Hey guys I am currently on a vodafone red plan paying $50 a month for $650 credit free unlimited texts and 1.5GB of data and wanted to know what are the best prepaid plans right now. I have looked into vaya but apparently the kb vs mb issue sounds a bit annoying. I am a heavy 4g user and occasionally go over the 1.5gb limit any suggestions ?
Cheers
Look at spintel. They look alright and have a few good reviews on whirlpool aswell. I love their pricing system as it automatically bumps you up. Whirlpool
Exetel is my choice. For $50 you get….
Unlimited National minutes & Unlimited SMS + MMS.
3 GB data
Uses Optus 4G Network.
I heard vaya charges data by the block. Not sure how large the block is (could not find it on their terms and conditions, or I might be looking at the wrong place).
Telstra will give 3.4GB for $50
using the $49 data pack 3GB + the 400MB from the plan.
Beyond Talk 500mns Talk-Unlimited Txt
(mms are extra tho)could use whatsapp etc to get around this.)
Plus you need to turn off voicemail (then they send a ten second msg to you for free)
Encore is gone buddy :*(
Not wrong have just swapped back to telstra miss that plan but my one works ok.
Is this the best value for trying Telstra 4G on my iphone? I use around 3gb data per month and use around 200min per month in calls.
edit Foxtel for mobile looks tempting, does that use up the quota? Even better if there's free data to run Netflix via VPN.
Crap… my fat fingers pressed downvote… meant to up it. I love the 50 buck prepaid. Its what I am on… $49 deducted from your $1000 credit for extra data.
3.7 GB of data. Then 950 dollars for calls and text. This includes mms. And data when you run out of actual extra data. It has happened to me…
Its 4g and so worth it. I have mog and afl… both use none of your data allowance. Love it. I could not go back to another carrier. $11 dollar thanks tickets is handy too .
+1 turn off voicemail
And turn off sms - mms recieved notifications
Not too sure how you did that, I had a look at their site and the cheapest I found was a $55 plan. Could you please give a link or some info as to how you did that? Would be greatly appreciated as I want to change plans on the 11/10.
Thanks!
Type #100# into your phone and call it, a menu with prompts should come up. I can't remember exactly what numbers are what, but you want to go to plus packs, and then browse packs, and then select the $49. However if you are on the Freedom anytime you wont be able to add data packs!
Instead of turning off voicemail, you can just dial your own number.
Or better yet set your voicemail number to:
0400111222,#123456#
Which will pause and then automatically enter your pin.
Comes out of cap allowance instead of main credit.
What about https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/158268 or https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/160356
Month to Month, so not exactly prepaid.
I am actually trying to get away from vodafone. Just wanna try something new and a bit cheaper.
u can try sim-only from vodafone no contract, $50 for unlimited call & texts and 3GB data.
Aldi mobile and just use wifi and tether from others. Much cheaper
Forgot to mention that i am looking at around $30-$35 a month maximum.
Might be a bit tough to get 4G on that budget.
If you are prepared to go back to 3G for the $ savings I can recommend the Optus $26 plan.
Lasts 45 days so works out about $18 per month. It has $250 of Optus to Optus and another $250 of Optus to others, plus 5Gb, but at Mb charges, not kb.
I'm a heavy data user and have only ever hit the 5Gb once about 2 days before it ran out over 18 months on this plan. Since then I made sure I use wifi at home which is on broadband cable.
The Optus 3G is spotty in a few known locations I haunt, but I don't go to those spots often enough for it to be an issue.
Speed is occasionally slower on Optus compared to my wifi, but I am saving bucks in true ozbargain style! : )
Could you provide a link to the $26 plan? This sounds like something I would be interested in as I don't really have a need for 4g. The cheapest Optus prepaid I could find was $30 and the data + calls were much lower than what you are getting for $26.
In the first line of that link - "Did you know you’re on an Optus Prepaid plan that's quite exclusive? Yep, that means that no new customers are able connect to it!"
Well, damn.
I had a look at spintel and that looks pretty good anyone have any first hand experience with them ?
I had and I wouldn't use them, especially I had to ring up a number of times to get the sim posted and to get connected.
prepaid cap 40 26-$32 (-5% $30.40)@ Coolies by periodic promos, flybuys, edr.
/tether & fill missing days w/ $2 per 0.5Gb Optus 2 days.
Which prepaid cap is this? Vodafone??
Yes> free text $750 of time, +1.5gb Atm
I am actually trying to get away from vodafone. Just wanna try something new and a bit cheaper.
50 texts, 250 mins, 2.5Gb data - initial month $50, then MTM $25 - looks good on paper. (4G spintelOptus)
Yeah thats what i am leaning towards. There are some good reviews on whirlpool aswell
@abhii101: with the spintel plan you essentially set text/call/data to the lowest plan. if you exceed it they bump you up but just change it back for the following month… so you could potentially end up with $18/mo.
