Just looked up my wife's phone bill which was double $30 ($60) and reminded it was a double bill month as their billing periods are 28 days
All well disclosed upfront but I did not think much about it
But 28x12 = 336 days. 29 days short of a full year, I.e. An extra bill cycle
So when compared to a true monthly plan the $30 plan is really $30 x13 / 12 = $32.5 per month.
Are most prepaid sims on a 28 day cycle?
Depends how you look at it.
I purchased my phone outright, so I'm not stuck with the same phone for 24 months if I choose to get something else. I can also switch pre-paid provider if someone else offers a better deal and it costs me nothing.
With boost for $40 every 28 days, I get unlimited text/calls (nationally) with 5GB + 1GB per weekend (9GB a month apparently, but whatever).
With all that in mind, I find it much better than being locked into a plan.
How much did you pay for the phone outright?
Boost aren't if you set it to autorecharge. Automatically it will then switch to 31 days (not that Boost want you to know).
Boost start a $30 option this week too!
I hate the whole 28 day thing.
Kogan also have 30 day cycles
Nice… did not know that.
Do not like to auto-recharge though, but will think about it…
Sorry, I meant once per month, not 31 days every month haha.
Yeah, the way I see it is that if you were going to do it manually anyway, you can always cancel.
Kogan is 30 days without auto recharge and from memory Aldi may be too
Same with Telstra
That happens when you leave your wife's prepaid plan on "auto-renewal" option on your post paid account with Amaysim. 13x the plan rate will be the true annualised cost if you like the convenience of set and forget.
However, if your wife has not been fully using the unlimited allowance such as there are often days she doesn't use her phone at all, for eg. in wifi environment the whole time and you/she wouldn't mind spending a bit of time managing the renewal process online once a month, you could move her number to a separate prepaid account. You both may get even get referral bonus too (need to port out and back in for that I think). Once in a prepaid account, you can turn off the auto renewal and you let it revert to pay as you go plan where she can still text/ call minimally using the credits on the account. She then starts a new plan cycle when she knows she will be using her phone much.
That's one way to "space out" the plan fees over a year if it suits the user's lumpy usage style. This way you may even save more than one cycle over the year, if there are plans on going overseas where there is extended time the phone won't be used as much.
However, for the consistent users on the right type of plan assuming they are happy with the service and connectivity etc, plus the convenience, then the extra $30 over a year may seem worth it.
Yeah the hassle factor…!!!
Yes. It's how all phone companies screw over their pre-paid base.