone is unlocked.
If I were you I'd get the Orange sim or some other local one there. However carry your mint sim with you. That way you can use the mint sim on wifi for free calls and txts with your own US number. Just make sure that when you do that you turn on airplane mode and only leave wifi on and optionally bluetooth on. That way your phone will not roam with the mint sim.
I'm not sure it matters whether you use an eSIM or physical SIM. There are usually little kiosks to buy service at the airport. Sometimes there are even vending machines.
You can also get a service like Google Fi or an Orange SIM card ahead of time.
You could look into getting a prepaid Orange sim card! I believe i got mine off of Amazon, but that was just for a 3-week trip (and it cut off exactly on the 21st day haha) so I would take a look into their options and see if they have what you need for a longer-term service! Overall though I had no issues getting it set up quickly and easily after 10 hours of travel and while using it in multiple countries. There may be other brands that are better suited to your needs, but I recommend Orange in particular as I believe they are one of the top brands in France/Europe!
For the phone I’ve twice now bought this prepaid card before leaving
Orange Holiday Europe New Package – 20GB Internet Data in 4G/LTE + 120 mn + 1000 Texts in 30 Countries in Europe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RXYH2NW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_1609JFD1VH7C08AKX6GT
The 20 GB has always lasted me my entire trip but my longest trip was around 10 days. I was always hooking up to WiFi if I could. And every once in a while I found myself wanting or needing to make a phone call abs the 120 minutes available was nice.
Europeans generally use more cash but last time I was in Spain in late 2019 I could use Apple Pay almost everywhere. Even on the bus in Madrid. I had much better experience just withdrawing euros from bank ATMs but I have Schwab so ATM fees are reimbursed. Last trip I used exchange places a couple of times because I lost my ATM card and I felt ripped off on multiple levels.
Also, American Express is not accepted in many places. So make sure you have a Visa card or MasterCard and always pay in local currency. Make sure you get a card that doesn’t charge a fee for foreign transactions.
Unless you live anywhere in Europe in that 2-3yr time frame with registration and use it intermittently or frequent with reloading the value/balance, yes why not.
If not (like me flying back home to LA), no. I just buy a new Orange SIM whenever I travel back anywhere to Europe. The full SIM load is very cheap anyways. There are 2 versions. The 20GB & 8GB currently at $39 and $22 respectively.
https://www.amazon.com/Orange-Holiday-Europe-New-Package/dp/B07RXYH2NW
Yes, you'd just switch it out when you head out and you'll have full access to the cheaper plan. If you need more data, Orange Holidays at $50 for 120 minutes/1000 texts/20GB (minutes are good to call and text the US also) or [Three Pay as you Go]*https://www.amazon.com/PrePaid-destinations-including-European-countries/dp/B01FI1JW72/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1HMITT14JYF7J&keywords=europe+sim+card&qid=1655313322&sprefix=europe+sim+card%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-5) is $30 for 12GB and 3000 minutes and texts but the minutes and texts can only be used within the country you're in (in this case Italy).
Not at the airport, but I bought this this for a trip to Europe/UK recently, including Belgium. Worked fine.
I used https://www.amazon.com/Orange-Holiday-Europe-New-Package/dp/B07RXYH2NW/
Popped it in when we landed, it worked really well for me on my recent trip to Germany & Italy (Venice, Florence, Rome, and Cinque Terre).
The last time I was in Germany (2018), I used the Orange holiday SIM, and had no issues activating and using in Germany and Austria: https://www.amazon.com/Orange-Holiday-Europe-New-Package/dp/B07RXYH2NW