Thailand, Mobile Pre-paid cards. How do I Get them? Is it worth it?

Question

I would be travelling to Thailand quite frequently this year (about 4 times).. I'm considering of getting a local mobile pre-paid card from there..

1) How much does it cost? Is it worth it?
2) Any resistrictions on forginers owning it?

Thanks..

Answer 1

I assume you mean a pre-paid sim card. No worries. They are extremely easy to get. There are absolutely no restrictions. Just make sure your mobile phone is not locked to a particular country and/or network.

Pretty much any shopping mall will have a bunch of small shops selling mobile phone equipment and sim cards. Just go there with your phone. You even get to select the number - this will impact the price, since special numbers (such as the ones including 007 or lots of 1's or 9's) are lucky numbers and sell for more. You should get a SIML card for anywhere between 100 baht to 500 baht depending on current promotions etc.
Once you've negotiated the price, let the shopkeeper do everything for you - set up the SIM card, register it, and set the service messages in English. With a smile of course. For 100 baht they will also unlock your phone (if you dare...)

There are 3 main operators in Thailand : AIS, DTAC and True/Orange. AIS has the best network and is slightly more expensive, DTAC and True are cheaper (Orange used to be the cheapest) and the coverage is less good. If you stick to main urban centers and tourist areas it won't make any difference to you, just pick the cheapest.

In Bangkok, the place where locals go to get the best deal is called MBK (Mah Boon Khrong). The third floor is basically just mobile phone shops, wall to wall, hundreds of them. I guess that tourist places such as Khao San have pretty good deals too (not worth the hassle of crossing Bangkok to get a few baht discount if you ask me).
In MBK you can get pretty good deals on second hand phones. That's what I did a couple of times : buy a really cheap second hand low-end phone there, with a number, and re-sell the whole thing when leaving.

With these SIM cards you can basically do all common things : call locally and internationally, receive calls (from international too) and send SMS anywhere in the world.

You will be able to top them up by buying scratch cards in basically any 7-11 shops. 7-11 are everywhere and open 24/24 so... in Thailand now, it's easier to get a phone number than a beer.


Hope this helps
Good luck

Answer 2

If you have a GSM phone - you can go into any 7-11 store in Thailand (7-11 are everywhere!) and buy a SIM card for 500 baht ($15 includes some minutes). They all work so doesn't matter if you get DTAC, AIS, etc. Just put the SIM card into your GSM phone and it will work. Calls to the USA cost 10 baht/minute - so it is worth it for sure to call home or locally in Thailand. The more you charge it up the longer the number os good for. So a 100 baht recharge is good for 1 month, a 500 baht recharge is good for 3 months, etc. Even if your card runs down to $0, you can recharge it (by buying a recharge card at any 7-11) and it will work again - as long as you use it within 4 months of it running out of money.

I hope my answer is the most clear!

Answer 3

2

Answer 4

When you say prepaid card, do you mean sim card? If you have a GSM phone you need to be able to either have 900 or 1800 mhz bands for your phone. AIS, DTAC and True/Orange are the majore players in the Cell phone industry. True/Orange has some restrictions on foreigners, 6 months from the date of activation. The SIM cards you can buy at 7-11, Orange stores and at any stall selling the cards are only good for 6 months. For DTAC and AIS, I am not aware of any restrictions. I had my girlfriend buy my last SIM card, it's a DTAC and it works fine. I am using a old Nokia 2100 that I bought in Hong Kong in 2004. Cost starts around 100 or 200 baht for which you get 150 baht air time credit. And you can buy more airtime, and you can get the re-charge cards most anywhere, 7-11 stores, or any of the DTAC, AIS or True/Orange stalls in the malls. I think you can buy 100, 200 or 500 baht re-charges.

Good luck

Answer 5

first off, don't get a card from there because first and foremost they suck, and the rates are huge. So it's better if you get a local one here, and yes they do work in Thailand, and call out from there, And I think they can range from anywhere up to 200 bhat. And no restrictions on forigeiners owing it.

Answer 6

No matter what plan you go with- either extended cell plan or phone cards, you'll be paying a lot.