Table of Contents
Introduction
If you’re like me, who spent a lot of money on load before as a Globe user but never consumed most of their data before they expire, this is the post for you. What I’m about to share is not secret knowledge. But enough people seem to not be aware of it that I wanted to create this post to point to people when they want to save some money on load.
How much are you spending on load?
If you have a postpaid plan, this post isn’t for you. But I do hope that it’s a company postpaid plan. If you do pay for your own plan and your postpaid plan is about to expire, do consider not renewing it and following the guide below. With that said, if you have a postpaid plan, you’re most likely spending the most money you can spend on a per text, call, and per gigabyte of data basis. Unless you call landlines all the time, it’s most likely not worth it.
If you’re on prepaid then now we can talk. Try to think of how much load you spend in a year and how many times you wish you had load in a certain situation. Now what if I tell you there’s an affordable way to always have load for calls, text, and data with no expiry. I would like to push you towards Smart’s Magic Data promos. There’s also Magic Data+ that includes calls and text. There’s even a Magic Calls option now that includes landline.
When can you start saving?
You can start saving now. If you’re already on Smart and somehow haven’t done this yet. Download and register to the Smart app if you haven’t already. From there, you can register to any of the Magic promos except for the 2GB and 6GB options. This is because the price per gigabyte starting from the 24GB tier is way more affordable (P16.63) compared to the 6GB tier (P33.17). The cost per gigabyte will only go lower with the larger GB tiers. This tip is also true for the Data+ variant, skip the 2GB and 6GB packs. Another tip, is to check your phone’s data usage stats so you can estimate the data plan you should get but getting their largest plan is definitely the best way to save in the long run.
Setup Smart e-sim as your secondary number
If you’re not on Smart or your primary sim is Globe but you have an iPhone or an Android phone that supports dual sims and e-sims, then you should add Smart as your secondary sim. You can buy a Smart e-sim here for P99. You’ll receive the e-sim as a QR code in your email that you scan with your phone. You can set it up in a few minutes and now you have access to one of the most cost effective ways to use your phone.
Switch to Smart
If your phone doesn’t support dual sims or e-sims, your options are switching to a different network and changing your number or keeping your number and just switching to Smart. You will have to go to a smart store if you want to keep your number (instructions).
Downside
The only downside I can think of is if your main internet connection is the mobile data plan on your phone or if you’re a heavy data user. If you’re the latter, Magic Data might still be worth it for you. But compare with the data plans offered by Dito (if available and stable in your area) and Gomo. If you only use data a lot during certain periods of time like a long road trip, you can always avail of the non-magic plans that Smart offers. Registering to other plans won’t invalidate your magic data plan and they’ll be consumed first before your magic data is used.
The data and how much I personally saved
To illustrate the amount of money you can save, I’ll be sharing my experience and show some computations as an example as well. Of course, savings will vary depending on your actual data consumption habits but this is a good starting place for comparison. Before this, I only had Globe on my phone and was loading GoExtra99 every 7 days or GoExtra199 every 15 days. Both included 8GBs for all sites and unlimited calls and text to all networks. If I continued loading the same promo on Globe in the last 8 months as I post this, I would have spent roughly P3,184 or P4,776 for one (1) year of load.
How much did I save?
I bought my Smart e-sim and added it to my phone as a second number in October 2023. I only bought Magic Data twice since switching. Once in October for Magic Data+ for P749 (It was the highest tier at the time) with 48GB of data, 600 minutes, and 600 texts and Magic Data in April for P599 with 48GB of data. I didn’t even have to get Magic Data+ again because I still had a lot of calls and texts from October. As of posting this, I’ve only spent P1,348 in the last 8 months and I still have 29GBs, 562 call minutes, and 541 texts remaining. Even if I load another P599 again to round up the year, it would only cost P1,947 which is a savings of P2,829 or 59% savings compared to my Globe loading habit.
How much do postpaid plans costs?
If you compare this to a sim only postpaid plan from either Globe or Smart which costs P599 a month or P7,188 per year with an inferior data package, it’s way ahead on cost effectiveness. Dito’s plan is P388 a month or P4,656 a year which costs as much as my Globe prepaid loading habit. It does come with 12 months of prime video but then locks you in for 24 months so that might just be a diversion. Just to be fair, if you remove the value of the 12 months of Prime Video, you end up with P3,762 a year with a Dito postpaid plan which still costs more than using Magic Data in my case.
Conclusion
I do sound like I’m pushing for Smart a lot here. This is not a sponsored post. I just wanted to write this down for anyone who would benefit from saving some money. You could put the extra cash on your savings account or use the savings for some coffee. I even influenced my co-workers to do this and they already saved a lot. If you saved using Magic Data or you found other ways to save on load, please share in the comments. The more people who try to switch and expect more from the telco companies, the more things improve. If enough people vote with their wallets, maybe Globe too can offer non-expiring promos.
Zoomer PH 