O2 UK: Free texts or minutes
January 14th, 2007
Just a big money saving tip for people in the UK on O2 Pay and Go. If you don’t get free texts or calls when you top up, you’re probably on the standard pay and go package. This is the one that you’ll get if you purchased your phone from pretty much anywhere except from the o2.co.uk online shop.
The tariff page on the O2 website lists what you get for free on their “online tariffs”, sometimes also known as Genie SIMs. They cost £10 on the O2 website and you’ll often see them sold on Ebay.
If you already have an O2 phone, you don’t have to get a new SIM card. Customer services can switch you over and you won’t have to pay £10 for a SIM.
Freebies
There are three different choice of freebies you can choose from. If you top up £10, you’ll get the following:
- Text Anytime gives you 300 free texts to any network
- Talk Anytime gives you 50 anytime minutes to any network or landline
- Talk Offpeak gives you 100 offpeak minutes to any network or landline
You’ll get this whenever you top up. However, if you top up £10 twice in a month, you’ll only get the freebies which come with a £15 top up. If you top up £10 five times in a month, you’ll only get the allowance of freebies for £30. So you can’t get more than 1,000 free texts or 300 minutes in a month.
The texts or minutes will expire if you don’t use them after 30 days.
You don’t have to top up anything; if you top up less than £10, you just won’t get anything for free.
Realistically…
But realistically, how much money does this save?
For a light user, using £5 a month on texts, you’ll top up £10 in month 1. All the texts you send in month 1 will be free (assuming you don’t send more than 300 texts that month). In the second and third month, you’ll text as normal using up £5 of credit. Thus your credit lasts 3 months rather than 2.
For me, the 1MB free data allowance also allows me to just check up on some things on the internet when I’m without internet access. (Opera Mini rules!)
When I switched over, they decided to give me the 30 day welcome allowance again (1 ringtone, 1 game, 1 photocard, 5MB data)
Switching Tariff
You’ve got to make a call to O2 Customer Services (4445; costs 25p) and ask to be switched to the Online Pay & Go package. They were really friendly actually and the wait time was virtually non-existent, so the customer service rocks! Make your way through the menus, speak to somebody, and they should be able to get all the forms filled out.
They’ll then switch you to the online tariff. Your phone will go dead for several hours with an “Invalid SIM” notice. When it comes back (I turned my phone off and back on after 5 hours), you’ll be on the new tariff. I had to top up once to activate the phone for receiving and making calls, but I had about 4p of credit.
Conclusion
As far as I can see, you don’t lose a thing by switching to the online tariff and you get loads of freebies. I switched over a few days ago and I couldn’t be happier. I’m a happy customer of O2! I hope somebody finds this useful 
- Mobile
- Comments(24)
I saw this offer a while again a Yahoo advert along with a form to get a free O2 sim card. I’ve been meaning to make the switch but my phone is locked to Vodaphone and they want £30 to unlock it. Also O2 has a very poor signal in my house, but I’m willing to risk that for the amount I’ll save. For someone who mainly texts and uses GPS, it’s going to save me a lot of money.
You might want to look into Orange too; they have a similar offer of free texts and data when you top up. I believe it’s modelled on O2. Their reception in your home could be better than O2’s reception.
I’m not sure which phone you have so whether or not it would be worth it, but you can get a Sony Ericsson k750i for £90 at O2 Online. I’ve got this phone and although it’s not top of the range, it’s a wonderful and beautiful phone. Unlocking and buying an O2 SIM will set you back £40 so it’s just £50 more.
£30 to unlock a phone is probably worth it anyway since you get £30 of free texts every time you top up £10.
O2 sims are great, I always get them when they up for offer. 10% cashback and free minutes, a great deal
Cheers
kevin
Thanks for the advice.
As soon as I’ve next topped up (so I can afford the 25p call!) I’m going to switch.
Do you have to top up to activate the phone, though - or just make a call?
It’ll cost me £20 to switch if have to top up.
Hi there,
I’m not totally sure. I had 29p when I switched over!
You can use O2’s Lend Us a Quid service to borrow £1 which you can then use to call Customer Services. The £1 will then be deducted from your next top up.
Hi Theres a code out there that if you put in a new o2 sim and you transfer your number you get a credit on your new sim.(usually £10)
Hope that helps
k
http://www.money-saving-newsletter.co.uk/january-2007-tips.html
hey kvin. can you please email me that code? and i spend so much credit on my o2 sim credit. PLEASE does anyobdy know any codes for free credit? I’ve been searching around the net all night looking ofr some! Thankyou. Please contact me on: x_born_to_be_wild_x@hotmail.co.uk
02 free get 4 smis
Hi guys, if you are on the texting tariff, the 300 texts per month when you top up £10 thing, if you look on ebay you can buy vouchers for around £1, and then you ring the number on the voucher and you get 300 free texts. it dosent get much better than that now does it?
does any one have the code for free credit on o2 please
wow this is great
hi do u no how 2 get free text messages on 02 thanks xx
hi dis is great
this is shite it doesnt ven let me get me free texts and minutes
we have removed the facility from your account as you ARE A PRICK.
Thank you for choosing o2.
Abdulliah Muhammedi
I saw this offer a while again a Yahoo advert along with a form to get a free O2 sim card. I’ve been meaning to make the switch but my phone is locked to Vodaphone and they want £30 to unlock it. Also O2 has a very poor signal in my house, but I’m willing to risk that for the amount I’ll save. For someone who mainly texts and uses GPS, it’s going to save me a lot of money
I certainly think it’s worth it considering that you’ll get £30 worth of free texts the next time you top up £10 which will more or less pay off the cost to unlock
thanks 4 this
can sum1 help me out !!! can sum1 send me a code 4 my o2 sim card for free txts or call time.im sick of toping up it never seems 2 last!!!:D:D PLZ :D:D t-you
how can i get free text o2
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