Prepaid Mobile & Prepaid Internet Plans

May 2012
Prepaid Mobile & Sim Only BYO Mobile Special Offers

Special offers are becoming more and more popular. I usually cover special offers via our fortnightly newsletter however I thought you might prefer to see them on our home page. You can now keep track of them and tell others about them. There are a few special offers around at the moment, most of which are expiring at the end of May 2012.

Virgin Bonus $1200 Credit
If you purchase $2, $5 or $29 sim pack and recharge with a $29 Your Cap (or higher) before 31/5/12 you will receive $200 bonus credit each month for 6 months.

Virgin Bonus $50 on First Recharge
Join Virgin Mobile online and receive a bonus of $50 credit on your first recharge. Conditions are that you purchase a prepaid mobile phone online and is in addition to any other credit that the recharge voucher you select offers plus any other bonus credit offer available.

Optus New Turbo Cap Plus – Unlimited Weekend Calls
Connect with the Optus New Turbo Cap Plus before 23/6/12 and stay connected for the entire year with minimum credit and you will receive unlimited weekend calls to Australian standard numbers. This includes national voice calls to mobiles, landlines and 1300/1800.

Telstra Prepaid Cap Encore Free Calls
If you sign up with Telstra’s Prepaid Cap Encore you will receive unlimited calls from 6pm to 6am every night of the week to any network. This offer now runs until the 30/7/2012. You can sign up with a $30 recharge, which offers $250 in calls and 500MB of data. Lets hope Telstra keep extending it!

Lebara Mobile Mega Plan $9.90 Bonus Offer
Buy a $39.90 Mega Plan Starter pack online between 25/01/12 and 30/06/12 and receive a BONUS $9.90 Mega Recharge voucher. The Mega Recharge voucher can be used to top-up your included call credit for international calls and data, at Lebara’s standard low-cost rates.

OneMobile Bonus Sim Card
OneMobile is offering a bonus sim card when you purchase a $29 Caps Sim Card. Use this sim pack to access unlimited OneMobile calls, Unlimited Facebook and $200 of calls credit. Offer ends 31 May 2012.

LycaMobile Offers
Lyca Mobile is offering free calls within Australia to both fixed and mobile lines. A 25c flagfall applies to these calls. No fair use policy applies there. The offer is open until the end of May 2012.

LycaMobile is offering free calls between customers until to end of May 2012. Sign up to LycaMobile and make free and unlimited calls to other customers using the service. No flagfall applies. Offer ends 31/5/2012. Fair usage policy of 5000 minutes applies per customer during the promotional period.

Telstra Prepaid FlyBuys Offer
Telstra Pre-Paid customers who are flybuys members can enjoy: Until 22 July 2012, earn nine points for every $1 spent on your Telstra Pre-Paid Recharge at Coles Supermarkets, BI-LO, Target, Kmart and Coles Express. From 23 July 2012, customers will earn three points for every $1 spent. Buy a $30 Telstra Pre-Paid recharge voucher at a Coles Supermarket checkout and pick up a free Telstra $2 SIM Starter Kit. Customers will also earn 1,000 flybuys bonus points upon activating the SIM card by 22 July 2012.

February 2012
Optus Prepaid Mobile Plans Review

This certainly isn’t my first Optus prepaid mobile plan review, however I thought given several of their plans have changed over the past few months, it was worth giving an update on where the plans sit in comparison with the market.

Optus during 2011 was leading the way when it comes to prepaid mobile plan development. New plans, new concepts, offers, competitive pricing. It was all happening. The plans are still leading the way in some respects but there are certainly a few areas that Optus could improve. This review will cover the New Turbo Cap Plus plans. However I will also touch on some of the strengths and weaknesses of the other plans.

This is probably the 3rd of 4th iteration of the Turbo Cap Plus plans. The latest version has some great advantages in that Unlimited SMS/MMS and social media such as Facebook and Twitter is available across all recharge levels. The recharge amounts start at $10 and increase to $100. At $10 you get $60 Credit and 60MB, plus 7 days to use it. In the middle you have $30 with $300 in Credit, 500MB and 28 days to use it. If you go to $50 you get $1000 Credit, 3GB of data and unlimited Optus mobile calls. Step up a little more to $60 and you get unlimited calls to any mobile as well as the $1000 in credit and 5GB data. Note that the old version of this plan had this offer at $40 not $60.

Optus New Turbo Cap Plus is also offering unlimited weekend calls if you sign up before the end of March 2012. This free weekend offer will apply for all of 2012 as long as you have a positive balance.

