Orange Ready Deal 50 - "re-use" existing credit

Stuart_W

Sorry if someone else has already mentioned this.

Orange have a PAYG option called "Ready Deal 50" compatible with any PAYG tariff - for a cost of £50 you get 6 x £10 monthly top ups applied once a month for 6 months.

The idea being in return for paying upfront and committing to the network for 6 months you get £60 credit for £50.

It is available to all existing PAYG customers. They've done something similar (readydeal 60 and readydeal 120) for a while that involve a discount on a new phone.

HOWEVER - what I hadn't realised with Ready Deal 50 is that you can use £50 of EXISTING CREDIT BALANCE to pay for it. You don't need to pay with "new money".

If you log in to your account and click on the "top ups and extras" tab, choose "buy and extra" you can use £50 of your credit to buy ReadyDeal50.
Do not click on the "ReadyDeal 50" tab from the menu - as this forces you to make a £50 payment.

So if you are topping up £10 every month for free texts, minutes or internet etc, and accure a balance in excess of £50 you can use your existing balance to buy "ready deal 50" and re-use the same money to get the £10 top up reward for future months.

I have done this and it works.

Stuart_W

Me again, just confirming that once again I have "recycled" the same credit - again - to begin another 6 month cycle.

I originally purchased a ready deal 60 deal at the end of May 2012 with a Nokia 100 handset for £60 (whilst £25 quidco cashback was available - reducing the cost to £35).

£10 credit was automatically applied monthly for 6 months.
In November 2012 I purchased Ready Deal 50 from the accured unused credit balance.
Now, today, I have done the same again.

The monthly £10 credit provides whatever top-up bonus your chosen Orange tariff gets (texts and free music / texts and data / off-peak texts and minutes / international minutes) and you effectively build up £10 of "free" credit every 6 months, to use on whatever, whenever.

For any very low users that need to be on Orange due to other family members (if they're contract customers using Orange Magic Numbers etc) this is a great deal.

Herongull

So in theory you never need to topup ever again (as long as the deal continues) - you just keep recycling the credit indefinitely.

Stuart_W

Herongull wrote: »

So in theory you never need to topup ever again (as long as the deal continues) - you just keep recycling the credit indefinitely.

Yes, this is correct. The £10 top-up reward every month, and £20 free credit each year, with no need to pay anything.

They could, of course, withdraw Ready Deal 50 at any time, or withdraw the facility to use existing credit to purchase it, but Ready Deal in some shape or form has been available since 2010 so it doesn't look like they're in a rush to end it.

Stuart_W

Just checking in again on this thread to confirm that I've done this recycling of credit yet again.

I did it at the end of September 2013, but didn't post again here then. , and have just done it again tonight.

It seems you can re-activate Ready Deal 50 as soon as the final £10 credit from a previous ready deal 50 has been applied - so you can recycle the credit closer to every 5 months.

It is still working!

It looks a little different logging in these days, as Orange PAYG is slowly looking more and more like EE, but the Ready Deal 50 option is still there. Click on the Current Credit & Extras tab and then click on Buy and Extra. Ready Deal 50 appears in the list, £50 from existing credit is taken and then a cycle of 6 monthly £10 top ups begin.

On Dolphin this now means 400 texts and 1GB of data every month for free.

I started doing this before Ovivo existed, with a Ready Deal 60 Handset purchased in May 2012 (cost £60 with £30 quidco cashback and this included a basic nokia handset) and I'm still doing it, with no more than the initial £30 outlay paid, and I've donated more than the £30 I originally paid to charities via text donation!

Nothing is mentioned on the orange website about Ready Deal 50, and I'm expecting it to disappear at any given moment, but I'm making the most of it whilst it is still there.

redux

A Google search shows Ready Deal 50 only available to existing customers, and there were also Ready Deal 60 and 120 about a year ago.

Interesting, and it's a pity I hadn't noticed this before, before two of my old SIMs ran out through lack of use.

Do you suppose that option might show up for all customers, or only those already in the Ready Deal scheme? I suppose one way to find out is get a new SIM and log in ...

jaxo

Mine is just about to run out and I can't find the deal any more...am I missing the obvious?

I had a text couple of weeks ago saying I had til June 4th to sign up again by just texting "Ready Deal 50" to 6610.
But the auto response is they don't recognise that request

pheonix254

I suspect they've discontinued it. I also don't have the option any more online and my texts to 6610 (as instructed) also state there is an error with my request - mine finishes end of this month. I renewed a friends last month so it was working then, but I no longer get the option.

...Which is annoying.