Ais Vs. Dtac Permanent Mobile Number Chip

[alohatiger]

I've got one of those 200 baht telephone SIM chips with 1-2-call, or AIS.

I'd like to know the prices, requirements and advantages of getting a full-fledged chip.

Right now, I'm supposed to be able to send MMS messages (pics and sounds to other phones), but no deal yet. I'll try 1175 again or go to the Central World 4th floor and talk to them there (AIS) (they're supposed to fix everything.)

AIS Serenade is available to power users who spend more than 1500 baht a month for 6 months. Don't know what it offers though. You do get to sit down at Siam Paragon in nice, white leather chairs and chat with a cute girl with a tablet notebook, though.

Is DTAC any better than AIS?

How is there coverage in other parts of Thailand? AIS vs. DTAC. I know their coverages are different.

Should we talk about promotions here, as well? Who runs better promotions, but also has good phone quality and doesn't shutdown during peak hours?

Thanks for all the help!

[astral]

To get a prepaid account you will need a work permit.

The coverage depends on your area, so take local advice.

Generally both companies have good coverage in all the major areas.

[Sophon]

To get a prepaid account you will need a work permit.

I think that astral meant to say that to get a postpaid account you need a work permit. You already have a prepaid account.

Sophon

[astral]

Thanks

I did indeed mean Post Paid.

A slip of the finger..........

[Moonfruit]

Ive used AIS for 4 years on the same account. Keep changing my promotion around every 6 months or so.

My phone is used for business, and my bill comes out around 1,800THB/month. My current promotion gives me free calls to all phones in Thailand, landline or cellphone during the day (6am-6pm) and on Saturdays and Sundays. Weekday evenings the first minute is 3baht, with every following minute 1 baht. If your call is longer than 3 minutes, the following minutes are free. So, tha maximum you pay for a single call within Thailand is 5thb.

Ive had no problems at all with it. I use gprs a lot and find it pretty reliable. I once had my phone stolen, and when i reported it to AIS they had a new sim card to me within 4 hours and i was back on the fone.

Also, with the ability to pay online direct from your account, it saves you all that running to 7-11 for a top up card.

[Moonfruit]

Oh, also forgot to mention Serenade. Being a Serenade member also gives you a different call center to use where the level of English is way better and the service is great.

Example, my new car broke down at Siam Paragon parking garage last new year. I called Serenade and they got a mechanic out to me within an hour. Thats what i call service from a mobile provider!! Shame the ISP's cant take a leaf out of their book!

[SoMeOnEnUlL]

@Moonfruit, what did you need to get that service? work-permit? minimum usage or monthly fee?!

[Florin]

As mentioned in the first post, AIS Signature is available for 1500B+ monthly expenditures...a work permit is not a must, I have a 1-year student visa (so also non-immigrant) and have no problems obtaining a postpaid account.

For the past 3 years I've been a DTAC subscriber and have generally been very happy with their service...let me give a few examples:

1. The CallCenter is very good at solving issues, I've never had language problems with any of the operators.

2. The dedicated centers in places like Central Pinklao and Paragon are top-notch in terms of customer service, including such things as phone configuration. Especially the tech guys at Paragon have always gotten an A+ from me for professionalism and effort (they were in Central World before), on one ocassion they spent 2 hours (!) solving a complex wireless modem script issue that a friend of mine had...

3. Some may say that this is not an advantage, but their 12.000 Baht credit limit is a very nice touch...using roaming, international calling & such I racked up quite a bill this way, but they do not cut off service as long as the money I owe them is less than 12.000 Baht.

4. They have the "Maximize" premium service, for min. 999B/month expenditure you get access to a host of 5-10% discounts at bowling alleys, movie theaters & such...I haven't made much use of it unfortunately because of Thai-only documentation (and website) which constantly changes and is apparently hard to comprehend even for the locals

5. They have EDGE set up in large areas of Bangkok and a few other places in the country...this means 3x the speed of GPRS, which really shows when using the net on the road.

6. (This is pretty obscure, I guess, but hey, it's a benefit ) You get frequent flyer mileage on TG when using DTAC for roaming...it's not much and it's dependant on paying the (hefty) bill on time, so I've never yet managed to actually get it.

[SoMeOnEnUlL]

Thanks a lot! I guess they don't have any other plan lower than 1500$ a month usage.

[astral]

Shoot.............

I spend 3-400 baht a month on my prepaid.

[SoMeOnEnUlL]

Shoot.............

I spend 3-400 baht a month on my prepaid.

Yup! same here!