How does Vaya’s $25 5GB Coles deal compare?
We've crunched the numbers to work out if it's actually the cheapest.
Vaya has just announced a somewhat unusual SIM plan for Australian mobile phone users. It's only available in-store at Coles supermarkets. For $150 up-front, you get 5GB of data a month for six months, plus unlimited calls and texts to Australian numbers. Vaya says the deal will run "until the SIM packs run out". It's the first time that Vaya has offered its SIMs in retail outlets, though its parent company amaysim has long had a presence in supermarkets and convenience stores.
Looking purely at Vaya's own plans right now, 5GB of data means that it's a little more generous than Vaya's existing Unlimited L 6-month deal, which offers 4GB a month and costs $144 to cover six months. If you're really after data though, its Unlimited XL plan offers 10GB a month for $198, which is double the data for roughly 33% more.
Casting the net a little wider, our Mobile Plan Finder shows that you can pick up a Spintel 5GB plan for $23.95 a month, roughly $1 less per month than Vaya's Coles deal. Like Vaya, it's on the Optus network. But while it doesn't have a 6-month limit, it does have a $10 activation fee - which means that it would only work out cheaper than the Vaya deal after 10 months had passed.
Coles itself offers mobile plans, which are also on the Optus network. But at $40 a month for 7GB, they're not spectacularly competitive with this Vaya offering.
If you're not wedded to the Optus network, then Kogan Mobile, running on Vodafone, offers a deal that's even cheaper. Its Extra Large plan is $205.58 for 365 days, which works out at $16.90 a month.
These kinds of multi-month deals are becoming increasingly common, and blur the line between a true month-to-month plan and a more traditional contract. If you're sure that you're not going to want to change providers, they can make sense. But on the whole, if a deal runs more than 6 months, I'd consider it carefully, because the odds are that a cheaper deal will come along in that time.
Angus Kidman's Findings column looks at new developments and research that help you save money, make wise decisions and enjoy your life more. It appears Monday through Friday on finder.com.au.
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