@iSamurai: Yeah thats what i am planning to do. Also managed to sweet talk them into sending me a sim card for free :)
Lebara? $29.90 for unlimited calls/text +2GB data. Though they charge in MB.
extra data pack available when you go over the limit. I think it's $10 for 1GB.
I'm currently with boost after 13 years with Vodafone. Kogan was pretty good but good things don't don't last, Aldi is just a shocker.
Boost has been pretty good. Coverage, customer service and deals are pretty generous.
$40 gets you unlimited calls, txt, mms and 2gb data. Operates on the Telstra 3G network.
Is it a month to month contract ? My main issue with this is 3G i have been using 4G for a bit and am used to the speed not sure if i want to move down to 3G. DO you happen to know what the speed is like ?
depends on your use cases, mobile web browsing youll notice a little slow down. streaming music or browsing youtube you can notice the difference. Also 4G is alot better than 3G in congested areas, sometimes 3G will just stop working if you use it in the CBD.
Just so you know Boost Mobile are one of very few Telstra resellers who provide speeds up to 21Mbps over 3g.
There is a little hack to get 4g (unsure if it's been fixed though. A new revision of sim cards have been released). Once you've signed up to Boost using their original sim card go into a Telstra asking for a blank sim card for your type of phone. If they question why or offer to do a change sim for you then say its under a corporate account and you needed a new sim card sooner. Your I.T dept will sort the rest.
Once you have the sim call up Boost Support ask to do a sim change, advise the new sim card number. If the sim card is valid the sim change will go through and you will now have full access to Telstra's 4G network.
To long to explain the tech reasons but its works for me and friends.
abhii101 you could try Amaysim unlimited calls and text and 5GB for $44 per month and using the Optus network.
Amaysim = 3G network
Why would someone neg the truth ,fork me :(
Tbh I dont really need 5gb and am on a student budget right now looking for around $30-35 max
+1 for Jeenee mobile.
charged per kB,
4G optus coverage
Missus just ported over from Vodafone $35 sim only to Telechoice $25 using the Kogan offers for 12 month agreement.
https://www.telechoice.com.au/kogan-offers
2 day delivery and 10 minutes porting with assistance from a local call centre.
Been happy so far..
I need to find a solution for my problem still. I'm on $39.90 per month Hello Mobile with 4GB data but always really close to exceeding my data allowance at the end of the month.
How does the per kb billing affect my data usage? Is it that significant?
Looks like a good plan but I dont really want to be on a 12 month contract. I am looking for a month to month contract.
$30 month to month or $25 for 12 months vs. Kogan offer $20 for 12 months
P.S. these are 3g only… not that it really matters
1gb+15c/MB..& enough to avoid it, old g or not.
Went to Telechoice as I needed Telstra coverage, probably one of my bigger mistakes over the last year.
To get help over the phone you need to select the "sales" option, which gets answered in under 2 mins. If you select "support" be prepared to wait for about 30-60 mins.
Only reason I needed support was that my voicemail was deactivated after 5 months, as in totally gone. Seems like it was either a system glitch or someone had reset my account but what should have been a straight forward request put through their member's area didn't result in any action, and after waiting for 45 mins for "support" I hung up. Called through and selected "sales" and the line was picked up after 2 rings.
Never again, once the 12 months is up, off to Spintel I go. Really like the look of their plans.
Spintel sounds good, but the areas I frequent has terrible Optus reception so I'd prefer Telstra or Voda… Though having read your experience I might have to look elsewhere for Telstra coverage…
Anyone know of any Telstra resellers apart from Telechoice?
Having difficulty finding good Telstra resellers. What I did was get an Optus prepaid and test out the reception. You'll be surprised that it can get better over time as they improve the infrastructure.
Before Telechoice I was with Exetel so it has been about 2.5 years since I last had an Optus line. The improvements I have seen checking with the Optus prepaid line has convinced me that I can give them a try again.
Good luck finding a good Telstra reseller, the prices either go up or they end the plans try to bump you to a more expensive plan or service is just plain terrible.
@iampoor: Currently using Virgin mobiles which uses Optus network… terrible, don't even have reception at home or work. One of the reason why I don't want to try out the other Optus resellers.
Guess I'll give Voda a shot, Telstra and Voda seems to get perfect reception at my work at least.
I just want to thank everyone who has taken the time to help me out so far i really appreciate it. Please keep the suggestions going and if anyone has had any personal experience with any of these plans please do put that in the comment aswell :)
Can't suggest, but I cam commend you for not going with Vaya. Their customer service is the worst of the worst, and they treat you like idiots.
That's the kind of service you can expect with Vaya.
Thanks for pointing out all that inose I really appreciate that. Heard mixed reviews about vaya but I am probably going to stay away from them.
