I thought I'd update this thread. My youngest son is on the $9.99 TPG plan (probably the only 17 year old who can manage on a $9.99 cap - he's probably also the only 17 year old I know who has only just got a phone).
Today my Optus plan finishes. I applied for TPG last week and tomorrow (once I'm definitely off plan) I'll port my number over (how's that for tech talk
).
According to Optus, for the past few months I've used $250/$300 in calls and less than 300mg in data, so their $17.99 cap gives me $500 in calls (same call costs as Optus plan I was on) and 1.5GB data (stacks more than I use and more than the 1GB on my Optus plan).
I was paying $50 per month with Optus plus $18 per month for the phone. Over two years that means I've paid $864 for my phone. If I upgrade, I'll just buy a new phone outright and still be on the $17.99 per month plan. I will get usage alerts so I should't go over my cap.
I called Optus retention team (at their suggestion) and they offered me a plan at $40 per month for twelve months. I pointed out that I'm getting more at TPG for $17.99 per month so the offered to drop their retention offer to $30 per month for six months. What the??? I politely explained that is still almost double the plan I'm switching to, and I'll be getting more data and same cost of calls.
TPG use Optus infrastructure, so hopefully I will get the same coverage, and I'm not locked in at all.
I'm now trying to convince my middle son to switch. His phone is busted but usable and in two months he comes off his plan. He has to decide whether to buy a new one via the $18 per month on top of his plan. I've told him I'll lend him the money to buy a new phone up front and then he can drop down to $17.99 per month as well.
I'm trying to convince him to get into Optus before his plan runs out and get them to fix his phone under the warranty. He's mad if he doesn't do that. Then he can have a new (or refurbished) phone and still move over to the cheaper telco when his time is up.
