Telstra Freedom Plus Offer Is Finished, Pre-Paid Plus Introduced

jwh on 23/08/2016 - 09:48
Last edited 27/08/2016 - 06:29

Hey Guys

Wanted to start a discussion on the new Telstra offer which appears to have started today.

https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/prepaid-mobiles/pre…

International inclusions appear to have had a big drop, for example the $30 recharge has dropped from a $200 inclusion to just $5. However the $40 and $50 recharges now seem to have a permanent inclusion of unlimited international calls to the following;

Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, UK and USA.

International rates:

https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/prepaid-mobiles/off…

Great if you plan on making a lot of international calls to those destinations, but I guess the big change for a lot of people here is this point;

"Google Play purchases not allowed with any credit component of this offer"

Keep that in mind for any new SIMs activated.

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Comments

  • Food on 23/08/2016 - 09:57
    +20

    Page 404'ed

    "Google Play purchases not allowed with any credit component of this offer"

    Devastating! What a rort

  • [Deactivated] on 23/08/2016 - 09:58
    +2

    Google play credit is gone from prepaid? That's my interpretation.

    One of my accounts has over $150 credit I stored for Google play, I wonder if I need to spend before the month expires? Or before any recharge?

    • CyberMurning on 23/08/2016 - 10:22
      +3

      not from ALL prepaid just this specific plan.

      • khing on 23/08/2016 - 12:03

        I had a look at all prepaid plans, at the bottom every plan states: "Google Play purchases not allowed with any credit component of this offer."

        • tomclancy on 23/08/2016 - 12:19
          +4

          My reading is that paragraph sits underneath "PRE-PAID PLUS OFFER". Also under the first paragraph is the sentence:

          Plus Credit excludes calls/text to Australian numbers, MessageBank® retrieval, pay-as-you-go data and Google Play purchases.

          But under the other offers "BEYOND TALK OFFER", "SIMPLICITY OFFER" & "LONG LIFE OFFER" there is no exclusion of Google Play purchases.

          I'm definitely keeping a keen watch on this. Hope Freedom Plus offer is grandfathered with Google Play purchases included otherwise a heap of my family will be changing telcos :(

        • khing on 23/08/2016 - 12:34

          @PBG: You are right. It seems they did a quick fix for the page. Good to know that.

        • lostn on 26/08/2016 - 18:05

          Did you check if mobile data plans exclude Google Play credit?

      • OptimisticPessimist on 23/08/2016 - 14:32
        +3

        Lets hope so, because I'm using the Long life/Simplicity tactic, and have a lot of credits that need spending.

        • CyberMurning on 23/08/2016 - 22:10
          +1

          yeah. lets hope there are $5 or $10 for the $30 starter pack again!

    • yasui on 23/08/2016 - 23:25

      I have $365 in my account. Need to use on Google play quickly.

      • alabatusa on 26/08/2016 - 16:08

        what does the google play credit mean, can you use it in apps?

        id be willing to pay for in-app credit if i could get it cheap.

      • akula on 26/08/2016 - 17:30

        Rebatr app or Use it to buy GOT or other TV series/Movies.

    • netsurfer on 24/08/2016 - 08:40
      -1

      It is saying Plus Credit exclude Google Play purchases. The $30 credit is still okay would be my interpretation.

      Basically, it is saying the bonus credit ($5 for the $30 plan) cannot be used for Google Play. It does not say the $30 credit cannot be used. It is fair enough, since you paid $30 (obviously OZBers would try to pay much less), you cannot expect Telstra to let you purchase $35 worth of Google Play apps/games/musics/videos etc…

      • Blackrose on 24/08/2016 - 09:20
        +2

        Looks like there in no $30 recharge credit on this new plan, you get $5 plus credit instead of $30 recharge credit

        • vetopower on 24/08/2016 - 13:16
          +1

          Exactly. No more $30 credit on this plan.

      • netsurfer on 25/08/2016 - 13:50
        +2

        Telstra changed that page a few times. It added Google Play purchases not allowed with any credit component of this offer after I posted my initial comment.

