Flip Connect Completely Nuking Their $4 0.5GB Plan, Including Grandfathered Customers

scalebearer on 28/02/2025 - 23:34
Last edited 28/02/2025 - 23:35

The $4 0.5GB plan was delisted a few months ago, but existing customers were grandfathered and allowed to keep using it.

Now they are kicking those customers out completely and putting them onto a completely different plan from April.

The new plan has 4 times the data (2GB), but 2.5 times the cost ($9.90).

The outgoing plan was useful for people with dual SIM phones, with the primary number on the $4 0.5GB plan and disposable secondary numbers with big data in the 2nd slot.

The 100 SMS limit could be worked around with OTT messaging, including RCS in Google Messages. The 0.5GB was also useful as backup data in case of an extended gap in deals for mobile SIM plans with big data.

If you have a similar dual SIM arrangement as mentioned above, you should check your email and make alternative plans as soon as possible, ideally well before the 1st of April.

The closest alternative I can think of is a PAYG with Lebara or Amaysim for the primary number and Boost or Lyca Mobile as secondary big data SIMs. This doesn't allow for calling or SMS from the primary number though, since it will draw from the $10 prepaid balance.

Full email:

Dear Customer,

Our Mobile Network Carrier has announced price changes for mobile services and associated costs, which directly impact Flip's pricing. Effective from April 1, 2025, the following changes will apply:

  • The standard price for the (20GB) plan will be $22.90 per month ($17.90 when bundled with an nbn service).
  • The standard price for the (3GB) plan will be $14.90 per month.
  • The standard price for the (500MB) plan will be $9.90 per month.

To provide added value, Flip will include extra data with the new pricing from April 1, 2025:

  • The 20GB plan will now be upgraded to 25GB of data.
  • The 3GB plan will now be upgraded to 5GB of data.
  • The 500MB plan will now be upgraded to 2GB of data.

We understand that this increase may be challenging so we are offering some service bundling discounts to help mitigate the impact. Sign Up to our Standard NBN Services today to receive a $5.00/month discount on our 20GB SIM plan. For existing NBN Customers, you will continue to receive your $5.00 monthly discount.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

Need more help?

You can email us at [email protected] or call us on 1300 354 788.

Sincerely,

The Flip Team!

Mobile Mobile Broadband Plan

Related Stores

Flip
Flip

Comments

  • CurlCurl on 01/03/2025 - 10:02
    +2

    No one is twisting you forcing you to use them.

    Move.

  • Russ on 03/03/2025 - 12:41

    I have the $4/month plan, but I have low usage. I've never exceeded the plan's cap on calls, messages or data (most of the time I'm within wifi coverage of home or work or local shopping centre's free wifi, so I use those).

    So now I'm looking at the next-cheapest option, and I can't find anything less than $9.90/month. Yes there are annual plans for $109 for the first year (only), that's a saving of $9.80, which for me isn't worth the trouble of having to port out and in annually.

    I also looked at using Amaysim's $60/year "talk and text" plan with no data, and using my mobile's 2nd SIM slot for a long-expiry data plan with 3-5GB of data annually, which would suit the amount of mobile data that I use. But I can't find any 365-day data plans for $60 or less.

    My third option is to use the second SIM slot for a PAYG plan, but data on those seems expensive, the cheapest I have found so far is 3c/MB on Lebara's PAYG plan. As I use about 250MB/month on average, that comes to $7.50/month for the data, which makes the combined cost (including $5/month for Amaysim) come to $12.50, so that's also more expensive than a $10/month plan with data included.

    Fourth option is a Woolworths Mobile plan, using the "10% off a shop" to offset the plan. But their current cheapest plan is $25/30 days, so I'd have to spend more than $150 in one shop to offset the cost, and that's way more than I would normally spend with them in a month! (Coles+ALDI is more convenient for me, and in my area Woolworths is more expensive for most items).

    So now I'm looking through external-to-Australia roaming providers like FlexiSIM, but so far they look even more expensive again. Not holding out great hopes for this option.

    I also looked at using a PAYG plan purely for receiving calls and SMS, and using a VOIP plan through mobile data (or WiFi) when I want to make a call. Still not cheaper than $9.90/month for my usage.

    Looks like I'll be taking up the Flip $9.90/month plan, it looks like the cheapest option for me that doesn't involve "SIM slutting".

    Anyone know of any monthly or 365-day plans for less than $9.90/month ongoing cost, that includes calls, SMS and data?

    • deeevan on 03/03/2025 - 13:22
      +1

      With esim, I was able to port my mum's number remotely so I don't think the process is that much of a hassle once a year. I don't port out and in, I port to the current discount offer.

      But amaysim, Coles and I'm sure others offer discounts as the one year mark looms to retain you, so you could just pay the convenience fee.

      • Russ on 03/03/2025 - 18:48

        With esim

        Sadly not an option for me. I believe eSim-capable phones start around the $400 mark, and that's way more than I'm willing to pay for a mobile. My $128 "OzBargain Special" mobile doesn't have the option.

