Skinny roaming question

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Skinny roaming question

Loismustdye

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#320341 2-Aug-2025 18:01

We have got a Holiday on the Gold Coast planned for the next school holidays and will likely be using roaming while there for the 10 days. We were just wondering about the skinny roaming plans having not travelled with them before. With the roaming pack can I add another roaming data pack if I use all the available 1gb up before the end of the week (they are a 7 day pack)?

DjShadow

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#3399414 2-Aug-2025 19:05

May work out cheaper for that length of time to get a local SIM card

taneb1

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#3399425 2-Aug-2025 19:55

To answer your question, yes - you can buy multiple packs as needed.

If you think you'll use 2 roaming packs and aren't too worried about needing to use your NZ Number, I'd also say to buy SIM at the Airport.

Optus' Travel sim is currently $25AUD for 60GB of Data - Also includes unlimited calls in Aus and 400 minutes back to NZ / 50 SMS's.

Nice to not have to worry about data / handy if you end up needing to make a phone call.

Any comments made are my personal views and does not represent those of my employer

Loismustdye

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#3399556 3-Aug-2025 17:34

taneb1:

To answer your question, yes - you can buy multiple packs as needed.

If you think you'll use 2 roaming packs and aren't too worried about needing to use your NZ Number, I'd also say to buy SIM at the Airport.

Optus' Travel sim is currently $25AUD for 60GB of Data - Also includes unlimited calls in Aus and 400 minutes back to NZ / 50 SMS's.

Nice to not have to worry about data / handy if you end up needing to make a phone call.

damn that’s a good price, will check that out thanks

caffynz

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#3399612 3-Aug-2025 18:26

Loismustdye:

taneb1:

To answer your question, yes - you can buy multiple packs as needed.

If you think you'll use 2 roaming packs and aren't too worried about needing to use your NZ Number, I'd also say to buy SIM at the Airport.

Optus' Travel sim is currently $25AUD for 60GB of Data - Also includes unlimited calls in Aus and 400 minutes back to NZ / 50 SMS's.

Nice to not have to worry about data / handy if you end up needing to make a phone call.

damn that’s a good price, will check that out thanks

Used this Optus travel eSIM while in Queensland a few months ago. Worked brilliantly, and hotspotted to other devices too.

Kim587

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#3400106 5-Aug-2025 09:47

I got an Amaysim sim when I was in Queensland for a couple of weeks earlier in the year. Runs off the Optus network but even cheaper - Great value Phone Plans in Australia | amaysim

Also can use E-Sim if your phone is compatible.

Australia has more security requirements than NZ for prepaid phone plans so you won't be able to set it up until you have cleared passport control in Australia (you can use an NZ passport as proof of ID but only if you are currently in Australia), but you can pay for the plan ahead of time. When I landed in Brisbane I went through passport control, connected to the airport wifi, did the ID checks through the Amaysim app and everything was up and running before I got to the front of the customs queue.

Edit - double check you turn off auto-renew on the plan

Loismustdye

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#3400221 5-Aug-2025 21:22

Kim587:

I got an Amaysim sim when I was in Queensland for a couple of weeks earlier in the year. Runs off the Optus network but even cheaper - Great value Phone Plans in Australia | amaysim

Also can use E-Sim if your phone is compatible.

Australia has more security requirements than NZ for prepaid phone plans so you won't be able to set it up until you have cleared passport control in Australia (you can use an NZ passport as proof of ID but only if you are currently in Australia), but you can pay for the plan ahead of time. When I landed in Brisbane I went through passport control, connected to the airport wifi, did the ID checks through the Amaysim app and everything was up and running before I got to the front of the customs queue.

Edit - double check you turn off auto-renew on the plan

good to know, will have a look through them as well. Thanks

The last time I went to Aus was a number of years back and we just used our roaming settings on our plans.

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cokemaster

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#3400244 6-Aug-2025 00:49

There are a few options, generally you'll find killer offers at the Supermarkets.