        • Sick of This on 26/08/2016 - 11:02

          And at one point I remember seeing the page have the plan labelled as "Pre-Paid Prepaid Plus"

  • tassieeagle on 23/08/2016 - 09:59
    +6

    Holy crap I hope the old plans are grandfathered

    • ProjectZero on 23/08/2016 - 11:07

      Is that even possible with prepaid plans?

      • fruit on 23/08/2016 - 11:20
        +5

        Yes

        • BestofOZB on 24/08/2016 - 16:13
          -4

          "Hi, just letting you know that your Freedom Plus will expire in 4 days."

          Just got this txt…I guess they won't!

        • fruit on 24/08/2016 - 16:38
          +12

          @BestofOZB: I get that every month

    • uggugg on 23/08/2016 - 12:22
      +3

      Freedom Plus has been grandfathered, but the Night Data has now been stopped on Freedom Plus and only available on the new Prepaid Plus plans.

      • Sick of This on 26/08/2016 - 11:06
        +1

        The night data was useless to me anyway (at home on wifi) so I actually prefer the honesty of not being told I have 3GB when I really only have 1.5GB.

        In any case, I just want to make sure I keep my damn google play carrier billing!

    • kipps on 23/08/2016 - 20:12
      +3

      Telstra prepaid plans are routinely grandfathered. You only get the new offer if you change to it.

  • Marrk on 23/08/2016 - 11:06
    +11

    I am using my Telstra credit for Office 365, Dropbox Pro, Netflix and Google Play Music. Will be devastated if Telstra removes Google Play purchases from old plans. Will likely change to a carrier that offers more data, if this happens.

    • klaw81 on 23/08/2016 - 16:17
      +9

      You and everyone else. It's the only reason I've stuck with Telstra. I'm gone the moment they disable carrier billing on my prepaid plan.

      I assume that carrier billing is costing them too much, and they're ditching it for all new plans and preventing others from getting on the good deal.

      • MrMcHairyHead on 25/08/2016 - 20:58

        I assume that carrier billing is costing them too much,

        Considering I was getting 22$ cashback on a 40$ spend every month… yeah, I'd say so.

        • uccoffee on 26/08/2016 - 14:38

          why do you get $22 cash back?

        • tomclancy on 26/08/2016 - 16:17
          +1

          @uccoffee: Because he was too lazy to get the full $28 cashback ;)

        • uccoffee on 26/08/2016 - 17:29

          @PBG: how to get $28 cash back?

        • MrMcHairyHead on 26/08/2016 - 21:30

          @uccoffee: With Rebatr. I'm not sure if it still exists.

    • sfjadmin on 23/08/2016 - 23:03

      quick one on the office 365 subscription, are you on the monthly plan? Does anyone know if I had enough credit for the yearly amount that I could pay for the annual subscription rather than month to month

      • Marrk on 24/08/2016 - 01:00

        I am on the monthly plan, these kind of services don't usually allow annual payments via Google Play, so I would be surprised if that option was available.

    • murkywater on 24/08/2016 - 16:35

      Can also use it on Google Drive now. What a bummer, I loved the free credit.

  • fruit on 23/08/2016 - 11:22
    +6

    https://www.aldimobile.com.au/plans

  • Rick Sanchez on 23/08/2016 - 11:26
    +9

    but.. without being able to buy my own app and getting 70% back, everything else is SO much more expensive :(

  • hashtagbargain on 23/08/2016 - 11:27
    +10

    If they remove google play credit, there no reason for me to stay with Telstra. Will move on to one of their MNVOs or even optus/voda.

    Coupled with the recent allegations from cloudflare on Telstra's high costs, I'm really not inclined to support this company!

    • uggugg on 23/08/2016 - 12:23
      +2

      It's only on this new Prepaid Plus plan that it's not available. It's still available through Longlife, Simplicity and Beyond Talk and the now grandfathered Freedom Plus plans.

  • khing on 23/08/2016 - 11:45
    +5

    What?? I have bought many $30 starter packs just for using the credit in Google Play…

    • nickj on 24/08/2016 - 11:30
      +4

      So activate as long life, and you get six months to spend the credit.

