Hi All,
I looking for some advice on mobile phone plans for travelling Europe for 3 months.
I'm currently on a Kogan pre-paid which runs out just before I leave. I wanted to go on a plan that would allow me to receive calls & texts on my Australian number. I'm still looking at buying a European e-sim for day to day needs.
Anyone got any cheap tips for me?
Thanks!
Thanks. Missed this thread.
No probs.
What I would do… switch to Amaysim AYG with $10 credit when your Kogan prepaid is about to expire. Be sure to register your credit/debit card so you can buy a roaming pack. Just before you fly out, buy the roaming pack (either the Works or the Epic depending on how much call/sms/data you need and want to spend). This way, you will have calls/sms/data when you touch down overseas.
You will probably still need data between switching and when you fly out (especially at the airport). Grab a cheapie month to month prepaid plan that suits your needs to cover this period and cancel the plan when you depart. Consider flip mobile:
https://www.flipconnect.com.au/mobile
When you come back, you're free to transfer your Amaysim service back to Kogan or other provider that meets your needs. But you will lose what is remaining on your roaming plan.
Some of the local sims work over multiple countries. You could try one of the apps that allow you to buy esims and a few have free welcome deals.
To receive Aus text messages, you just change your active SIM in the phone settings.
I would look at the Amaysim roaming offer you mentioned and for data, our Polish cuzzins at Orange still appear to have this EU offer; https://flex.orange.pl/oferta/plan-150
Felix is fantastic for this - https://felixmobile.com.au/plan/international-roaming/
Used it while overseas last year, sign up, add the roaming pack then pause your regular subscription while overseas so you're not paying a monthly fee here but keep your Australian number the whole time.
It's not a huge amount of minutes though, depending on how many calls you want to make.
Seconding Felix. Have used this option multiple times. Works well.
Another option I've used is to forward my mobile to a VoIP service with voicemail to email. If anyone calls, it'll go straight to voicemail and I'll get an email with an MP3 of the voicemail. I'm using Siptalk as my VoIP service.
I wanted to go on a plan that would allow me to receive calls & texts on my Australian number
Most providers do nowadays including Telstra, Telstra MNVOs, and Optus (not so sure about Optus MNVOs), and assuming they have Wi-Fi calling and your device supports it.
I'm still looking at buying a European e-sim for day to day needs.
If your phone has an eSIM, check over eSIMDB, just set your preferences & change the currency to AUD
In my opinion, any Boost prepaid plan, SIM and number stays active for 6 months after those x number of prepaid days. You can still receive calls and SMS. Works overseas too (Wifi-Calling)
Telstra / Boost both support VoWIFI when you are overseas. You can receive and call Australia numbers for free as long as you have WIFI coverage. You don't even need roaming pack for it to work.
Optus / Vodafone VoWIFI only works in Australia.
Optus / Vodafone VoWIFI only works in Australia.
Had a family member go overseas to NZ who is on Optus, Wi-Fi Calling worked there
According to Optus webpage: https://www.optus.com.au/for-you/support/answer?id=20033
Can I make WiFi calls when I'm overseas?
No, WiFi Calling is not available when roaming overseas.
Your device will automatically fall back to 3G calls when overseas and standard international roaming rates apply.
Very odd. They weren't roaming - they relied on a local sim and wifi.
Thanks for all the assistance! I'll need to go through all of these to see what works out best.
I think most mobile services can receive texts but calls will require roaming:
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/772805
Get on Amaysim As You Go plan, then buy a roaming pack which lasts 365 days.