Vodafone has $12AUD for 60GB + 500 international minutes.
Felix (Vodafone based MVNO) offers unlimited data @ 20mbps for $20AUD, 50GB for $15AUD, add $5 for unlimited NZ calling.
Boost (Telstra) has $13AUD for 50GB + unlimited calls to NZ
Telstra also has $17AUD for 65GB + 500 minutes.
Optus has $35AUD for 60GB + unlimited calling to NZ.
Amaysim (Optus MVNO) has 120GB for $35AUD + unlimited calling back to NZ

Generally around the gold coast and the theme parks, all three networks are fine. If you're heading out to the Australian zoo, you'll find that Vodafone coverage wanes a bit. You'll get signal at the zoo but it won't be particularly fast.

Worth noting that the Telsim's booths at the airports are not Telstra SIM's. They're a MVNO with a very close name to Telstra and customer reviews have been patchy.

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Loismustdye

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#3400821 7-Aug-2025 20:27

cokemaster:

There are a few options, generally you'll find killer offers at the Supermarkets.

Vodafone has $12AUD for 60GB + 500 international minutes.
Felix (Vodafone based MVNO) offers unlimited data @ 20mbps for $20AUD, 50GB for $15AUD, add $5 for unlimited NZ calling.
Boost (Telstra) has $13AUD for 50GB + unlimited calls to NZ
Telstra also has $17AUD for 65GB + 500 minutes.
Optus has $35AUD for 60GB + unlimited calling to NZ.
Amaysim (Optus MVNO) has 120GB for $35AUD + unlimited calling back to NZ
Generally around the gold coast and the theme parks, all three networks are fine. If you're heading out to the Australian zoo, you'll find that Vodafone coverage wanes a bit. You'll get signal at the zoo but it won't be particularly fast.

Worth noting that the Telsim's booths at the airports are not Telstra SIM's. They're a MVNO with a very close name to Telstra and customer reviews have been patchy.

thanks for that, some very good pricing there and thanks for the feedback about the varying coverage

nztim

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#3400846 8-Aug-2025 08:31

Just bear in mind to, if your handset is not on the "Approved Australia list" it will get be blocked on arrival

Check your handsets here https://www.optus.com.au/support/checkdevice

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calm

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#3429932 2-Nov-2025 00:56

cokemaster:

Felix (Vodafone based MVNO) offers unlimited data @ 20mbps for $20AUD, 50GB for $15AUD, add $5 for unlimited NZ calling.

felix is now up to 40Mbps download and there are half-price for three month introduction offers around if anyone is considering it

Seasport

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#3435240 17-Nov-2025 13:48

I went with Amaysim because they allow you to "hibernate" your connection for up to 12 months, i.e. not pay monthly top ups and still keep the number valid. (Had to look through a whole lot of fine print to find that out). I travel to Oz about twice a year, and so I can just reactivate the same Amaysim account when I visit simply by topping up the account, without mucking around with registering a new account. I have a physical Sim at present, but will change to an ESim when I'm there next week. But don't forget to stop the payments when you get back to NZ 😀

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#3435243 17-Nov-2025 14:00

The main point here is they asked about roaming - Getting another SIM card in AU will give you a AU number

Not much use when family / friends are trying to contact you on your NZ number

openmedia

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#3436001 19-Nov-2025 15:53

If you're a heavy data user I'd recommend a local SIM for Data but have roaming if you need your NZ number for work calls etc.

With Skinny a 7 Day + 3 Day plan might be enough, but if you're out and about a lot you might want some extra data packs. I've usually found for a 10 day stay I need two 7 day packs as I'll run out of data around day 5-6

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Seasport

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#3436048 19-Nov-2025 18:48

The Australian plans are just so much better than in NZ. For $30/28 days on Amaysim, you get 55GB data and unlimited calls & texts to 28 countries! But of course you have an Australian number. But most friends & family will probably use WhatsApp etc to call you anyway. If you're using your phone for business, then yes of course use keep your NZ number and use roaming.