        Thanks anyway!

        • deeevan on 05/03/2025 - 20:43
          +1

          Ozbargain's favourite phone with esim support
          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/motorola-moto-g54

          • Russ on 05/03/2025 - 21:42

            @deeevan: I stand corrected, eSim-capable phones have been cheaper than I thought.

            I bought my current mobile in November 2023, Moto G14:
            https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/812412

            Looking through the deals for the G54 before that time, the G54 was twice the price, so I wouldn't have chosen it anyway. eSim is nice, but not worth an extra ~$120 to me.

            • scalebearer on 06/03/2025 - 09:18
              +1

              @Russ: It's also worth noting that the G54 will become harder and harder to find on sale, if they still exist.

              Its successor, the G55 is worse in most ways. Only the 4GB RAM variant is available in Australia whereas the G54 only had its 8GB RAM variant available in Australia.

    • scalebearer on 03/03/2025 - 13:30
      +2

      C Mobile is an option, but it's still ~twice as expensive as Flip's original $4 plan.

      $99 per year ($8.25 per month), 2GB per month.

      https://www.cmobile.com.au/plans/c-red-payg-plan/

      $7.90 for 0.5GB per month.

      https://www.cmobile.com.au/plans/c-red-7-90-mobile-sim-plan/

      The main downside apart from the increased cost is that there is a $4.90 entry fee (presumably to cover porting costs and to dissuade short term porters), so you have to stay with them for a longer period of time to make that fee worth it. You're essentially half locked in because of that and lose some flexibility.

      These plans are obviously poor value for higher data users compared to something like the 140GB Kogan plan (regular price $150, regularly discounted to $120).

      I've also thought about having a PAYG SIM purely for receiving phone calls and disposable secondary numbers for everything else, but it's a bit risky.
      The older relatives I get these plans for have a habit of screwing with settings they don't understand and they may end up accidentally depleting all of the prepaid balance in only a few weeks.

      Also, Flip uses Optus while C Mobile uses Vodafone.
      In regional areas, they are effectively the same as of this year because of the mobile tower sharing, but if you live in some parts of big cities with poor coverage for one of them but not the other, that's worth bearing in mind.

      • Russ on 03/03/2025 - 19:24

        C Mobile is an option

        OMG, I used to be with them on the "Red" PAYG plan, and totally forgot to check them. Cmobile doesn't show up on most price-comparison sites, I suspect that's because most price-comparison sites only list plans they get a kick-back from.

        True $7.90 is nearly twice the price, but it has unlimited calls and SMS/MMS, so at least I won't get the "you have used 50% of your allowance" messages anymore, except maybe for data. Excess data at 1c/MB is cheaper than everyone else, too.

        I commented in January 2024 about "$9.90/month with CMobile on their smallest "Red" plan", so this $7.90 plan must be new. I hope it doesn't disappear like several of their other cheapest plans. Anyone know if they grandfather old plans?

        Thanks!

      • Chris McMahon on 24/03/2025 - 02:00

        $99 per year ($8.25 per month), 2GB per month.

        I'm seeing $139. Recent price increase?

        • scalebearer on 24/03/2025 - 10:36
          +1

          Definitely.
          The prices for the other Vodafone plans have gone up by a few dollars as well.

          This makes all their plans largely uncompetitive, especially when considering the $5 entry fee.

          Kogan Mobile's bottom tier yearly plan is $150 for 140GB and regularly goes on sale for $120.

    • jlien on 06/03/2025 - 15:30
      +2

      $74 telstra prepaid casual? depends on how low usage you mean though.I just switched to this. It includes 220 mins and 220 texts per recharge (12 months)

      Otherwise i was also considering aldi payg ($20/year) and amaysim payg ($10/year) but both are payg plans that have no inclusions. So every call/sms you make consumes some of that credit.

      • Russ on 06/03/2025 - 18:10

        Wow, I never expected Telstra would have a budget mobile plan!

        I've worked out my average call minutes and messaging usage, and sadly my usage isn't low enough. I'd run out about the 6-month mark, so the Telstra plan isn't for me.

        Thanks for telling me about it though, I know a few people who live "out bush", and for them it would make an excellent second SIM. It could make them much more "contactable", while still having a cheap Vodafone or Optus plan for the majority of their data and outgoing calls+SMS.

        Boy, Telstra are miserly with data. I thought Flip's 500MB/month was minimal, but Telstra's 740MB/year works out to less than 62MB/month. Ouch!

        • jlien on 06/03/2025 - 21:06
          +2

          yeah it's useless lol.

          About the only thing i think it would be good for is receiving mms messages and maybe whatsapp/imessage.

          But really it's not a plan you can really use on its own.

