Prepaid plans vs postpaid plans
Purchasing that flagship phone is only the first step. In order for you to take full advantage of your smartphone’s bells and whistles, you’re going to need a SIM plan.
In Australia, there are a ton of telcos to choose from when searching for a SIM plan for your phone, which can sometimes make it difficult to choose the best phone company for you. However, figuring out what type of plan you need is a much more straightforward effort because there are usually only two options – a postpaid plan or prepaid plan.
- Postpaid plans
A postpaid plan allows you use its inclusions before paying for it. In most cases, such plans require credit checks to determine the likelihood that a customer will actually pay for the inclusions they use. - Prepaid plans
A prepaid plan, on the other hand, must be paid for before its inclusions can be used. Given this fact, such plans usually don’t require any credit checks. You’ll find several expiry options to choose from – short expiry plans which may last anywhere from a day to 2 weeks, normal expiry plans which typically last 28 days to a month, and long expire plans which can remain active for up to a year. Another variation of prepaid plans is a PayG plan, or Pay-As-You-Go plan. These plans require the purchase of credits ahead of usage, which will then be reduced on a per-usage basis.
If you’re in the market for a SIM plan for your phone, popular telcos like Optus are always a great place to look. In this post, we’ll focus on Optus prepaid plans, and tell you all about how to change your prepaid phone plan whenever you decide. Read on to find out.
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Optus prepaid plans inclusions (cost and data inclusion)
Optus is the second largest telco in Australia, with a mobile network that covers 98.5 per cent of the Australian population. The telco has also been found to have the fastest mobile 5G speeds in the country right now, according to the popular speed testing website Ookla.
Here’s a look at Optus prepaid plans:
| Flex 5G | Flex 4G | Epic Data | Epic Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price range | 4 plans ranging from $2 to $60, from 1 day to 30 days expiry. | 4 plans ranging from $1 to $30, from 1 day to 30 days expiry. | 3 plans ranging from $10 to $30, from 5 days to 28 days expiry. | 3 plans ranging from $10 to $40, from 3 weeks to 6 weeks expiry. |
| Data | 2GB to 60GB data. | 1GB to 30GB data. | 5GB to 50GB data. | 500MB to 10GB data. |
| Voice and SMS | Unlimited standard national talk and text | Unlimited standard national talk and text | Unlimited standard national talk and text | Unlimited standard national talk and text |
| 5G Access | Yes | No | No | No |
Ways to change your Prepaid Mobile Phone plan
Optus customers can change their prepaid plans at anytime without fees. However, when you change your Optus prepaid plan, you will likely lose all unused inclusions and credits, so it’s best to exhaust all credits before changing plans.
You can change your Optus plan online or via SMS. Here’s how:
Change your Optus prepaid plan online:
- If you’re on your mobile, turn off WiFi and connect via mobile data
- Open your browser and navigate to www.optus.com.au/crp
- Generate a one-time PIN if your connection isn’t to the Optus network
- An SMS will be sent to you once your plan has been changed
- Purchase and/or activate a recharge to start using your new plan.
Change your Optus prepaid plan via SMS:
- Send the word “MENU” via SMS to 9999
- Customers with AutoRecharge already set up must update it to match new plan
- An SMS will be sent to you once your plan has been changed
- Purchase and/or activate a recharge to start using your new plan.
Summing up
Having worked at Optus’ prepaid team for a while, I can tell you Optus refresh their prepaid plan range every year or two. If there are high performing plans, they might refresh some or a lot of the ‘others’, but not the most successful tariffs. For example, $1 and $2 days still exist after being around for years, and they clearly service a need unique to Optus.
Optus strive to keep their prepaid plans competitive and, in recent years, they have supported plans with strong online offers. Our Optus plan listings are always up to date on this site. Check out the prepaid plans page for more information on Optus’ current range.