I have personally used this plan and had moved from a 12 month plan which offered very similar value. At the $30 level it is pretty competitive. Telstra for the $30 with the Encore gives you $250 in calls and 400MB (was 500MB up until a few weeks ago). Boost for $40 gives you the Unlimited offer. Vodafone $30 Cap gives you $450 in calls, unlimited Txt and 500MB of data. Therefore Optus is still up there but not leading the way.

The Optus Dollar Days offers was very unique when launched and paved the way for unlimited. It has over 2011 become a $2 offer, with unlimited fixed, mobile and internet access. It is still competitive, however I figure given the questions I receive from many people says they fail to understand its value. It is easier to understand $40 per month for unlimited calls, than it is $2 for each day you use your phone.

The Long Expiry Plan is useful but it has a maximum of 186 days, it doesn’t quite compete with the likes of Savvytel and Red Bull Mobile, although the credit value offered is better than what Savvytel has.

Finally, we end with Connect 4 Less. This plan has very competitive rates. Domestic calls are 10c/min with a 23c/ flagfall, internationally you can see the rates above. I have already undertaken some comparisons on this page. They are pretty good, but bare in mind that they do change from time to time.

Overall, I think Optus has a good range, competitive value in the plans and good value when it comes to data. The one thing they need to consider is data increments of less than 1 MB, otherwise the unlimited social media offer is a very good one.

February 2012
Sim Only Mobile Plan Review – TPG Mobile Plans

TPG has been a star performer in the no contract mobile plan race for a while now. I can’t speak for their service levels but I can speak for the plans and the rates and the data that is on offer. They are certainly very competitive and very attractive at the same time.At the bottom end we have the $1 Pay As You Go plan which gives you very affordable calls at just 9.9c per min with calls actually billed per second, meaning that you will only pay for what you use (not the full minute). There are no credit with this plan you only pay for what you use and at $1 per month it could be a great alternative to a prepaid plan if you hardly use your phone. TPG then offers you their Super Value Mobile Plans. If you aren’t already using TPG for your internet or other services then the plans on offer begin with the Starter at $9.99 per month, which offers a total of $180 in calls to anyone plus $2000 of calls to other TPG mobiles, plus 250MB of data (excess comes in at 25c/MB in 10KB increments). In terms of data, these plans offer you unlimited Social Media access including Twitter and Facebook. Call rates for all of these plans is 90c/min with a 35c flagfall and Txt are 25.3c. Out of your $180 in credit you will get approx 72, 2 min calls.

The next plan up from the Starter in this range is the Medium at $17.99 per month offering $550 in calls to anyone, 1.5GB of data and unlimited calls to TPG. The Heavy plan gives you $1000 calls to anyone, 3GB of data, unlimited Txt to anyone and unlimited calls to TPG numbers. With that much credit you can make over 450, 2 min calls. The final plan in this range is TPG’s Infinity and Beyond, which is also their answer to Unlimited plans and for $45 per month offers $3000 worth of calls to anyone, $100 in international calls, unlimited SMS/MMS and the standard social media offer.

These are truly great value plans. The best way to compare these plans is with someone like LiveConnected and Amaysim’s Unlimited offer. LiveConnected’s Zen 40 gives you 4000 minutes to anyone, unlimited SMS/MMS, $90 for international and 5GB data. Note that Live Connected offers only online (email) support. The Amaysim Unlimited offer, gives you unlimited local calls and 4GB of data. International and 1300/1800 are extra.

The final set of plans from TPG are the Cap Saver Plans. These plans have been around for some time already. This range includes the Starter and Basic which offer $50 and $150 in call credit respectively as well as free TPG to TPG calls (8pm to midnight). Basic offers 1GB of data and costs $12.99/month, the Starter is just $9.99/month. Call rates are 40c/30sec and a 35c flagfall. A 2 minute call costs $1.95.

The 49 Cap Saver ($19.99 p/month) offers $300 in call value plus 1000 minutes of calls to TPG mobiles between 8pm and midnight and 1GB of data. From your $300 you can make 150, 2 min calls. The 79 Cap Saver ($39.99 p/month) offers $550 in calls credits as well as the 1000 minutes to TPG mobiles and 2GB of data.

