Prepaid credit
How pay as you go actually works, the four situations it genuinely suits, per-unit billing, and the point at which a monthly plan becomes cheaper.
Sections on this page
The facts
- Payment
- In advance
- Contract
- None
- Credit check
- None
- Phone finance
- Generally unavailable
- Expiry
- Most services need periodic activity
What it means for you
You buy credit up front and spend it, or turn it into a bundle that lasts a set period. There is no contract, no credit check and no phone finance, so handsets are bought outright.
The facts
- Spare phones
- Nothing to unwind
- A child’s first phone
- Spending ceiling built in
- New arrivals to the UK
- No credit history needed
- Testing a network
- One month answers everything
What it means for you
| Situation | Why prepaid fits |
|---|---|
| Glovebox or emergency phone | No monthly cost and nothing to cancel |
| First phone for a child | The spending limit is the point of it |
| No UK credit history yet | Nothing to pass |
| Trying a network before committing | Cheapest possible test |
The facts
- What it is
- Charged per minute, text and megabyte
- Available on
- EE’s masts, via one brand
- Best for
- Genuinely light use
- Bad for
- Any regular data habit
What it means for you
One brand does not sell allowances at all — it charges for exactly what you consume, on the widest network in Britain.
For somebody who makes a few calls a week and barely touches data, this is the cheapest arrangement in the country. For anyone with a normal data habit, per-unit rates climb very quickly. Work out a typical month before assuming either way.
The facts
- Crossover
- Sooner than most expect
- What replaces it
- A rolling monthly plan
- Freedom lost
- None — rolling plans cancel too
- Number
- Kept, using the free code
What it means for you
Once you are using the phone every week, prepaid stops being the cheap option. A rolling monthly plan from a budget brand on the same masts almost always costs less and cancels just as freely.
Keeping your number costs nothing either way — the free switching code works exactly the same on prepaid as on contract.
Still unsure after reading this?
Ring the desk and we will go through it with you. There is nothing to buy at any stage.