Pausing Account vs Monthly Plan Changes

[Maj341]

For the next couple of years I'll be rotating back and forth between US and Canada on a 28 day rotation (i.e. Canada for 28 days, US for 28 days, etc).

I also have a work phone which I'll probably use, almost exclusively, while working in the US.  When at home back in Canada I'll probably turn the work phone off and use my personal phone which is currently on a PM plan.

I'd like to save some money, given that I won't be using my PM phone much while in the states (and when I do it'll be a hotspot wifi connection from my work phone).

My options appear to be:

1) Pause my service the day I leave Canada, resume it the day I return.  
2) Change my plan monthly.  Switch to the $15/month plan when I leave, switch back to $40 plan that I currently use when I return.

But would either of these really work? 

For Option 1 is there a limit on the number of times I can pause my service per year?  The official PM webpage I found says I can pause it for up to 90 days, but makes no mention of whether there's a limit to the number of times/year one can do that.  Same goes for changing the plan.

For both Options 1 & 2 I'm wondering how these would work with respect to billing cycle dates.  Surely I'd always be changing my plan days or weeks before or after the billing cycle date, never exactly on.  Is the monthly plan prorated based on how many days you were on a particular plan?

Any other ideas?  

Thanks

[RavingRaven]

@Maj341 

Your question seems simple enough to me? If you already have a work phone that can be used for a day or 2 of transition when reactivating your Public Mobile account then matching your 30 day cycle to your work 28 day cycle shouldn't be that hard. It's just a matter of when you reactivate.

Hopefully your renewal date is close to your first departure date. Regardless unsubscribe at the renewal closest to departure a few days before or how many days after and reactivate upon return. Then unsubscribe for the next renewal. You will mostly have a day or 2 of overlap on either end of your 28 work schedule with your PM service but basically only pay one month of service per 60 days saving=$40.

[maurelle]

Late to the party...

But you don't mention how much data you anticipate to need in Canada.

There are a few plans in self serve right now that have the 90 day option. Like this one:

So it would be $120/150GB/90days. Here's how I'd be using this:

If I'd assume that your renewal would be coming up on the same day you leave for your first 28 stint... Say next Monday, January 29?

- Schedule plan change for to 90day plan for January 29, but let plan go into suspension (plan change will happen before the system attempts to get payment)

- Reactivate 90 day plan on your return on February 26, you have until May 26 to use the 150GB.

- Just leave the plan running while you are in the US from March 25 until April 22

- Use whatever is left of the 150GB while you are back in Canada April 22 - May 20

- Make sure that the plan goes into suspension on May 26

- Reactivate account on your return on June 17, you have 150GB until Sep 17

Rinse and repeat as needed. You got the idea.

As I said, this is just for illustration and the dates are assumed. I also just used carry over in excel, so day 28 of one cycle is day 1 of the next... 

[Phil_Adelphus]

@Maj341  You probably couldn't log in earlier today because the system was down for a while.  Another option would be to suspend PM and use the Fongo (or similar) app for calls on the Android phone since you plan to only use it on wifi anyway. 

[Maj341]

Yes, it's possible my plan was a promotion from a while back and in that sense I wouldn't be able to drop it and re-add it.  I can't get into my account right now for some reason, so can't even tell you more if I wanted to.

I was looking at the US/Canada plan.  It is the luxury option no doubt.  But it is also spending MORE money rather than less.  On the other hand there is the most economical option: Drop PM altogether, give my Pixel 7 to my wife who needs a better phone, and just use my work iPhone/plan.  If it were an Android that's what I would do, but unfortunately my work provides iPhones only and I just can't get along with it.

[HALIMACS]

The challenge with the OP's particular situation is that they are back and forth between Canada and the US on rotating 28-day Cycles.

From my perspective, there is very little they can do to match that schedule with a rotating $15 and $40 plan.

They'll always be switching plans and losing out on days from cycles when doing immediate plan changes.

But doing the above immediate changes from 15 to 40 and back, is really there only option.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@Maj341   There doesn't seem to be a $40 plan currently unless it is in a province I'm not looking at, at least not a 30 day $40 plan, do you still see it as available?   Plans change so often that there's no guarantee one you  had will still be there when you want to switch back.  Is there any way to factor in the US/Canada plan, might your work be persuaded to contribute?

[softech]

@Maj341 @

This is what you need to do to keep alive the account:

PM only allows the account to be suspended for 90 days or your account will be permanently closed, and you will loss the number.

So, your option is temporarily suspending the account and reactivate for 30 days before the 90 days deadline.

Here is what you can do (assuming your Available fund = $0)

1.  First, change plan to $15 plan (to reduce the cost to keep your number)
   (While this plan change saves you money, but please be aware that you might not be able to get back your current plan if that plan is no longer available when you are back.  If you are worried, or your current plan is already not available, skip this plan change step but you can still follow this pause subscription steps with higher cost)
2.  Then disable "Subscribed" from Payment page (Payment page, Managed Subscription, toggle off the "Subscribed" there
3.  On the next renewal date, since pre-authorized payment is disabled, it won't be renewed.   
         Make note of that day 1 of the suspension date
4. !!!!VERY IMPORTANT!!!   Come back at around 85th days after the first date of the suspension to make a manual payment to renew the account for 30 days.  You can simply click "Pay Now and Resume Services" button and follow the step to make a manual payment.
   If you have changed to $15 plan in Step 1, it will just cost you $15 for that 30-days cycle. 
   After you make the payment, make sure you see clearly that the account status is changed to ACTIVE.  If not, you will either have to open ticket with PM support or come and seek help here in the Community.
   (Don't wait till the 89th or 90th days as My Account could be down for maintenance or payment could be an issue, you want to give yourself enough time to sort it out)
5.  Make note of that date, again, the account will be active for 30 days only and will be suspended again after the 30 days.  Make note of the date it got suspended again.
6.  As the Autopay toggle "Subscribed" is already toggled off, it won't renew after that-30 days cycle.
   
   I hope you will be back by then. You just need to change the plan back to the one you want and then reactivate and remember to enable Autopay again (toggle on "Subscribed")
   If you still not back to Canada by the end of that 90 days, then come back NO LATER than 85th date and repeat from step 4 again.

[HALIMACS · Accepted solution]

@Maj341 

There really isn't going to be much you can do to save a lot of money given your 28-day rotating Cycles in the US / Canada.

While you can pause service as much as you want, there really is no benefit to doing that.

And as far as changing plans from $15 to the $40 plan, it won't coincide with the cycles of when you're arriving and leaving Canada so you'll be stuck with paying for partial cycles. 

And to make matters worse, there are no prorations or refunds so you'll end up paying a lot of money just to maintain the public mobile service here between $15 and $40 plans.

[Sansan]

Hi,

Both options 1 and 2 would work yes. No mention of how many times you can pause, the norm would typically be 1-2, you would be doing more so can't say for sure in your scenario.  But I would think you can do it as often as you wish. 

No pro-ated amount. It is always advised to change plans or pause plans close to the renewal date so that you don't lose much due to no refund or pro rating.

You can switch plans as much as you wish as long as it's available in your account. You might not get back your current plan,  it has to be available.

Plans re new every 30 days so will always be out by 1 or 2 days. 

So if you really want to keep the phone number, switch to the $15 plan and leave it permanently for when you are back in the country.  With discounts you probably pay 1 or 2 dollars less.  Or close the account if you don't really need it. If you need it in a year or so, you create a new account, new plan everything. Would just have to start fresh.