  • spychiatrist on 23/08/2016 - 12:02
    +13

    From 23 August, Telstra is launching a new Pre-Paid offer, Telstra Pre-Paid Plus™. With this new offer, you’ll enjoy big data (including bonus data to use at night until 24th October 2016), unlimited texts to standard Australian numbers and unlimited calls to standard Telstra Mobiles.

    $40+ recharges will get you unlimited calls to standard Australian numbers and unlimited calls from Australia to standard international numbers in 10 selected destinations.

    We’re also giving you unlimited access to Telstra Air® Wi-Fi data at Telstra Air hotspots around Australia until 27 March 2017.

    For full details of the Telstra Pre-Paid Plus offer see telstra.com/prepaidplus

    FAQ’s
    How is Pre-Paid Plus different to Freedom Plus?
    The main differences are:
    Pre-Paid Plus includes unlimited standard calls to 10 selected destinations on $40+ recharges (rather than the International Call and Text credit included on Freedom Plus).
    Pre-Paid Plus $30+ recharges do not come with recharge credit but include “Plus Credit” ($5, $10 and $15 with $30, $40 and $50 recharges respectively). Plus Credit can be used on international calls and text, roaming and Premium SMS. Plus Credit excludes calls, text and MMS to Australian numbers, diversions, MessageBank® retrieval, internet browsing within Australia and Google Play Content purchases.
    If you activate on, or switch to, Telstra Pre-Paid Plus, you won’t be able to use credit to buy content from Google Play. If you stay on Telstra Pre-Paid Freedom Plus, you’ll still be able to use Recharge Credit to buy content from the Google Play.
    How do I call and text friends and family overseas with Telstra Pre-Paid Plus™?
    On $40 and $50 recharges, you’ll have access to unlimited calls from Australia to standard international numbers in Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, UK and USA. Your Plus Credit can be used to send international texts, charged at 20c per SMS, and it can also be used on calls to destinations not included in the ten above.

    If you recharge $30, you’ll only be able to use your Plus Credit to send international text messages and make international calls at the standard rates. See here for the applicable rates.

    How does roll over work?
    If you recharge before the credit expiry date, any unused data from your current recharge (including your Bonus Night Data) will be rolled over to the new expiry date.

    Unused data rolls over to the next recharge only (i.e. a further 28 days). Any data that has already rolled over from a previous recharge will not roll over again.

    How do I get the Bonus Night Data Offer?
    We’re offering Pre-Paid Plus customers Bonus Night Data to use between 8pm-8am (AEST) at no extra cost. Your Bonus Night Data even rolls over to use within your next recharge, just like your regular data inclusions. You don’t need to do anything – the Bonus Night Data allowance is automatically added to all Pre-Paid Plus $30, $40 and $50 recharges. The amount of Bonus Night Data you receive is the same as your existing standard data inclusion (e.g. if you purchase a $30 recharge which comes with 1.5GB, you’ll receive an additional 1.5GB of Bonus Night Data).

    All new and existing customers who recharge or activate on Telstra Pre-Paid Plus from 23 August 2016 until 23:59:59 24 October 2016 are eligible for Night Data.

    Can plus packs be applied?
    You can purchase and use International Roaming Browse Plus Packs.

    We also have a new Data Plus Pack, which is only available on Telstra Pre-Paid Plus™:
    $10 Data Plus Pack: 1GB of data, 7 day expiry
    $20 Data Plus Pack: 2.5GB of data, 7 day expiry
    You cannot purchase or use Browse Plus Packs, Pics Plus Packs, Text Plus Packs or Talk Plus Packs while connected to the Telstra Pre-Paid Plus™ offer.

    See here for more information on how to purchase a Plus Pack

    Can I stay on my current offer if I prefer?
    Yes, you can remain on your current offer. If you switch to Telstra Pre-Paid Plus™, you will not be able to switch back to your old offer if it is no longer available for new customers, such as Telstra Pre-Paid Freedom Plus®. You can switch to one of our other current offers including Telstra Pre-Paid Beyond Talk®, Telstra Pre-Paid Simplicity® and Telstra Pre-Paid Long Life.

