Is it worth keeping old SIMs from abroad?

Chomeur

When I go abroad I often get a local SIM card for making local calls. I figure this must be cheaper than making calls on my UK network, and I have two phones so I'm still contactable on my UK number.

Is it worth keeping the SIMs I buy abroad in case I go back to the country concerned? Or will they be deactivated after a certain time?

Thanks

ballyblack

probably will be deactivated after 6 months depending on network. just make one chargeable call or send 1 text to to keep it active

virgo17

Actually, quite a few foreign networks are not as 'kind' as most UK networks. In the UK we are used to SIM's that require a call or text every six months or so to keep them alive.

I have a Spanish PAYG SIM that requires an actual top (min €5) every six months or it stops working. All Spanish and quite a lot of other foreign PAYG networks work that way.

Here in the UK, Delight Mobile and a few other MVNO's have also changed their model to be even worse than that with any credit completely vanishing 90 days after a top up regardless of calls made.

http://kenstechtips.com/index.php/payg-inactivity-account-termination-and-credit-expiry

Atasas

virgo17 wrote: »

Actually, quite a few foreign networks are not as 'kind' as most UK networks. In the UK we are used to SIM's that require a call or text every six months or so to keep them alive.

I have a Spanish PAYG SIM that requires an actual top (min €5) every six months or it stops working. All Spanish and quite a lot of other foreign PAYG networks work that way.

Here in the UK, Delight Mobile and a few other MVNO's have also changed their model to be even worse than that with any credit completely vanishing 90 days after a top up regardless of calls made.

http://kenstechtips.com/index.php/payg-inactivity-account-termination-and-credit-expiry

Delight is utterly foreign in every aspect anyway...

mobilejunkie

Given how much space a sim takes up why not just keep it and see???

eDicky

Chomeur wrote: »

Is it worth keeping the SIMs I buy abroad in case I go back to the country concerned? Or will they be deactivated after a certain time?

It depends which country. Most often the SIM expires after a certain period since the last top-up, regardless of being used or not. Sometimes the period of validity extends further every time you top-up, as in Thailand, so if it has been used enough it can be valid for a year or two. Least common is the UK system requiring only a occasional chargeable event to retain service.

I have a little baggie with about fifteen various SIMs, takes up no space, in case they still work next time. For some I need to keep the number active so I top-up if necessary.

Chomeur

Thanks. I have about a dozen and they don't take up any space. It's more a question of whether it's worth my time to label them so I can tell what country they are from (it's often not at all obvious), and go through them if I go back to a country to find one that I need. Given that it sounds like the chances are that they won't work I think it might be best for me just to throw them away.