Activating a Public Mobile Black Friday Plan at a Later Date

[Mohammad_Saa]

Hello,

I currently have an active prepaid plan with Chatr Mobile that is set to expire on December 19th. I'm interested in switching to Public Mobile and would like to take advantage of the Black Friday deals. Is it possible for me to buy a plan now and then activate it closer to the end of my current plan, say around December 15th? Thank you for your assistance!

[Andy85]

Hi @Mohammad_Saa,

From what I've been reading in the community forum, people have been experiencing delays getting their physical SIM. Sometimes it may take a couple of weeks to receive, other times, it is received in a timely manner. I've read that you can purchase the public mobile sim cards on Amazon which gets shipped out much faster if timing is an issue. Additionally, you can always opt for the ESIM if your phone is compatible with it. If you really want the physical SIM, it actually might even be best to just pick one up in person at a store where they are sold. On the Public Mobile site, there is a place where you can enter your postal code and the site will give you locations closest to you so that you can have a SIM card on hand right away without any stress.

In terms of the purchase of your plan, you can do that in advance of receiving your sim card if you are afraid of missing out on the limited time promotion. 

[ottawa]

I have no direct knowledge, but based on what I've read here, don't trust the 2 days estimate if it matters. Lots if threads ours "haven't received but SIM". Experts here can comment better.

The other thing I thought of is, this whole $15 workaround is clever, but if the PM BF plan is wildly better, consider just signing up for that and losing balance is ChatR. How I look at it is, that money is gone. If you're on (say) $25/1GB@3G and really really want (say) $34/40GB@5G, just sign up for the $34. Why punish yourself on the other plan.  "I paid for it so I have to eat it". For the next 3 weeks it's an extra $22 or so to heave PM in parallel. You don't have to play right away, since you're changing networks you can get a new # and see if Telus is good where you are.

[Mohammad_Saa]

I want to extend a earnest thanks to each of you for your valuable insights and suggestions. Your shared experiences and knowledge have greatly helped in clarifying the situation for me.
I've discovered that I can indeed purchase a PM Black Friday deal with a SIM card right now, and the website mentions that the SIM card will be sent within 2 business days. This leads me to a question: If I purchase the plan now, does the plan start immediately upon purchase, or does it only begin when I receive and activate the SIM card?
Additionally, if the plan's start date is tied to the receipt of the SIM card, rather than its activation, how does PM manage this? Do they track the delivery date of the SIM card to determine the start date of the plan, or is there a different mechanism in place for this?

[Andy85]

@Mohammad_Saa I used to be a client with Chatr. I just looked at their site and I am shocked that they don't have any Black Friday deals! It's as if they haven't improved their plans since the 3 years I've been gone. I don't blame you for wanting to switch. Honestly, the 40gb/$34 plan is worth making the switch for. It completely crushes anything Chatr has to offer.

[ottawa]

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@Mohammad_Saa wrote:

Hello,

I currently have an active prepaid plan with Chatr Mobile that is set to expire on December 19th. I'm interested in switching to Public Mobile and would like to take advantage of the Black Friday deals. Is it possible for me to buy a plan now and then activate it closer to the end of my current plan, say around December 15th? Thank you for your assistance!

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Now that you've been flooded with suggestions, you might want to post more details (if you're comfortable) to make sure it works. My biggest concern is what happens if you order a SIM by mail from PM (seems to be taking weeks), and whether you can lock in a plan before you have a SIM. Or if you need to find a SIM faster, like from Amazon or a Telus/Koodo retailer (I think some have them).

[ottawa]

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@Tmoney wrote:

They are not  a current customer so this would not work. OP @Mohammad_Saa, unless you want to pay for two phone plans at once, you cant pause the start of Public's subscription. Once you buy it, then it starts that same day. The only way to surely lock in these deals is to buy and start the public plans now.

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I agree. The only thing I'd say is "you have to do the math". A friend on PM is going to the US next month, a short enough trip that a 15-day Roaming Package is enough. But if they were going for 4 weeks, and the trip started a week before plan renewal, I'd be seriously considering an immediate switch to a Canada-US plan ($65/60GB in ON), lose the last week of their current $34 plan, and the next day book a deferred change back to $34. In this case they're double-paying for a week (by switching 3 weeks into a billing cycle) but the bottom line is cheaper than buying $30+$40 (roaming packages, to have no 24hour gap, and only 6GB total) to cover the trip. (At least I think it is; it's just a hypothetical being created at 2am 🙂 ).

[Andy85]

@ottawa exactly! @Mohammad_Saa would just need to consider burning $15 up front and then immediately switch the plan to whatever they wish but ensuring that they choose the "change at next renewal" option.

[ottawa]

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@Momomomomo wrote:

@Andy85 OP is asking if they can wait till dec 19 to switch to PM for the blackfriday deal

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I think @Andy85 understood that. The proposed solution is clever, and I don't see why it wouldn't work (I'm open to hearing it wouldn't though). @Mohammad_Saa  could sign up today (Nov 26) as a new customer on the $15 plan with a new number, then as soon as it's in place book a change ** on next renewal date ** (i.e. Dec 26) to the BF plan of choice. The $15 is lost (okay they get 250MB for it) but might be worth it depending what BF plan they want. Come Dec 18 or so, if the desired plan is still offered, or offered as an early BD promo, order it for immediate effect and port out the ChatR number (if it's important). If it's no longer offered, cough up for another month of ChatR and port out around Dec 18 if the number is important and start using the PM plan.

Obviously this requires double-payment (ChatR and PM) from now until Dec 18, and possibly until Jan 17, but it depends how much you want that PM plan and how little ChatR is costing. But you're paying for ChatR until Dec 18 anyway, so the real extra cost is $15 for an unused month of PM, and possibly an extra month of ChatR (something has to cover Dec 18-Dec 26 in my scenario, either an early PM change or an extra month of ChatR).

The one thing I'm not sure of is the timing of getting a SIM. I literally have no idea if you can order a BF plan now before the SIM arrives. It might require OP finding a local retailer, or maybe next-day from Amazon Prime (claims they'll deliver a PM SIM to me for $5 on Mon Nov 27 if I order on Sun Nov 26).

[Tmoney]

They are not  a current customer so this would not work. OP @Mohammad_Saa, unless you want to pay for two phone plans at once, you cant pause the start of Public's subscription. Once you buy it, then it starts that same day. The only way to surely lock in these deals is to buy and start the public plans now.

[Momomomomo]

@Mohammad_Saa There may be Christmas deals by then. But i doubt it would be as good as Black Friday 

[Momomomomo]

@Andy85 OP is asking if they can wait till dec 19 to switch to PM for the blackfriday deal

[Andy85 · Accepted solution]

@Mohammad_Saa There are using boxing day deals around that period but it is unpredictable what they will be.

Otherwise, if you do not wish to take a chance, you can always join Public Mobile now on an inexpensive $15 plan and then immediately choose another plan of your choice for it to take effect on your next renewal. So you would pay $15 to basically hold a line and then you'll get the plan of your choice 30 days following. It is very unorthodox but it's the loophole that I could think of if you fear that you'll be missing out on the black Friday deals.