    Can I purchase Google Play content using my credit?
    If you activate on, or switch to, Telstra Pre-Paid Plus, you’ll no longer be able to purchase content from Google Play using included credit. Customers who stay on Telstra Pre-Paid Freedom Plus will still be able to purchase content from the Google Play store using Recharge Credit.

    Why can’t I purchase Google Play content using my credit?
    We’ve updated our Pre-Paid offers to meet the needs of our customers. This includes more value like international calls to ten popular destinations and bonus data to use at night until 24 October 2016.

    • macmine on 23/08/2016 - 12:13
      +1

      Pre-Paid Plus $30+ recharges do not come with recharge credit but include “Plus Credit” ($5, $10 and $15 with $30, $40 and $50 recharges respectively)

      Does it mean once activating on the PrePaid Plus, there no longer be a $30 credit sitting on the account, like in Freedom Plus, Cap Encore etc?

      That's a BIG change, if so….

      Can anyone confirm?

      • uggugg on 23/08/2016 - 12:32
        +4

        Does it mean once activating on the PrePaid Plus, there no longer be a $30 credit sitting on the account, like in Freedom Plus, Cap Encore etc?

        Yes. So make sure you don't activate on PrePaid Plus.

        • macmine on 23/08/2016 - 12:46
          +2

          Now THAT is a BIG negative!

    • Polde on 24/08/2016 - 12:04

      Any chance you can post a link of where you found this?, the website seems to have changed with no FAQ available.

  • macmine on 23/08/2016 - 12:02
    +1

    It's interesting to not how other MNVOs are moving towards giving customers more value for their money, while every time Telstra revises their plans, they become more expensive or less value for the majority of customers. It's almost like they are trying to get people not to join or use their service.

    The new $30 plan is directly LESS value than the previous Freedom Plus.

    With other MNVOs using Telstra like Woolworths, Aldi, Boost, customers will have more options, away from Telstra's unfortunate moves….

    • kipps on 23/08/2016 - 20:16
      +10

      Freedom Plus with the rolled over credit which could be used for Google Credit for the full value of the recharge was a massive rort and was always going to be closed eventually.

      • robertbruce on 23/08/2016 - 22:02
        -1

        add Air and it is a veritable give-away short of the monthly down-down to 28 day chang…..

        • Sick of This on 26/08/2016 - 11:13
          +1

          I've never found Telstra Air useful. A couple of times I've walked into a mall and tried to connect for some free spotify streaming while I shop, but it took a while to think and then failed to connect. I didn't bother trying much after that.

        • robertbruce on 26/08/2016 - 14:56

          @3 Hyenas: A friend of mine lives across the road from a telephone box - he loves Telstra Air, except when the neihbour parks his truck in the driveway…
          I halped him config it… as per the T&Cs it was a bit fiddly… Freedom Plus or HomeBroadband with 2 wifi bands is required…

          @rick - i always thought it was an inclusion, not a loophole

      • Rick Sanchez on 26/08/2016 - 10:23

        Yeah, someone's definitely losing money on that. Let's not pretend that those of us that were getting cashback / buying our own apps weren't abusing what was essentially a loophole

  • tomclancy on 23/08/2016 - 12:29
    +2

    FYI - I just went through the activation process of a $30 starter pack. Can confirm that Freedom Plus is no longer available to select. Bummer, was crossing fingers hoping I could maybe sneak onto the Freedom Plus plan

    • khing on 23/08/2016 - 12:37

      Should have done it yesterday!

      • tomclancy on 23/08/2016 - 12:47

        Haha, actually my Vodafone SIM got the double-inclusions bonus (unfortunately!) so I wasn't planning to get onboard the Freedom Plus train again for a few more weeks

    • macmine on 23/08/2016 - 12:45

      Do you have $30 credit sitting in your new Prepaid plus plan?

      • tomclancy on 23/08/2016 - 12:50

        I only went through the activation process but cancelled at the last minute, hoping that they hadn't updated their back-end and maybe I could squeeze onto the Freedom Plus plan before it was pulled. Then I tried Live Chat to see if they could activate me on the old Freedom Plus plan - no luck on either.