I think Vodafone has good prepaid or say month to month plans (as in similar like a Prepaid) like its not prepaid but seems ok if you are not in contract.
they have increased data on these more data.
Optus have epic plans or their per day plans are good as well.
Telstra simplicity for $100 for 6 months pre paid. Use free Wi-Fi when available.
I just wanted to chime in here quickly, I was with Aldi, however depending on your usage habits your milage may vary.
Aldi has $30 for 3GB (1 month expiry), but then you have to pay 12c per minute / 12c per sms (365 day expiry). They have S, M, L plans (no contract) but the milage per $ doesn't really work compared to Optus pre-paid.
I've ordered (free postage) the Optus $30 sim pack online (not available in stores, and the $15 Kmart/Coles deal has expired a few weeks ago) for $19. http://www.optus.com.au/shop/prepaid/sim-card/30-combi
With this, depending on your usage, you can stretch it out quite far.
You can opt for the $2 days, which is unlimited call+sms for that day + 500MB (charged in kb sessions). If you don't use your phone on a certain day you don't pay. The only catch is you would have to turn your cellular data off at about 11:50PM the current day to avoid creating another "day" once you hit midnight (data trips the usage).
This mightn't sound like a good idea or plan for some people, but for me it works. Here's why:
I don't use my phone to make calls or send sms daily, and I am on wifi most days.
If I was to use data each day, in 30 days you would have 500MB * 30 = 15,000MB (15~ GB!) a month, however you'll be paying more than some amaysim plans (albeit with less total monthly data).
BUT if you only need sms/calls/data on 1, 2 or 10-15 days of the month you'll come out on top (10$2=$20 / 15$2=$30).
You will incur an additional $2 cost on the days you go over the daily 500MB (Optus then gives another 524MB for this additional fee of $2 on the day, bringing it to a total 1GB~). So you'll just have to manage your usage, ideal if you only need a few lightweight apps throughout the day. Obviously you can tether your phone to a laptop, providing your mobile has that feature as well.
The main issue I found with Telstra is the credit only lasts 28~ days. This Optus $2 a day lasts up to 6 months, and if you recharge (the lowest $ value for recharge I could see online was $10), your unused credit rolls over to another 6 months.
Unless I'm missing something here, it really seems like the best option for some people, especially seeing as you're not locked into 24 month contracts, and you can theoretically port your number away from Optus if something better comes along in the mean time. Your only issue here is you will have certain days without ANY data. So you'll still be able to get calls and sms, however unless you connect to wifi, you'll need data… for data uses. And that's the only catch. If you need data/calls only a few days out of a whole month, you'll be ahead of most Aldi/amaysim/xyz deals.
The $19 (including delivery) for $30 Optus seems to be valid until 30 September 2014.
I hope this helps someone reading this, I can't seem to find any better deals.
If I do need to make a call, or send a SMS, I can use my Pennytel account via wifi/laptop, and I have 5c SMS via a small account I set up on SMSGlobal (web portal). There's also Skype, but the cost for that these days is too high (not to mention using cell data will incur the $2 day fee), I've also got Hangouts for sending free SMS within the USA + free calls via wifi on my Nexus 7 Tablet.
@qldmike as an aside… Coles has the Optus sim for $14.95 starting wed 24th
Aww man, that sucks! I just ordered it. Do you know if I can buy another at coles, and then transfer the $ credit to my (soon to be) ported Optus number? I'd rather stock up, providing they don't expire for a little while.
Check out Lycamobile, its 3G data and uses telstra network, in $30 u get unlimited mobile and landline calls in Australia and 2GB data. They have other options too. check if anything suits you. Its all month to month plans. coverage much better than vooda
Vodafone coverage used to be terrible till about start of this year but i cant complain about it anymore its been nothing but amazing but just want to try out something new. I am leaning more towards a 4g connection rather than a 3g one because i do stream and download a lot of documents on the go. But thanks for that suggestion I will surely check them out :)
Vodafone has just updated their $50 recharge.
You now get infinite calls within Australia, infinite TXT and PXT
3GB 4G data + Bonus 500MB if recharging online
Temporary offer of Infinite calls to China, India, USA, UK, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and South Korea. (till 06/01/2015 unless extended)
28 day expiry
http://www.whistleout.com.au/MobilePhones/News/Vodafone-boos…
Not much around for prepaid deals at the moment
Yatango is one to look at. Apparently they charge by kb and are pretty cheap.
Boost also charge by kb even though they say mb
Or if you have a health care card, better life mobile is bargain (maybe read about this one on whirlpool first)
Otherwise:
You could try jeenee, they charge by kb and pretty cheap. (Month to month plan like vaya, not prepaid)
Or telechoice (but 12mnth contract)
Ive been looking for a while, think I will end up trying Vaya because the price is right and I don't really use that much data. Don't want to get caught with excess usage charges though.