I quickly get online with my former carrier, Boost, who I've been using for years.
Full disclosure, this is a great phone service. It's on the Sprint network and are no frills... You buy your own phone, but rates are low and there can be monthly discounts for paying on time. You can get monthly plans or pay-as-you-go... And you can go into a store for assistance in making the switch, or follow handy tutorials online. It's great, I highly recommend.
So this is where the over-planning comes in...
I cannot now log into Boost, because my account has been disabled and help is only through a US phone number... no online chat for turncoats like me.
While in Super AG mode I had found a way to park my US phone number...
(This is a great service! I pay them $5 per month, they remove my number from the current carrier, put it under their umbrella, and give a generic outgoing message... I can actually get voice messages via email... And my phone number is saved for me in case I want to use in when / if I come back!)
I had scheduled my phone to be parked the day after I flew -- and they could only promise within a week of the requested date. But this time they were super efficient. And I no longer had a relationship with Boost.
So they were unlikely to help me unlock my phone... even if I could contact them somehow.