Intro to Vodafone Prepaid plans
If you’re looking for a hassle-free way to get connected, then a prepaid plan is a great idea. These types of mobile SIM plans don’t require any credit check, so you can purchase your plan without having to run a bunch of private information.
You’ll find prepaid plans from all 3 major telcos in Australia, along with many Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO). But we’ll take a look at TPG Telecom / Vodafone’s prepaid plans here, and tell you all about their inclusions and how to recharge.
Vodafone was allowed to join with TPG Telecom last year after a federal judge approved their $15 million merger, so they remain the third largest telco in Australia.
Since then, we’ve seen a lot of developments and changes with the telco and their plans, including hiring a new marketing exec, looking at which of their sub brands to cut, as well as some welcome improvements to their prepaid plan range.
Vodafone makes things really easy with their prepaid plans. For instance, one of the major complaints about prepaid plans is that they often cut off when your plan expires. Vodafone prepaid plans provide a solution to this by allowing auto-recharge. We’ll talk more about that later.
Like all prepaid plans, Vodafone prepaid plans must be purchased before use. Thankfully, Vodafone provides several payment options so you can always find a way to recharge.
Let’s take a deeper look at the different ways to recharge your Vodafone prepaid plans.
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How/Ways to recharge plans from Vodafone
Unlike postpaid plans, you’ll have to pay for your Vodafone prepaid plan before you can use it. But once this is done, recharging is quite easy.
If you’re out of data, don’t worry – Here are 4 ways to recharge your Vodafone prepaid plan without using any data:
- Recharge through My Vodafone
If you don’t have the My Vodafone app, go ahead and download it. The My Vodafone app presents the easiest way to recharge your prepaid plan. - Recharge through Express Charge
Browse to Vodafone’s Express Recharge webpage, enter your mobile number, click “Continue” and follow the prompts. - Recharge through SMS
You can also recharge your Vodafone prepaid plan by sending an SMS with a relevant code to 1511. You’ll need to have a credit/debit card already saved on your account, or a sufficient My Credit balance. - Recharge over the phone
You also have the option of calling Vodafone by dialing 1511. You’ll get an automated system. Just follow the prompts and have your credit/debit card ready, or a voucher. - Recharge in stores
Of course, you can recharge your Vodafone prepaid plan by purchasing a voucher at a physical store if you don’t want to recharge through your mobile phone, or if you’d like to use cash.
Vodafone also accepts 4 different payment options for recharging:
- Credit/debit card
Vodafone accepts VISA, MaterCard, and American Express cards. If you save your card details in your account, you’ll automatically be opted into Automatic Recharge (we’ll talk more about it below). - Voucher
If you prefer purchasing physical recharge vouchers with cash or other payment options, you’ll find them at over 20,000 outlets in Australia, including Vodafone stores, supermarkets, service stations, newsagents, convenience stores, and more. - PayPal
If you have a PayPal account, you can recharge your Vodafone prepaid plan via Express Recharge and/or MyVodafone. - MyCredit
If you have a sufficient MyCredit balance, you can use it to recharge your Vodafone prepaid plan.
Vodafone offers Automatic Recharge, which allows your prepaid plan to renew without you having to do anything. You will need to have your credit card saved on your account to opt-in to this service. This comes in handy if you don’t want your inclusions to cut off automatically whenever your plan expires.
Pros and Cons of prepaid plans
Like most things, prepaid plans have pros and cons, so we’ll tell you about them to keep you informed before purchasing your Vodafone plan.
Pros
- No credit checks
If your credit isn’t great, getting a prepaid plan is a good idea. Unlike postpaid plans, Vodafone won’t run a credit check because you pay before using the plan. - Get the inclusions you need
Prepaid plans are usually simple and straightforward, compared to postpaid plans. You can purchase a plan with the inclusions you need and not worry about overage charges – your plan cuts off once you’ve used up your inclusions. - Great deals
Prepaid plans are typically cheaper than postpaid plans, especially in the $30 and below range. You will likely get a lot more data. - Auto recharge
If you want your plan to go on uninterrupted, then opt in for Vodafone’s automatic recharge, where your plan renews once it expires. - Expiry options
You’ll find prepaid plans with different expiry options, from 1-day to weekly, 28-day recharge plans, and even long expiry plans that last up to a year.
Cons
- Abrupt cut off
The key drawback of prepaid plans is that they cut off once you’ve used up all your inclusions, or when your plan expires. You can avoid this by opting in for automatic recharge. Also keep in mind that even if you don’t recharge on time, Vodafone will keep your number alive for 120 days after your plan expires so you have ample time to recharge. - Less days in monthly expiry
While most postpaid plans restart on the same date every month, or perhaps a 30-day period, prepaid monthly plans usually have a 28-day expiry period. This means you could miss out 2-3 days in most months, which can add up to over a month in a year.
Final words
Like most phone companies, especially those like Vodafone Australia which have been around for a long time now, there are an absolutely mind blowing number of ways you can buy a Vodafone Prepaid service and then recharge it. You can do it through their call center, their IVR (Interactive Voice Response) service, text for an update, go into a store, pick up a recharge voucher at the supermarket, and so much more.
However, the best way is to install the Vodafone self-service app, My Vodafone. It’s free to download from iTunes or Google Play Store. A few swipes and you’ll be able to recharge your Vodafone service.
You’re more likely to get a good deal on your recharge through this way, because it’s a relatively cheap channel for phone companies to use. They don’t, for example, have to pay a commission to Coles for providing your voucher. That extra money sometimes turns up in better value for self-service app based recharges.