        But to answer your question, I think it's pretty obvious the $30 credit is non-existent on the Pre-Paid Plus plan.

        • macmine on 23/08/2016 - 12:52
          +2

          That's going to be many upset people who have many of those $30 starter packs!

        • tomclancy on 23/08/2016 - 12:58

          @macmine: Absolutely. Myself included :(

          I recently switched a fair number of my family to the Freedom Plus pre-paid plan and setup monthly auto-recharge so thank goodness it's grandfathered for them. For me I used to jump each month between starter packs and Telstra picked a month when I'm on Vodafone so I can't get back on the Freedom Plus offer. Oh well, can't win them all.

        • [Deactivated] on 23/08/2016 - 13:05

          @PBG:

          Similar for me. I manage 3 accounts, 2 still on the Google play plan.

          My other porting account hit heaps of problems with multiple store visits to resolve… I'm happy with 2/3.

        • TrafalgarSean on 25/08/2016 - 03:01

          How do I set up auto recharge so I don't lose this offer?

        • pennae on 27/08/2016 - 21:17

          couldnt you set it up on one of the plans where you get the full $30 credit and then transfer the credit me2u to an existing freedom plus sim? You'd lose a bit in the transfer but better than nothing.

  • Axelstrife on 23/08/2016 - 14:41
    +1

    so if im already on freedom plus i just continue to recharge every month and ill still be able to get in my case $30 for google play?

    thats the only reason i am with them cause of google play.

    • klaw81 on 23/08/2016 - 16:12
      +2

      It's the only reason for me too. It's the only reason I'm still with Telstra. The moment they switch it off, they lose me as a customer.

  • jlogic on 23/08/2016 - 20:48
    +11

    When people abuse a good thing it gets pulled. If Telstra had limited it to a monthly cap if possible on Google Play it would still be around.

    People were abusing it left right and centre. Especially with that Rebatr app. Ingenious but in the end greed got hold of them and ruined it for everyone.

    • BargainKen on 24/08/2016 - 02:09

      Thought there was a 500/month cap?

    • hashtagbargain on 24/08/2016 - 16:56

      Why would you call it abuse? It's just one way to spend the credit that I get for what I paid to Telstra. I fail to see how this is construed as abuse… If anything, it is self-criticizing customers with this mentality that enable greedy companies like Telstra to thrive even in a competitive environment without bringing value to the table.

      • jlogic on 24/08/2016 - 20:20
        +3

        I understand that. What I am referring to is the people who think of ways around the system. It's more the spirit of the rules that is getting abused.

        For example buying discounted Starter Packs and then activating and then transferring credit to another SIM to get that money out as cash via Rebatr. Or another one is buying multiple starter packs to activate and then porting out then porting back in on another starter pack.

        For me it was a nice to have feature that I used to help every so often.

        But alas a good thing always gets abused and then taken away.

      • Rick Sanchez on 26/08/2016 - 10:26
        +3

        BS mate, someone's definitely losing money on that and it's not us. Let's not pretend that those of us that were getting cashback / buying our own apps weren't abusing what was essentially a loophole.

        I was getting 3GB a month and never went over my call limit, for effectively $7 a month ($30 cap - 70%). And most of those $7 were likely going to google.

    • khing on 24/08/2016 - 18:10
      +6

      They should ban apps like Rebatr instead of grandfathering F+

      • MrMcHairyHead on 25/08/2016 - 21:00
        +4

        It would make no difference to Telstra. They have to pay the same amount to Google regardless.

  • CVonC on 24/08/2016 - 02:53
    +2

    if I have a Freedom Plus currently activated before the 22nd, can I then activate another sim and transfer credit from that to the existing Freedom Plus and use it for google play?

    • akula on 25/08/2016 - 09:48

      That's a good question.

      • CVonC on 25/08/2016 - 14:48

        Which nobody seems to know :(

    • illumination on 25/08/2016 - 17:38

      Hmm just thinking why you would want to do that though?

      • CVonC on 25/08/2016 - 17:39

        To use for Google credit and stay on the F+ plan instead of having to recharge a full $30?

