Pay just $2.31 a week for an unlimited talk and text phone plan with this trick
- Replies 3
If you’re looking for savvy tips as we head into the new year, then you may want to consider moving over to a 365-day long expiry plan.
Also called a long expiry plan, these are prepaid plans with a recharge that expires after one year. Most plans come with unlimited calls and texts, with data really being the component that determines the cost of your plan.
You can think about a long expiry plan as bulk-buying your data to save, just like you might with some groceries.
Work out how much data you actually need
Before we go further, there’s every chance you’re paying for a large amount of data you don’t need if you’re on a monthly mobile plan.
According to the latest ACCC estimates, the average prepaid mobile plan customer uses just 7.5GB per month and the average postpaid customer uses 15.9GB per month. However, the median amount of data telcos offer for both types of plans is much higher.
For example, the big three telcos’ cheapest postpaid plans all start at 50GB — well above the average. Now think about the last time your telco put up your monthly plan prices — they likely gave you a few extra gigabytes of data to soften the blow. But do you actually use it?
Let’s take a look at how the prices compare to paying month to month.
365-day long expiry plan vs monthly prepaid plans
Here are the cheapest monthly prepaid plans in WhistleOut’s database with at least 20GB of data:
The cheapest plan we like here is from iinet - the 25GB Small Plan*. There are a couple that are technically cheaper, but they have 28 day expiries rather than a full month. The iinet plan is priced at just $12.50 / month for the first 6 months, and for that you get unlimited national calls and SMS’s, plus 25GB of data per month, giving you a significant buffer over the ACCC average. You also get 100 minutes of calls included to 31 different countries, so it’s a great option if you have family or friends overseas.
For our comparison, we’ll look at the cheapest 365-day long expiry plans in WhistleOut’s database with at least 100GB of data (we’ve taken our 7.5GB figure, multiplied it by 12 to get 90GB and rounded it up):
The cheapest plan here is from Kogan*. It comes with 140GB of data (or around 12GB per month) for $119 annually. That works out to a little under $2.31 per week, or around $9.92 per month - and that’s with unlimited national calls and SMS’s.
365-day long expiry plan vs monthly postpaid plans
Next, here are the cheapest monthly postpaid plans in WhistleOut’s database with at least 16GB of data:
The cheapest plan here is from Spintel, it comes with 25GB. It’s discounted for the first six months to $14 with the price returning to $22 per month afterwards.
Making the Switch: Keep Your Number, Lose the Bills
Worried about losing your phone number? Don't be – switching to a long expiry plan is easier than you might think. Here's how to do it:
So if you’re looking to save money on your mobile bill this year, be sure to consider whether you’re paying for extra data or other bells and whistles you don’t even use.
Check out our two picks here:
Also called a long expiry plan, these are prepaid plans with a recharge that expires after one year. Most plans come with unlimited calls and texts, with data really being the component that determines the cost of your plan.
Are you paying for data and other bells and whistles that you don't even need? Photo by Tofros.com: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-using-android-smartphone-359757/
You can think about a long expiry plan as bulk-buying your data to save, just like you might with some groceries.
Work out how much data you actually need
Before we go further, there’s every chance you’re paying for a large amount of data you don’t need if you’re on a monthly mobile plan.
According to the latest ACCC estimates, the average prepaid mobile plan customer uses just 7.5GB per month and the average postpaid customer uses 15.9GB per month. However, the median amount of data telcos offer for both types of plans is much higher.
For example, the big three telcos’ cheapest postpaid plans all start at 50GB — well above the average. Now think about the last time your telco put up your monthly plan prices — they likely gave you a few extra gigabytes of data to soften the blow. But do you actually use it?
Let’s take a look at how the prices compare to paying month to month.
365-day long expiry plan vs monthly prepaid plans
Here are the cheapest monthly prepaid plans in WhistleOut’s database with at least 20GB of data:
The cheapest plan we like here is from iinet - the 25GB Small Plan*. There are a couple that are technically cheaper, but they have 28 day expiries rather than a full month. The iinet plan is priced at just $12.50 / month for the first 6 months, and for that you get unlimited national calls and SMS’s, plus 25GB of data per month, giving you a significant buffer over the ACCC average. You also get 100 minutes of calls included to 31 different countries, so it’s a great option if you have family or friends overseas.
For our comparison, we’ll look at the cheapest 365-day long expiry plans in WhistleOut’s database with at least 100GB of data (we’ve taken our 7.5GB figure, multiplied it by 12 to get 90GB and rounded it up):
The cheapest plan here is from Kogan*. It comes with 140GB of data (or around 12GB per month) for $119 annually. That works out to a little under $2.31 per week, or around $9.92 per month - and that’s with unlimited national calls and SMS’s.
365-day long expiry plan vs monthly postpaid plans
Next, here are the cheapest monthly postpaid plans in WhistleOut’s database with at least 16GB of data:
The cheapest plan here is from Spintel, it comes with 25GB. It’s discounted for the first six months to $14 with the price returning to $22 per month afterwards.
Making the Switch: Keep Your Number, Lose the Bills
Worried about losing your phone number? Don't be – switching to a long expiry plan is easier than you might think. Here's how to do it:
- Before making any changes, call your current provider to check if you're still under contract. If you are, ask about any exit fees.
- When you're ready to switch, purchase your chosen long expiry plan online or in-store. During sign-up, you'll be asked if you want to keep your existing number – just select 'yes' when prompted.
- You'll need your account number from your current provider and a "port authorisation code" (sometimes called a PAC). If you're not sure where to find these, just call your current provider and ask for them.
- Once you have your new SIM card, follow the activation instructions that come with it. The number transfer (or 'porting') usually happens within a few hours, though it can take up to 24 hours.
So if you’re looking to save money on your mobile bill this year, be sure to consider whether you’re paying for extra data or other bells and whistles you don’t even use.
Check out our two picks here:
- The Kogan 365 Day Flex Plan* ($119 / year, which works out to under 33 cents per day)
- The iinet 25GB Small Plan* ($12.50 for the first 6 months, then $25 / month)
.png){kind=icon}