The Premium ($49.99) offers $1000 for calls, 1000 minutes for TPG calls and 500MB. The Executive provides 2GB, $2000 in calls to anyone and 2000 minutes to TPG. These plans have been around for a while and when they where launched no data (outside of Pay As You Go data) was available. They have rectified this somewhat now. The Super Value Mobile plans offer a lot more value however.

At the bottom end, for $9.99, the Super Value Starter gives you $180 in calls, $2000 to TPG and 250MB. The Cap Saver Starter gives you just $50 in credit, although call costs are cheaper at $1.95 compared to $2.15 for a 2 min call. At the top end, Infinity ($45/month) gives you $3000 in calls, unlimited SMS/MMS, $100 international calls and 5GB data. The Executive on the other hand offers $2000 in calls, 2000 minutes of free talk (8pm to midnight) and only 2GB of data. This plan costs $79.99/month. There is good reason why they call them Super Value plans.

October 2011
Prepaid Broadband Review – Amaysim Prepaid Mobile Broadband

Amaysim launched their prepaid mobile offer Pay As You Go almost a year ago now. From what I can tell in terms of traffic to their page on our Prepaid Plans website it has gone gangbusters. Along with the Pay As You Go plan, they also introduced competitive data-packs at 1GB for $9.90. Add to this Amaysim Unlimited for $39.90/mth and you can see why they are now considered a leading Australian mobile plan provider.

Last month, Amaysim took the next step with their data offers to launch a prepaid mobile broadband data sim pack. No hardware just the sim card and the data. For $9.90 you are provided with 1GB of data, which lasts for 30 days. For $19.90 the data increases to 2.5GB (30 days). At $29.90 the offer is 4GB for 30 days. Finally you have the 365 days offer for just $99.90.

Amaysim also offer a Pay As You Go plan for 5c/MB, pay only what you use. These plans are on the Optus Network and also provide unlimited social media access eg Facebook, Twitter and Ebay. You do need an unlocked USB dongle to use with your sim pack. It can be from any provider as long as it can operate on either the 900MHz or 2100MHz 3G frequency. Learn more…

June 2011
Sim Only Mobile Review – Amaysim Unlimited

It all started about a month ago when Boost Mobile launched their Recharge $40 offer across many of their prepaid mobile plans. Boost Recharge $40 currently offers unlimited calls and text to anyone, unlimited social networking about 3GB of data. I covered it within the PrepaidPlans newsletter as ‘Could this be the best prepaid mobile plan ever?” At the time it must have been coming close.

This was followed by Vodafone launching their All-time prepaid mobile plans. Giving you unlimited calls, unlimited social networking + 1GB data when you recharge $55.

This week, Amaysim held a Press Conference to announce they had launched a sim only no contract month to month arrangement called Amaysim Unlimited. This the latest offering from Amaysim gives you unlimited calls to anyone in Australia, unlimited SMS, unlimited MMS plus unlimited social networking and a bonus 4GB of data for just $39.90 per month.

This is a month to month arrangement which means there is no contract so you can leave whenever you like however until you do so, you have a recurring $39.90 charge to your credit card which gives you access to all of these great services.

Whilst it might not be fair to compare it to prepaid mobile plans, at the sim only level it is by far the best offer available at the moment, particularly when you compare it to plans such as Virgin’s topless which offers unlimited calls and text to anyone in Australia and 4GB of data for $89 if purchased online. The difference between $89 and $39 is significant.

There are a couple of things to note however. 1300, 1800 numbers are not included and are charged extra at 29c/min and data is charged per MB increments, so touch the net with an App or directly and 1MB is used. Already the traffic to this plan on our site has been extraordinary. If you would like to know more then visit Amaysim Unlimited now.

October 2011
Prepaid Mobile Review – Best Prepaid Data (Internet) Offers

Prepaid Plans offers a free Chat service which operates in the evenings. One of the most popular questions we receive is what is the best prepaid mobile plan if i want to use the internet on my phone.Probably the best way to answer this question is to consider a couple of key points which differentiates each of the offers out there. The first is the cost of the plan (recharge) and how long it lasts, the second the network that the plan is using (ie Telstra, Optus or 3 Mobile/Vodafone) and the third is the data increments used to count your data allocation.

In terms of Network and increments you can’t go past Telstra Prepaid Cap Plus+. Telstra’s Next G network is the best in the country, no doubts and with increments of 100kb they certainly receive a couple of ticks. The data offers are also pretty good with a $30 recharge offering 500MB and $40 1GB. So two stars out of three for Telstra Prepaid Cap Plus+.

