Ways to keep a valued prepaid mobile # alive?

Viettel has various monthly plans from 3G to 4G which are ridiculously affordable .  You should drop by one of their offices, or call them up if you speak Vietnamese.

Stop by a Thế Giới Di Động near you, they're authorized to take payments and sell plans for all major cell phone providers.  Language will not be an issue there.



There's no such fee as you mentioned, but I always pay for multiple months so not to be bothered by the reminder too often later.  My husband is even lazier, he puts 1M into his non-plan plan, which lasts him more than a year.

You also get a discount when paying multiple months or above a certain amount.

Ciambella wrote:

My husband is even lazier, he puts 1M into his non-plan plan, which lasts him more than a year.

The problem with that is that I think they deactivate your account after 6 months of inactivity? I got a prepaid SIM from January and luckily I'm going back in May and will be able to use it a bit so that it doesn't deactivate, until I'm back for 7 months in September.

WillyBaldy wrote:

The problem with that is that I think they deactivate your account after 6 months of inactivity?

If you make one call every two months, the account will stay active.  Doesn't matter the length as long as it's a direct call -- meaning not via WhatsApp, Viber, Zalo, etc. and the call is connected.

Ciambella wrote:

WillyBaldy wrote:

The problem with that is that I think they deactivate your account after 6 months of inactivity?

If you make one call each month, the account will stay active.  Doesn't matter the length as long as it's a direct call -- meaning not via WhatsApp, Viber, Zalo, etc. and the call is connected.

It's just a bit hard to use that SIM card from Canada So keeping a card active while abroad between trips can be challenging.

WillyBaldy wrote:

It's just a bit hard to use that SIM card from Canada So keeping a card active while abroad between trips can be challenging.

Check with Vinaphone.  IIRC, they have a SIM card that gives you 50 international minutes to 6 or 8 countries including Canada.  I'm thinking, which may not be correct at all, that if there's a To, then a From may not be so far behind.

PS:  I hope you understand my last sentence.  I'm too tired to explain clearly.  Heading to bed.

Ciambella wrote:

WillyBaldy wrote:

It's just a bit hard to use that SIM card from Canada So keeping a card active while abroad between trips can be challenging.

Check with Vinaphone.  IIRC, they have a SIM card that gives you 50 international minutes to 6 or 8 countries including Canada.  I'm thinking, which may not be correct at all, that if there's a To, then a From may not be so far behind.

Well, they'd have to allow *roaming*, which means I can connect with their SIM in Canada and use it. I really doubt any Vietnamese telecom allows roaming abroad but times are changing and I could be wrong. Simply allowing international calls *from* Vietnam would not work. But I'll need to investigate this, if it really works it could be useful one day.

WillyBaldy wrote:

It's just a bit hard to use that SIM card from Canada So keeping a card active while abroad between trips can be challenging.

Or: Know anyone in Vietnam, friend or family? Leave them with your SIM in a cheapo phone. Remind them by email after 5 months: please make a call. Similar to what my wife does: leaves the SIM with her sister, sister pops it in her phone for a quick use. Her number requires usage every 2 or 3 months.

gobot wrote:

WillyBaldy wrote:

It's just a bit hard to use that SIM card from Canada So keeping a card active while abroad between trips can be challenging.

Or: Know anyone in Vietnam, friend or family? Leave them with your SIM in a cheapo phone. Remind them by email after 5 months: please make a call. Similar to what my wife does: leaves the SIM with her sister, sister pops it in her phone for a quick use. Her number requires usage every 2 or 3 months.

Yeah that's what I should have done, although I might or might not have used that number for shady stuff and might not want someone else have access to it