GiffGaff - get your £5

17 January 2016, 22:08 GMT

2 September 2023, 12:00 BST

7 min.

GiffGaff - a mobile network operating on O2 network, created by its users with its users in mind.

Contents

I have been in the UK since 2010 and so far, I have gone through several mobile networks in search of the one that will suit me best when it comes to calling in the UK, the Internet in a mobile phone, but also calls to the world - and not only to Poland.

Like many Poles, I started with O2, for a short time with Vodaphone, Three UK (3), then moved to GiffGaff (which is based on O2 infrastructure as a virtual operator). As I have never been a fan of subscriptions in the UK, GiffGaff offered me full freedom and more…

About the GiffGaff network

I won’t write too much about the network itself. In short, I will say that it is a virtual operator operating on O2 network - however, focused on slightly different clients - those who not only use the telephone to communicate in the UK, but also around the world. And those who believe that they don’t have to spend a lot to get a lot in return.

You can find the detailed offer here: https://www.giffgaff.com/offer

How GiffGaff works - in brief

Once online, your tariff plan is divided into two types - UK (goodybags) and rest of the world (balance).

In the UK you use a package - similar to a subscription - called goodybags. For the rest you have balance in pounds (£), which you use mainly for calling abroad, and in a few cases, when calling or sending messages to additionally peremium numbers.

It’s worth mentioning that most of the numbers you call use up the minutes in your goodybags, and currently, all goodybags have unlimited minutes (even the £6 a month ones). Unlimited minutes include numbers starting with 01, 02, 03 (with some exceptions), and 0800 and 0808.

This is especially useful when you call a government institution, where the connection time with a consultant is not the shortest.

GiffGaff and goodybags

Goodybags start from £6 where you get unlimited minutes and texts and 1GB of internet - and so on to £35 where you get 150GB of internet. These are PAYG (Pay as you go) plans, but there are even better deals!

GiffGaff goodybags - Standard tariff plans

Personally, I’m on the £10 plan (golden goodybags, more on that later), where I have unlimited minutes and texts and 20GB of internet.

Most importantly, goodybags does not work like subscription or top-up on other networks. You buy it for a month, but that doesn’t mean that when you exhaust the package (usually the Internet), you have to tighten your belt and wait until the next month, just like in other networks. At any time you can buy an additional, new goodybag if you have used up your basic one in a given month.

Additionally, if you are a loyal customer and have your goodybags automatically renewed, you can count on the fact that if you use the Internet faster in a given month, you will receive an additional +1GB from the network (so-called emergency), just in case and completely free of charge. This is especially nice if our goodybag is renewed in a few days, then we can make it to the end without any problems.

GiffGaff and goodybags auto-renewal

Of course, a lot of people praise subscriptions because they don’t have to remember to top up their account, etc. At GiffGaff, you can set up auto renewal on goodybags, so you don’t have to do anything - and every month you will have a new package. Just like a subscription, but better, because you can stop whenever you want, change the size of the package or buy a new one during the duration of the previous one, if, for example, you run out of data.

What’s more, if you are a regular customer who has permanent auto-recurring (recurring) set, you have much better golden packages (golden goodybags) at your disposal, more on that at the end.

18 month plan

If you feel that the GiffGaff network is your best choice, you can commit to them for 18 months, thanks to which you will receive even more than in the golden plans renewed every month.

Most importantly, there is no fixed cost to your commitment. Depending on your needs, you can switch between plans from £8 and 6GB internet, up to £35 where you get unlimited internet. Depending on your needs, each month may be different.

GiffGaff - My Balance

Balance is used to top up currency in the same way as a prepaid phone, however, in combination with goodybags they are used for all paid services or calling other countries:

Poland - 1p/min to landlines, 5p/min to mobile phones, 6p text message, 30p mms
ps. in the era of instant messaging who still uses MMS?

Detailed rates to countries around the world can be found here:
https://www.giffgaff.com/international

And here also one advantage over other networks. If you talk to someone on the other side of the world, you don’t have to worry about being disconnected when you least expect it. Here you can also set up auto-top-up when the amount drops below £3.

Of course, the balance will be used to cover our expenses when we exhaust our goodybags and we decide not to buy more before the next billing period.

Then, the following rates come into force:
https://www.giffgaff.com/pricing

But it is not everything!

£5 for every GiffGaff referral

Every person who joins the network (by recommendation) and tops up the account - balance - or buys goodybags for a minimum of £10 when activating the card, will receive (immediately) * £5 free* to use for any purpose in the form of a balance.

If you are interested, use my link and order a free SIM card with home delivery and £5 free with your first top-up:

https://giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/itdarek

Please note that if you order the card directly from the website, you will not get £5, as you only get it for joining the network referred by another user.

Once you join, you will also be able to recommend the network to others and both you and the person you referred will receive £5.

Free £5 SIM cards from GiffGaff

Once you are onboard, you can also order cards and give them to your friends along with £5 free when they meet the top-up requirement for a minimum of £10. Then you don’t have to worry about the link, because the cards are assigned from you.

Transferring your number to GiffGaff

Of course, you can also transfer your number to GiffGaff from another network. Just get a PAC Code from your operator (now you can do it via SMS! without having to call) and start the transfer on the GiffGaff website after logging in - set the transfer day and it’s ready.

Not much effort and big savings!

Phones from GiffGaff

It is worth adding that GiffGaff also offers phones that do not bind you with a contract but only with an installment plan not related to your goodybags. You pay off your phone independently, and how much you spend on other services depends on you and not on your contract with the mobile network.

ps. The phones are not sim-locked.

Yes, yes, I know that in Poland “theoretically” all phones are unlocked, but only “theoretically” and in Europe it is not really a “requirement”.

Roaming on the GiffGaff network

In the past, when I went to Poland, I used a Polish card to make calls. This meant carrying two phones or fiddling with cards - which wasn’t pleasant, especially when you were waiting for a phone call from the UK.

Recently, especially when I’m going for a short trip, I stopped worrying about it, because I can use my goodybags for calling, sending SMS messages and the Internet.

Roaming in the EU and data with goodybags

Until the UK was a member of the European Union, when traveling to an EU country we used the telephone as we would at home. Calls, text messages and internet were included in the goodybags package we purchased (limited after exceeding 20GB).

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, because “geniuses” in the UK voted for Brexit to have plums on the willow. Now, however, they and all of us will have to pay for this “convenience”.

From August 9, 2022 (changed from November 26), within the European Union we will only have a maximum of 5GB of internet available, even if our goodybag offers much more. If we exceed 5GB, then we will have to pay 10p/MB, which is not cheap at all!

The 5GB limit is imposed by the O2 network. Other networks, such as Lyca Mobile (EE network), may offer more bandwidth for similar packages.

If we intend to use data intensively in the target country, it is worth checking out the local pre-paid Internet offer, as it may be more profitable. If you have a relatively modern phone, consider an eSIM card.

You can find out how much it will cost you to use your phone when traveling outside the UK here.

If you want to find out how much it costs to call abroad from the UK, this site will explain everything easily.

Golden Goodybags

For people who benefit from the monthly renewal of goodybag packages, GiffGaff has prepared a special offer of packages called golden goodybags.

£10, 20GB data, when you repeat your goodybag

They start from £10 and offer unlimited calls, text messages and 20GB of internet, up to £35 where everything is unlimited (with the so-called Fair Usage Policy)