Another great plan is the Woolworths $29 Prepaid Cap. This prepaid mobile plan gives you 5GB for 30 days and lives on the Optus Network. The only downside is that increments are in 1MB lots. So again two stars.

This week we are happy to also add Red Bull Mobile to this list. An upfront $365 will give you 5GB per month, with increments at 250kb. Network is Vodafone. Two stars here as well.So no one gets 3 stars but there is plenty in the 2 star category. Many of the plans also offer unlimited social media access eg FaceBook and Twitter. If this is all you use on your phone, then also consider these plans as you will find that having lots of GB probably isn’t what you really need.

You can easily compare the best in prepaid mobile data plans here.

October 2011
Prepaid Mobile Review – Red Bull Mobile

Red Bull Mobile is bringing a new way of pricing prepaid mobile to Australia. Recharge for a set amount and you receive unlimited calls, text, MMS and a set red bull mobile amount of data that will last you for a given period. This is more inline with what is available in Europe. So how does it work. Recharge for $10 and you receive unlimited calls, text, MMS and 750MB of data for 7 days. Recharge for $20 and it all lasts for 15 days plus your data allowance for the 15 days is 1.5GB. Recharge for $39 and receive it all again but this time it lasts for 30 days and the data allowance is 4GB. Recharge for $75 and it all lasts for 60 days plus the data allowance is 8GB (beat that, no one does that!). Finally if you recharge for $365 it all lasts for 365 days and the data allowance is 5GB per month or 60GB for the 365 day period.

How about that for value. Ideal if you have already been with Vodafone and know that it (network) works great for you. If you are out of their reach then, maybe not so great. No details are provided in terms of international calls. Access is for Australian numbers only.

The Red Bull Mobile data allowance is phenomenal, it might not say unlimited but 4GB in a 30 day period is huge. Bare in mind however that each time you access data it counts for a minimum of 250kb, so access it 4 times and 1MB is used. No peer to peer sharing is available. Most prepaid mobile offers charge you in 1MB increments (this is a quarter of that).

How does it compare to other plans? Unlimited is the latest flavour at the moment so it compares really well. Plans are now live so you can order your sim pack from Red Bull Mobile.

November 2011
Prepaid Mobile Review – Woolworths Prepaid Cap $29 & $49

Two weeks ago, Woolworths resuscitated their mobile phone program with the launch of the Woolworths Prepaid Mobile Caps. New brand, new plans and a real push through several of the key Woolworths retail chains as well as a significant investment in marketing.

Key question is just how do these new plans stack up?

Whilst the call rates are not anything to get particularly excited about, the call credits on offer as well as the data allowance certainly make up for it.

For just $29, you receive $500 of phone credit, $250 of which is to other Woolworth’s customers and 5GB of data. With call rates at 89c per minute and a 30c flag fall, a two-minute call will cost you $2.08 and provides you with 120 calls to anyone plus a further 120 to Woolworth’s customers. Compared to other $29 recharges, the Woolworths $29 Cap is actually slightly more competitive than Virgin’s Big $29 Cap and equal to the Optus New Turbo Cap Plus.

5GB of data is substantial and whilst it might not offer free use of social media services such as Twitter and Facebook, it is probably much more than most people will require in a 45-day period. Note your first recharge on the $29 is now half price.

The second plan is the $49 Cap, which offers double the call credits ie $1000, $500 between Woolworth’s customers and $500 to anyone. At the $40 recharge level, the competition is much fiercer. Firstly you have Boost Mobile offering unlimited calls and text, plus 3GB of data and unlimited social networking. As well as the Optus New Turbo Cap Plus which with a $50 recharge has unlimited calls and text plus 3GB of data and unlimited social networking.

You also have Vodafone’s Infinite prepaid mobile plan, which offers unlimited calls, text, social networking and 1GB of data on a $50 recharge.

Not to mention, the sim only no contract plans that also come into consideration at the $40 recharge level.

I believe that the Woolworths Prepaid Caps are a great option at the $29 Cap level, particularly given the data that is offered. When we take a step up to $49, the internet data allowance remains are real plus but the call credits aren’t as appealing as the unlimited plans, particularly Boost’s $40 recharge.

Woolworths really seem to be behind this brand. Dick Smith stores are promoting it inn their entry areas and windows, so are the supermarkets (funnily enough Coles Mobile don’t). It is also supported by TV advertisements.

Well done Woolworths for giving Australia consumers another competitive prepaid mobile offer when it comes time to review their prepaid or contract mobile provider.