        • illumination on 25/08/2016 - 17:41

          I thought of that but then you're taking a $1 loss as opposed to just using the Google credit on the new prepaid SIM that you could just activate and use?

          Or is it so that you have it all on one SIM i.e. no need to constantly change SIM cards etc.

        • CVonC on 25/08/2016 - 17:43

          @illumination:

          Well the new plans aren't good compared to F+

          But then again if you transfer $29 over you won't get the 1.5gb data anyway right?

        • illumination on 25/08/2016 - 17:45
          +1

          @CVonC: Yea but if you transfer the credit over to F+ then all you're transferring over is recharge credit, and if you just don't want the hassle of having to constantly change SIMS whenever you wanna buy something I understand that.

          What 1.5GB are you referring to? The data of F+?

          I'm just thinking if all you want to do is use up the recharge credit, just activate it on either Simplicity, Long Life or Data Pass and use the recharge credit. It doesn't matter which one you activate on, as long as it includes recharge credit.

        • CVonC on 25/08/2016 - 17:48

          @illumination:

          What 1.5GB are you referring to? The data of F+?

          Yep. Want best of both worlds but I guess that's no longer possible.

        • illumination on 25/08/2016 - 17:51

          @CVonC: Is that how it worked before?

          I actually have never done Cm2u with the intention of "reinitiating" (or recharging) another service, but I always found the numbers confusing in my head.. because I was thinking that if you transfer $29 (which is the max you could transfer), that's still $1 short of the $30 for the F+ plan. I would've thought you'd have to source the $1 from somewhere else, maybe even activate another SIM to get that extra $1 lol

        • CVonC on 25/08/2016 - 18:01

          @illumination:

          I've no idea as I've never done it before either. But everything you said makes sense.

          I believe data pass is the next best as it's 3gb anytime + $30 credit. I never used the $700 credit on the F+ plan anyway.

          Hopefully $30 on data pass can still be used on Google Play

        • illumination on 25/08/2016 - 18:06

          @CVonC: I think it can (from what I've read elsewhere) and that is my plan too.

          However.. I don't recall ever seeing data pass as an option when I've previously activated Telstra SIMs… maybe I just missed it.

    • scupper on 25/08/2016 - 22:41

      If you activate using Simplicity or Long Life, they should still have Google credit. Let us know how it goes.

      • CVonC on 25/08/2016 - 22:45

        And what about Data Pass?

        • scupper on 26/08/2016 - 01:04

          No idea about that.

        • illumination on 28/08/2016 - 02:00

          Others have said Data Pass have the recharge credit (which is required for Google Billing)

    • Rick Sanchez on 26/08/2016 - 10:27

      probably - activate as longlife, then use creditme2u should work. But still need to recharge every 28 days as that only counts as added credit, not a recharge

  • sparkles on 24/08/2016 - 04:04
    +1

    This new plan sucks. It's also effectively eliminated Me2You credit transfers by not actually giving you credit to the value of your recharge. I guess that was why the old plan has ended, there were too many loophole ways to screw extra value from it. Anyone who changes from the old plan to the new is crazy, I bet they spam us with texts encouraging us to change, using the unlimited call thing as the hook, but neglecting to mention what you are losing.

  • [Deactivated] on 24/08/2016 - 08:55

    Well it looks like they finally nerfed it.

  • knitwear on 24/08/2016 - 09:52

    Welp. Was wanting to go back to Telstra Prepaid, but I guess not anymore.

    They nerfed the credit previously by not allowing data packs to be purchased. Now they nerfed it more with not allowing Google Play Store purchase.

  • smarikoe on 24/08/2016 - 10:45

    Just a heads up, I signed up on prepaid plus yesterday and sill managed to use credit on google play purchases currently

    • tomclancy on 24/08/2016 - 11:00

      Did you receive $30 worth of credit or $5 worth of credit (assuming $30 but just want to make sure)

      • smarikoe on 24/08/2016 - 12:39

        $30 but it was weird bc i purchased $15 worth of stuff but was only charges 10.85 so technically 34.15 of credit was given

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