          For me it's a secondary sim, my primary sim is my work number which does have data inclusions; so the telstra one is good for receiving calls, and making the odd call/sms to people who still contact me on that number.

          please note, to get the $74 plan; you need to visit a store. They only have the 6 month $39 version online; you can also pick up $39 starter kits pretty much anywhere (coles, woolies, 7/11, etc) and activate it onto the $39 casual plan. But for the $74 plan you need to go to a store. For me they charged me $2 for a prepaid sim and activated that onto the $74 plan as there doesn't exist a $74 starter pack. So technically it was $76 for the first year for me.

  • jlien on 06/03/2025 - 15:24
    +1

    i literally (about 30 mins ago) got out of a telstra shop where i moved my service to a $74 prepaid casual plan that has 1 year expiry.
    For me it's a secondary line as my main line is my work number, but i still need my personal number for 2fa and old timey friends who still contact me on it.
    There are definitely cheaper long life plans out there, but i just went with this one since $74/yr seemed ok, and it included some amount of calls/sms's and a tiny amount of data.

  • scalebearer on 02/04/2025 - 21:36
    +1

    For anyone trying to port out, the account number on your monthly bills may not be the one you have to specify to the new telco, causing a port out failure.

    I had to phone Flip Connect, where a customer service representative explained to me that with the way their system is set up, sometimes there was a separate "port out account number".

    I have never encountered an issue like this, but after providing this separate "port out account number" to the new telco, the transfer went through smoothly within an hour.

  • Russ on 03/05/2025 - 17:20

    For anyone still looking for a cheap mobile plan that isn't PAYG, I was recently reminded of this long-running deal: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/898182

    It's Amaysim, $30 per 90 days with unlimited talk and text, 4GB data per 90 days, and has data rollover. Note that you can only view this plan if you're logged into Amaysim, it's not viewable otherwise. As explained in the deal link.

    Calculated as though it was a monthly charge, it's (30/90 x 365.25/12) = $10.15 per month.

    Pros compared to Flip's grandfathered $9.90 plan: unlimited calls and SMS, vs 100 minutes of calls + 100 SMS per month.

    Cons compared to Flip's grandfathered $9.90 plan: 1.33GB/month, vs 2GB/month. And 25c/month more expensive (from the calculations).

    Compared to Kogan Mobile's annual plans, which are frequently discounted to $119/year, the Amaysim plan has considerably less data, and is slightly more expensive ($121.75/year). However you won't have to go searching for Kogan Mobile deals towards the end of your plan, that could be worth the $2.25 difference for many.

    • scalebearer on 03/05/2025 - 17:29
      +1

      That's more than $120 per year.

      If you have good Vodafone reception in the areas you frequent, then the lowest tier Kogan yearly plan is better.

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/885686

      Regular price is $150 for 140GB, but it regularly gets discounted to $120 every few months.

      • Russ on 03/05/2025 - 17:30

        Yup, I edited my comment to add that, and must have submitted seconds before your reply.

        Optus and Vodafone now roam to each other, from what I've read, so both now should have identical coverage.

        • scalebearer on 03/05/2025 - 17:35

          Optus and Vodafone now roam to each other, from what I've read, so both now should have identical coverage.

          Only in regional areas where they are unable to compete against Telstra by themselves.

          In major cities, it is still a 3 way contest.
          So someone living in a part of a big city with bad coverage from either Optus or Vodafone but good coverage from the other will still have to choose one or the other.

          • Russ on 03/05/2025 - 17:39

            @scalebearer: I've just read a bit more, and you're correct.

            Then the question becomes "in urban areas, does VF or Optus have better coverage". I haven't seen anything online about that, apart from the experiences of individual people.

            • scalebearer on 03/05/2025 - 19:15
              +1

              @Russ: On average, most people would probably say Optus over Vodafone, but it all depends on the area.
              It is impossible to say for sure.
              There are areas with good Vodafone coverage, bad Optus coverage and vice versa.

  • Russ on 04/05/2025 - 14:26
    +1

    Here's another cheap option, but only for people who can use eSIM, and have low data usage (which should be most of the people who were previously on the Flip plan with 500MB of data).

    Use the Optus $60 annual "Talk and Text Only" plan for your calls and SMS, using a physical SIM. See this deal for how to obtain it:
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/803996

    Use an eSIM for data. There appear to be no Australian providers who provide low quantities of data for reasonable price, but fortunately there is a Singaporean provider, Eskimo. The best-looking plan has 10GB with 2-year expiry, for 18 USD (= 27.88 AUD at today's exchange rate, so less than $3/GB). Plan is here: https://www.eskimo.travel/plans/australia-esim/10gb

    So on a monthly basis, if you're using 1GB/month, this plan will cost you $5 (Optus) plus $2.79 (Eskimo) for a grand total of $7.79/month. If you use 500MB/month, it's even cheaper at $6.40/month.

    The Eskimo plan can be topped up when you get to the end of your data. I don't know if Eskimo send "data running low" warnings, maybe you'll have to check your data usage in the Eskimo app every 6 months or so.

    Eskimo also has data rollover, and you can gift some of your data allowance to other Eskimo users. So you could set your partner or kids up with a 1GB Eskimo eSIM (4 USD), and gift them data as needed.

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