amaysim mobile plan
review and comparison

amaysim is an MVNO, which means it’s a smaller provider that uses the Telstra, Optus or Vodafone network. After 10 years on the market, amaysim was bought by Optus in 2020 and uses the Optus network, so customers get excellent coverage.

A few years ago amaysim switched all its plans to prepaid only, which is typically the cheapest type of phone plan. You’re less likely to run up extras on your bill and you know exactly what you’re going to pay each month.

amaysim has some great plans that include 28-day, long-expiry and even Pay As You Go plans. It comes with some rare extras like unlimited data rollover with no expiry date, so you can use all your stored data as long as you have an active plan.

• All amaysim plans are prepaid:
  amaysim’s range of prepaid plans has most bases covered. You can get 10Gb of data all the way up to 200Gb, and monthly plans through to yearly plans.
• No contract means ultimate flexibility:
  All amaysim plans are prepaid month-to-month agreements, so there’s no contract to worry about. You can cancel, switch plans or change providers whenever your plan expires with no termination fees.
• amaysim also offers PAYG Plans.
  PAYG (Pay As You Go) plans are more rare these days but handy for people who only make a few calls and don’t need data.
• A reputation for customer satisfaction:
  amaysim has won a number of awards relating to the quality of their customer satisfaction, including Roy Morgan’s annual customer satisfaction award several times. The amaysim app has been downloaded thousands of times and has a 4.8 star rating out of 5. You can contact customer service via phone or live chat.
• Free SIM delivery and eSIM availability:
  SIM cards are shipped free to your door, or you can access your eSIM instantly (as long as your phone is eSIM compatible, which most phones made in recent years are). eSIMs are still fairly new to the market and not many providers offer them yet.

When you travel overseas it’s often cheapest to buy a local SIM when you arrive (which, interestingly, amaysim encourages on its own site!). But, if you want to use your own plan, amaysim offers international roaming packages starting from $20.

To add international roaming to your plan, you can use the amaysim app under “International Roaming” and then “Add Pack”. You’ll be able to see each add-on and choose one that suits your trip. A roaming pack will mean you can use your Aussie number overseas in over 90 countries.

amaysim offers a lot of flexibility with its roaming packs. You can add more than one at a time if you need it, and any unused roaming is banked to be used next time you travel. Any leftover roaming is lost once the 365 days is up.

amaysim roaming rates

amaysim says you won’t be able to use international roaming on plans or cruisesIf you’re going on a cruise you are able to access roaming while at sea, but it is very expensive. You’ll only be able to make and receive calls and SMS, as data is not available. Making and receiving calls, including voicemail, is $4 a minute. Sending an SMS at sea will cost you $1, but they’re free to receive.

Remember that you will pay for the calls you make but also the calls you receive, and also for retrieving voicemail. Sending an SMS costs, but receiving them is free. MMS requires you to pay for the message plus the data it takes to send or receive. Rates start from:

• $1 per minute to make or receive calls, or to check or receive voicemail
• $0.50 to send an SMS, free to receive
• $1.30 to send or receive MMS
• $0.50 per MB, charged per 10 KB

Keeping roaming charges low

Here are a few tips for saving money while you travel:

• Download maps using WiFi before you leave your accommodation if possible, so you don’t need to use data for the GPS.
• Turn off mobile data whenever you’re not using it.
• Use safe WiFi wherever possible
• Set up call forwarding to voicemail, so you can screen your calls and only use your phone for calls you need to take

Buying a local SIM

When you arrive at your destination you have the option of buying a local SIM and popping it in your phone. That way, you’ll be paying local rates and saving a lot of money. Just make sure your phone is compatible with overseas SIM cards before you leave.

There isn’t too much to downvote for amaysim, but here are a few things to look out for:

• You can’t call 19 numbers in Australia. amaysim blocks the calls.
• Monthly plans are 28 days, which means you’ll need to buy 13 plans to cover you for a year.
• The smaller data plans are not as good value as the larger plans.

Prepaid plans don’t need any kind of credit check; just buy one from the website as if you’re buying a movie ticket.

• Navigate to the amaysim website:
  Click through from this page and go through the checkout process.
• Activate your eSIM or SIM card:
  A physical card may take a day or two to arrive and will include instructions for installation and activation. If you opted for an eSIM, you’ll be sent a text with instructions on instant activation.
• Turn off auto-renew if you like:
  If you don’t want the plan to renew automatically, you can turn the feature off in the app settings. Just make sure you renew or switch plans before the expiry date!

As a low-cost telco, Amaysim offer a range of mobile data-only plans so that you can stay connected, no matter where you are.

You can choose from 5 different mobile plans from $10 a month to $300 a month. Mobile data inclusions are the major difference between plans, although unlimited international calls to 10 countries and an additional 300 international minutes to any available country are included in the higher-end plans.

Amaysim mobile plans data inclusions range from 1 GB to 20 GB, and they offer a data calculator on the website to help you decide how much mobile data you might regularly access on your mobile phone.

Amaysim suggest that their data packs can be used in areas where the NBN is currently unavailable. With the highest plan costing $70 per 100 GB, prices are higher than most broadband options but arguably competitive when the resulting mobility of your internet capable devices is taken into consideration. People with compatible devices can also use hotspot and tethering options to wirelessly connect other devices to make the most of their mobile data allowance.