Mobile SIM for PAYG Data (?)

IRememberItWell

I'll never want to look at emails/Facebook/youTube etc while walking along the road or sitting in the park. But the proposed NHS Covid vaccination app will see me dragged kicking and screaming into the Smartphone age.

What I need is a PAYG card for my wife’s cast-off (unlocked) iPhone that will permit occasional data use. The main requirement will be to prove my vaccination status when we go abroad … hopefully later in the year.

At present, I use her old iPhone for BBC Sounds via WIFI around the house. I have a basic Nokia with a PAYG card for the odd phone call when I’m out and about. 

I would ­­­have liked such a deal via EE, our home broadband provider. However, they do not offer data via PAYG even at a premium rate. You have to take out a 30-day package month after month after month.

Can someone pse tell me whether there is a provider that meets the above requirement? 

IRIW

 

 

flashg67

Is the iphone unlocked to any provider? 1pmobile.com might work for you - you just top up and use your credit, and the same rates apply in many countries abroad. 3 mobile, Leara and others offer pure pay as you go  but at a higher rate. With most of these sims though, you'll need to make a chargeable call or text every so often to keep the number active.

IRememberItWell

Thanks for the reply.
Yes, the iPhone is unlocked.
I probably won't use the phone abroad because I have PAYG cards for basic, foreign, mobiles. I know about the requirement to make a chargeable call every now and then and this is what I do.
But as I mention in my original post, the main requirement is for occasional PAYG data ... as will be required with the 'vaccination passport' app that is planned.
ITIW

Bogof_OAP

You seem to know a lot more than me about this anticipated vaccination passport mechanism.  Do you have a link to the details of this?

Neil49

You could consider this from Three which you could just use when you need data. 

https://3g.co.uk/three-data-reward-sim

More info about the NHS app would be useful. Can you provide a link to this? 

IRememberItWell

Thanks for the replies - I'll check out the 3g.co.uk suggestion.
Regarding the proposed vaccination app ... I only know what I've read in the press. There was a piece in The Times, "Digital pass to unlock Europe for UK tourists" on 2 March. Guess it's also been covered elsewhere. As far as I know it's not the existing app that you use when entering certain shops. The latter is more for track and trace. I guess the vaccination app will come in due course but it's not yet out.
Such a vaccination app would be a necessity for foreign travel - it's the only thing that would force me into getting data via a phone.
IRIW

Farway

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56202645

But being EU and different governments a lot of wrangling has yet to take place, then chuck in WHO and non EU countries I would guess any formal agreement is ages off

IRememberItWell

OK all noted about the possible app. However, when (if) it comes I will need it.
Regarding:
https://3g.co.uk/three-data-reward-sim
Thanks.
I've looked at this and it's data only, which is fine if push comes to shove.
But what I'd really like is a true PAYG card for the iPhone - one that offers phone calls/texts but also data. And all this on a strictly PAYG basis. If I don't need to top up then I will not. I hate the idea of having to top up every month whether or not I have used all the credit.
IRIW

JJ_Egan

Giffgaff   i have to send text or call every few months is all , no top ups required .

J_B

Just thinking outside the box perhaps.

How much do you normally spend on PAYG?

Would you consider a cheap contract? https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobiles/cheap-sim-only-contracts/#low for a fiver perhaps?

Although you "never want to look at facebook when out and about" maybe it would be beneficial for maps (for example) when travelling.

glennevis

IRememberItWell said:

OK all noted about the possible app. However, when (if) it comes I will need it.
Regarding:
https://3g.co.uk/three-data-reward-sim
Thanks.
I've looked at this and it's data only, which is fine if push comes to shove.
But what I'd really like is a true PAYG card for the iPhone - one that offers phone calls/texts but also data. And all this on a strictly PAYG basis. If I don't need to top up then I will not. I hate the idea of having to top up every month whether or not I have used all the credit.
IRIW

The Three Data Reward SIM is a payg SIM. You can make calls and send txts or use more than 200MB data/month if you buy payg topup.

The only difference is you don't *have* to top it up if you only want to use a little data or receive calls and txts. It's the only SIM I've found where the minimum cost is £0/month.