Mobile Phone Promotions

[Firefan]

I paged through http://www.one-2-call.com/One2Call/otc/t/p...s_promotion.jsp and here all the current 1-2-call promotions are written in Thai. (would somebody know where to find in English?).

I am trying to figure out which of the promotions are best for my usuage. I SMS a lot, call a bit but short calls mostly and never use GPRS/MMS/Internet via mobile. I don't care about validity as tend to reach the current 12 month max fast no matter what.

In addition I saw this "package" called SMS Mania where one can get as low as 0.75 Baht/SMS but how to do that? http://www.one-2-call.com/One2Call/otc/t/product_sms.jsp (tried the *138 number mentioned but got told they are upgrading system and I can only enter again with that number on July 16th...being yesterday -he,he).

Does DTAC/TRUE have some better promotion overviews (in English...) that anybody could share. I have been told that TRUE have the best prices but that might have changed with the recent competition.

With the current competition I am sure that many of us are paying way too much with our "old" promotions - so why not try to switch?

Cheers!

[thailand_property_search]

I changed about 2 months ago from 1-2-call because the service was intollerable (no chance of making or receiving calls after 7pm until about 2am in the morning....sometimes not at all).

I switched to True....best move I ever made. No problems phoning or connecting (unless phoning a Thai GSM phone...lol)

You buy a 99 THB sim which has 50 THB on it and then you get a bonus 30 THB (so you end up paying 19THB for the sim.

Also..everytime you recharge you get bonus credit (30THB for a 50 THB card, 100 THB for a 300 THB card).

They also have a promo which is 25 SATANG!!!! per minute (3 THB for SMS) 24/7.

I now have another problem though. I can't use my credit up fast enough before the expiry date. My phone now has 1200 THB credit just because I need the extra time. But like my old boss used to say...it's the right problem to have.

[Firefan]

Thanks for the tip. Certainly a luxury problem! Since I already use True ADSL and land line I might also be able to look at 1 of their bundle promotions - they are a bit hard to understand as in Thai: http://www.truecorp.co.th/eng/alltogetherb...ogether_all.jsp

True also currently give 50% of all 7-11 purchases back in talk time ref. THIS promotion (believe one has to be an all-togehter-card-holder) http://www.truecorp.co.th/eng/promotion/promotion_7_11.jsp That seems like a good chance to stock up on whatever if one anyway need the talk time.

The mentioned SMS Mania offer from 1-2-call I linked to looks interesting if one SMS more than call. At about 10 SMS per day costing 3 Baht with my current plan - I use about 1000 Baht/mth just in SMS. If that got cut to 0.75 Baht per SMS that would be 225 Baht per month - 800 Baht for beer money found! I called them and the 200 SMS(one can buy smaller number) expire after 30 days - so if one is not sure one uses that - one can chose one of the smaller packages. It will be automatically renewed, if money on the card, so one should remember to call 1175 and freeze if one goes travelling.

Lady at 1-2-call however informed me that my SMS price in the Sure Sure package is now 2 Baht. I still signed up as 400 Baht saving per month still makes it worth while.

The True 25 satang 24 hour promotion is for the first minute. Following minutes are 1.5 Baht which is still very resonable. http://www.truemove.com/

If pay 1-2-call refill w. Mpay one gets 5% extra talk time. Not much compared to True Move giving 100 Baht extra on a 300 Baht card...

Other tips out there that can save us money?

Cheers!

[lomatopo]

The three biggies (One-2-Call, DTAC, TrueMove) all offer at least five different promotions (calling plans for pre-paid sunscribers), maybe closer to ten!

One-2-Call subscribers can dial *777, then press 1 for English, to hear descriptions of all the current plans. During the call you can identify your current plan and change to a different one.

I imagine DTAC and TrueMove have a similar application.

edited to add:

Quote "I paged through http://www.one-2-call.com/One2Call/otc/t/p...s_promotion.jsp and here all the current 1-2-call promotions are written in Thai. (would somebody know where to find in English?)."

you can toggle that page to English, click on the "En" icon, upper right, next to "Language". This doesn't work for all their pages. FWIW, they are extremely responsive to emails, [email protected] , have been helpful to me when I dial 1175 and press 2 for an English-speaking CSR. Too bad I can't make a call between 4 PM and 11 PM.

Edited July 18, 2006 by lomatopo

[Firefan]

Hi Lomatopo, unfortunately the English version does not work as soon as one clicks on any detailed info Incl. the page with the promotions. True have a much better translated homepage - but ok, we are in Thailand (before some idiot starts yelling that ).

I will try to check out the *777 method - just checked it and seems to work ok - but better have pen and paper ready as she rattles of those promotions!

Cheers!

[michael_pty]

I moved from One-2-Call to DTAC Happy. The main reason was a service of DTAC (Jaidee Hailaek) that allows you to exchange credit for validity. For example you can get 30 days more validity for 122 Baht of your credit.

In addition I got 50 Baht of credit every month for a year (Total 600 Baht) and I applied for the Happy Savings Book which gives you additional 400 Baht.

They also have a nice online facility that enables you to manage your account (check balance, switch promotion, send 50 free SMS per month to other DTAC phones, ..).

[lomatopo]

I moved from One-2-Call to DTAC Happy.

Are you generally happy with the DTAC Happy service? Specifically, how is your call completion to other DTAC and One-2-Call subscribers? I am thinking about making this switch as I am unable to complete a call between 4 PM and 11 PM. Or I'll ask a Thai friend to get me a post-paid account. Call priority is given to post-paid customers.

Firefan, you might consider sending an email to One-2-Call, using the email address I provided, asking them about promotions and a recommended plan for yourself. When I've sent similar inquiries I've been amazed and the detailed information, in English, that they send.

[SoMeOnEnUlL]

Thanks, lomatopo! Your information was really healpful!

[alexth]

I changed about 2 months ago from 1-2-call because the service was intollerable (no chance of making or receiving calls after 7pm until about 2am in the morning....sometimes not at all).

I switched to True....best move I ever made. No problems phoning or connecting (unless phoning a Thai GSM phone...lol)

You buy a 99 THB sim which has 50 THB on it and then you get a bonus 30 THB (so you end up paying 19THB for the sim.

Also..everytime you recharge you get bonus credit (30THB for a 50 THB card, 100 THB for a 300 THB card).

They also have a promo which is 25 SATANG!!!! per minute (3 THB for SMS) 24/7.

I now have another problem though. I can't use my credit up fast enough before the expiry date. My phone now has 1200 THB credit just because I need the extra time. But like my old boss used to say...it's the right problem to have.

So, are you happy with TrueMove? I am on 1-2-Call now and would really like to switch...the problem is the poor network coverage. I live in the Srinakarin area and signal here is very poor, not mentioningf when I'm home (my condo is on a high floor) and sometimes having a phone conversation is almost impossible.

BTW, I love your signature

[grtaylor]

I've been on AIS GSM for over eight years now - monthly contract paid by direct debit. For various reasons (mainly that too many people know it!) I want to change my number. While I'm doing this, and numbers are going to change anyway soon, I thought I would look at the different providers.

I have a few questions:

• How does this pre-paid actually work? What do you buy at a 7-11? a new SIM, a code?
  
• If I get a pre-paid number - can I change my payment to contract later on?
  
• There's been a lot on here about the different providers. Which do people feel is the best to go with for the future?
  

Thanks,

Graham