Optus Mobile Review ALDI Mobile Review Amaysim Mobile Review Belong Mobile Review Circles.Life Review Vodafone Mobile Review Woolworths Mobile Review Felix Mobile Review Best iPhone Plans Best Family Mobile Plans Best Budget Smartphones Best Prepaid Plans Best SIM-Only Plans Best Plans For Kids And Teens Best Cheap Mobile Plans Telstra vs Optus Mobile Optus NBN Review Belong NBN Review Vodafone NBN Review Superloop NBN Review Aussie BB NBN Review iiNet NBN Review MyRepublic NBN Review TPG NBN Review Best NBN Satellite Plans Best NBN Alternatives Best NBN Providers Best Home Wireless Plans What is a Good NBN Speed? Test NBN Speed How to speed up your internet Optus vs Telstra Broadband ExpressVPN Review CyberGhost VPN Review NordVPN Review PureVPN Review Norton Secure VPN Review IPVanish VPN Review Windscribe VPN Review Hotspot Shield VPN Review Best cheap VPN services Best VPN for streaming Best VPNs for gaming What is a VPN? VPNs for ad-blocking While it’s possible to stay disconnected or reliant on public WiFi for your data needs while abroad, being able to use your local SIM can be a lot more convenient. To help you pick out a roaming plan that won’t break the bank, we’re looking at some of the more affordable options in Australia. Unlike other telcos, you don’t have a separate data allowance while roaming overseas. You’ll just use the data from your regular inclusions that you use in Australia. If you’re on a 40GB plan, that gives you 40GB to play with when travelling. However, if you do go over your included allowance, you will be charged $5 for every extra gigabyte used. The $5-per-day charge will only be added to your bill on days when you use data, make a call, or send a text. Note that you can only use $5-per-day roaming for up to 90 days of the calendar year. If you’re planning to spend more time overseas, a local SIM will probably be a better option. Vodafone also offers roaming add-ons for prepaid plans. $5 gets you 200MB for one day, $15 gives you 750MB for three days, and $35 gets you 2GB for seven days. While this still works out to be $5 per day and are an improvement over pay-as-you-go rates, they’re still pretty poor value. Your $5 will get you 5GB of data with a 24-hour expiry. Alternatively, you can pay $35 upfront and get 35GB. These roaming offers can be activated through the My Optus app. There is one catch, however. Optus’ roaming add-on only works in what the telco calls Zone 1 destinations. These include the following:
USA Singapore New Zealand France China Hong Kong Poland Sweden Norway United Kingdom
If you’re travelling to a “Zone 2” country, you’ll pay-as-you-go. Zone 2 is predominantly made up of countries in the Middle East, Africa, and South and Central America. Rates will vary depending on your exact destination, but they’re heft. You’ll typically pay at least $1.50 per minute of talk, $0.50 per text, or $1 per megabyte of data. At those rates, that’s over $1,000 for a single gigabyte.
Open the My Optus app Tap International Roaming on the dashboard Tap Settings, then International Roaming Select Optus Roaming Pass Review the terms and conditions and then click Accept
This will cost you $10 for each day you are overseas, and your money will get you a 1GB international data allowance. If you’re roaming in New Zealand, this drops to $5 per day. If you go over your daily 1GB, you’ll be stung with an extra $10. This will get a further 1GB, which can then be used over the following 30 days whenever you go over your initial daily allowance. You’ll also get unlimited talk and text as part of International Day Pass, but you’ll pay $0.75 for each MMS you send while overseas. Telstra’s roaming currently works in over 70 destinations. If you’re outside of an eligible destination and on an Upfront, you won’t be able to use your service. You’ll need to get a local SIM. Note that International Day Pass inclusions expire at midnight Australian time (AEST), not at midnight in whatever country you’ve found yourself.
Open the My Telstra app on iPhone or Android Select your mobile service Tap extras, then international roaming Scroll down to International Day Pass and toggle it to 0n
Day Pass can take between 15 minutes and two hours to activate. You’ll get a text once it’s active Your $20 gets you 4GB of international data, 100 texts, and 100 minutes of talk. Better yet, it has a 365-day expiry. If you’re the kind of traveller that can sniff out public WiFi where ever you are, 4GB could be enough for your entire international getaway. But if you go over your 4GB allowance, you can always buy another pack. felix mobile’s roaming offer doesn’t cover as many countries as what you get on Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone: it only works in 40 destinations. You should be fine for most popular countries, however. felix is unique in that it only has a single mobile plan with unlimited data. You’ll pay $35 per month, but your data is capped to speeds of 20Mbps - both domestically and overseas. That should still be fast enough for most online activities, even streaming video. felix is powered by the Vodafone network. If you really need to keep your local number to be contactable while away, you’ve really got no choice but to pay the telcos their blood money. But if you’re going away on a holiday and don’t care about having access to your local number, a local SIM can often be the better choice. If you’re staying for over a week, local SIMs at your destination should typically cost less than what you’d pay in roaming fees. This will naturally vary from destination to destination, but it’s definitely worth doing the math before you commit to spending a whole lot of money on roaming. For example, there’s no point buying a Vodafone plan if you’re heading to Egypt, as you’ll be stung with pay-as-you-go rates. Instead, you’d want to go with Telstra if you really need to keep using your local number while admiring the majesty of the pyramids. Pricing is the next consideration. Paying less per day is obviously preferable to more. While MVNOs are a great pick for keeping your bill down locally, this doesn’t translate to overseas usage. If you’re going with a small provider like ALDI, Boost, Belong, Tangerine, Woolworths Mobile, or amaysim for your Australian SIM card, use the savings to purchase a SIM overseas when you arrive at your destination instead.
