How PM works for somebody often abroad?

[nilem]

I'm often abroad for long periods, and despite having a good deal with Koodo, I pay a lot for months that I don't use. PM seems to have something interesting to offer for somebody in my situation, but I feel the website is unclear about exactly how it works.

• If I take the 120$ for 90 days package today, and then wait less than 90 days after my package expire, am I force to pay another 120$ package to keep that deal available to me?
• If instead, after the 90 days suspended time, I take a 10 days package with nothing in it, will I have another 90 wait suspended time after that?
• If I use the lost/stole feature to suspend my account after 60 days on my package, will I be able to re-enable the same phone and the last 30 days of my package after?
  • Sub question : how many times a year I can use the lost/stole feature?

[srlawren]

@nilem yes that same restriction would apply as with Koodo, where you can only choose from current plans when making a plan change.  You can keep whatever you're on, but once you move away from it (assuming it's been discontinued/grandfathered), you can not get it back again.  This is pretty typical across most/all Canadian carriers.

In regard to auto-pay, your safest bet would indeed be to keep it off, I believe.  If you timed it right, you might be able to keep it on only during the times when you're actively using a plan rather than the $11 plan, but I'm not exactly sure how to suggest you time turning it on and off for that scenario.  For the $2/30 days you save, with a risk of an accidental $120 renewal auto-occurring when you didn't really want it, I would think you would be safer to keep it off.  Someone else may be able to offer you better advice, but start with that as your strategy for now.

[nilem]

@imm1304 I'm in Quebec, I've seen that we got better deal than other provinces lately. 

@srlawren Thank you for the clarification. I was under the impression that this plan was for a very limited time. This is an interesting point, because it is the problem with Koodo : they offer a 15$/month plan while you are abroad, but when coming back you can only take a current plan.

My understanding is also that I won't be able to subscribe to auto-renew (and get the discount) if I want to do this, right? 

[srlawren]

PS @Luddite and @imm1304--great responses!

[srlawren]

@nilem one quick point of clarification--as @imm1304 indiciated, the $120 90 day plan is not a promotion, it's just "being promoted" as a great value.  Kind of like how restaurants will give you a "featured menu items" page when you are seated, but often they are just calling out regular menu items that they want to promote.  That's the kind of promotion that this plan is.

However, with that said, as we have seen with the recent plan changes, at any point in time PM can change what set of plans they offer.  What happens then is that the plan you are on at that time will get grandfathered.  So let's say you're in one of your 90 day $120 plan times when that happens next, you could keep that plan, but then if you changed to an $11 10 day plan, you would not be able to change back to the $120 90 day plan (assuming they discontinue it).  

Now again, this is all "what if" scenarios--given that PM just changed the plan offerings, they likely won't be doing so again any time soon.  And even if they did, they may or may not discontinue the plan in which you are interested ($120/90).  So, it may not be an issue for a long time, or it may never really be an issue.  I just wanted you to be aware that things COULD change, and do seem to from time to time.

Hopefully that's clear?

[imm1304]

Which province are you in?

I just checked fido website for me in Ontario, the 2GB plan with spotify is $65 per month.  

Here are 2 choices:  

1. You can get teh $120/6GB plan for 90 days.  The plan will expire sometime in early November.  And then the account will be suspended for up to 90 days more.  Thats takes care of almost 6 months of mobile service from the day you sign up.  Advantage is that you won't have to sign in and pay for a 10-day plan while you are away.  And 180 days from the day you sign up takes you to beginning of February.

2.  Sign up for 30 days plans at $50.  Then remember to purchase a lowest cost 10-day plan some time in January.  Then come back and select your preferred $120/6GB plan on the day you come back to Canada.  

[nilem]

Thank a lot! Your answer was really clear!

My situation now : I pay 34$/month with Koodo for Canada-wide and 1 go, which is not enough anymore. Fido offers 40$ for 2 go + spotify. I would like to take PM in the next days, and leave the country around mid-october, to come back around febuary of next year. Then, I'm unsure of the dates I will go abroad. For now, it look like a lot of planing if I go with PM.

[imm1304]

@nilem, the $120 6GB plan is not a promotion.  Its a new regular new plan.  

Unfortunately, the temporary suspension feature on Lost/stolen page does not pause the plan cycle.  So it doesn't serve your purpose very well.

Just do a comparative calculation to figure out which option best works for you.  People in the community will gladly help you by giving specific cost estimates for your specific scenarios if you like.

For example, if you are only going to be in the country for 60 days, you can get the 2GB plan for 30 days.. it costs $50.  So, this will total to $100 for the 2 months.. which is less than the $120 for the 90 days.   

[nilem]

Thank you for your answer @Luddite, but I'm still a bit confused.

• Can you elaborate on your "NO"? I was under the impression that the current 120$ package is a promotion. If I switch to a 10 days w/ text package after to keep my line alive, when I come back, will I be able to take back the 120$ package?
• Okay, as the website show me the possibility of a 10 days package for 5$, I was under the impression I could use this. But I do understand that the self service won't let me do this. Still fine with me.
• The point on the lost/stole feature is that I might switch now for PM, but only use 2 months before going abroad, so I would be happy if I could save the last month for later instead of losing it while abroad.

[imm1304 · Accepted solution]

Hi @nilem!

Your account is suspended if you don't pay after your plan expires.  The suspended status remains for 90 days.  So, you have up to 90 days after your plan expired to make a payment and start using your PM service again.  

PM launched new plans last week.  So, if you are on one of the older plans that have been grandfathered, you can stay on that same plan but if you change to a different plan (such as 10-day plan), you will not be able to go back to the old grandfathered plan.  

However, if you can always select one of the new 90-day plans after having changed to a 10-day plan.  Basically, you can select any plan that is available via the Plans page.  

You are correct about selecting a 10-day plan and then at the end of the 10 days, you will have another 90 days suspended time.  

If you use the lost/stolen feature, your access to the PM call/text and data is suspended from that sim card.  It does not stop your plan cycle.. it will continue to count down each day.  

I believe you can use the lost/stolen feature as often as you need it.  However, if you intend to use it to keep the account active, its not a good option.  Selecting the lowest priced 10 day plan followed by extension of 90 days of suspended status is the better way to achieve this.

[Luddite]

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@nilem wrote:

I'm often abroad for long periods, and despite having a good deal with Koodo, I pay a lot for months that I don't use. PM seems to have something interesting to offer for somebody in my situation, but I feel the website is unclear about exactly how it works.

• If I take the 120$ for 90 days package today, and then wait less than 90 days after my package expire, am I force to pay another 120$ package to keep that deal available to me? NO
• If instead, after the 90 days suspended time, I take a 10 days package with nothing in it, will I have another 90 wait suspended time after that? You cannot take a package with nothing in it. The least expensive plan is $11 for 10 day texting. Also have a look at this thread: Long Absence
• If I use the lost/stole feature to suspend my account after 60 days on my package, will I be able to re-enable the same phone and the last 30 days of my package after? Don't know for sure but why bother?
•  
  • Sub question : how many times a year I can use the lost/stole feature? Again, what is the point? If you just stop paying your plan will go into suspension.

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