Rather than "buying" your minutes in bulk packs of 100 or other such 'add-ons' with Voda, Flexi is more of a pay-for-what-you-use system. You pay a set monthly fee of either $30 or $45, depending on which Flexi plan you pick (there are only two - Flexi Mytime and Flexi Anytime) - and let's face it - who spends less than $30/month on your mobile these days?! Think of that initial $30 as prepay credit - use it for whatever you want; $10TXT, calling, Picture Messaging, etc. Once you use more than $30 credit, you pay for whatever else you do as you go - not in bulk pre-paid packs. And the best part is that once you hit your threshold ($30/$45), it starts getting cheaper and cheaper! Like this:
Flexi Mytime vs Mytime 100
500 Txts = $10 500 Txts = $10
125 Offpeak Mins = $22.50 125 Offpeak Mins = $32.25
20 Peak Mins = $19.80 20 Peak Mins = $27.80
Totals: $52.30 Total: $70.05
See on Flexi, Offpeak minutes are charged at 20c/min for the first 100, and then only 10c/min after. And Peak calls are charged at a flat 99c/min rate.
Flexi Anytime is different still, check out telecom.co.nz/flexi to check it out.
I switched as soon as I heard the news - it's gonna save me heaps :D btw this isn't a sales pitch, I don't work for Mobile, I just think it's good news for consumers!