Smart’s New Freedom Plan

I was driving home from an errand and happened to be listening to Chico and Delamar (I don’t usually listen to them) when they plugged Smart’s new Freedom Plan. When I got home, I immediately googled it and was happy that finally, FINALLY, a telco made a plan that made sense to consumers. The best thing about this plan is that you only pay for what you use – there is no monthly service fee! This is a major reason why I have stuck to prepaid. My usage fluctuates and I don’t like being tied to ponying up a certain amount every month, even if I hardly used anything.

But this Freedom Plan intrigued me. There is no MSF, and you only pay for what you use. If you didn’t use anything, then you won’t get billed for anything. The only catch is that you have to use at least P1 within 60 days or your line will be disconnected. That’s not so bad. You have to at least send a text message to someone within two months, right? You also only need one ID and P250 to pay for the application fee. No proof of billing or proof of income required unless you want to increase your default credit limit of P600. If you reach your P600 credit limit, your line will be redirected – you just pay your bill at a Smart center and your line will be connected again. There is also no lock-in period and no free phone – but who really wants those low-end free phones? Most of them end up being sold in Greenhills, anyway, or being given to relatives who don’t mind the low-end phones (think senior citizens who prefer them to the new-fangled phones they don’t quite understand).

I checked out their buckets and I thought that ALL Text 200 or Tri Net Combo 400 would fit my needs. I wonder if I will be able to use the *2222 promo wherein I could call any Smart number for only P2/min. EDIT: No. *2222 cannot be used. You are limited to the list of offers available to Freedom Plan (see list). I also read somewhere that Always On buckets will be coming soon to Freedom Plan. Maybe I should wait til it comes out?

*new price in effect starting August 2, 2012

I contacted Smart via twitter to ask some of my questions:

Can the 150MB included with All Text 200 be used 24/7? Yes, as long as you don’t exceed the 150MB. Once you exceed 150MB, you will be charged P10/30minutes. Will I receive a warning text to tell me that my texts/minutes/MB are almost up? Yes.

Will unused minutes/texts/MBs be carried over to the next month? NO. Yeah, I know. Being used to this from Sun Celluar, this kinda sucks.

Can I retain my old Smart prepaid number? NO. They can check if your preferred number is available, though. But they can only promise to give you the last 4 digits. This blows. I actually scoured the vendors in several malls looking for a number I felt was “lucky” but sold at a regular price. But I am not so attached to my Smart prepaid number that I can’t bear the thought of changing it. It’s just that it’s too much hassle to update all my calling cards & things and the numerous contacts who have my number. Now, my Globe number. Well, that number seemed to have dropped from heaven, so that one, I really cannot bear to lose even if Globe service sucks and is expensive. I was walking around in Glorietta and this forlorn looking Globe rep was trying to sell Globe Sim cards to anybody who came near him. The poor guy seemed desperate to meet his quota, but he wasn’t annoying and he wasn’t pushy. I felt sorry for him so I took a look at the Sim packs he was holding and then I saw the number! It was like, destiny! ;P

I am very interested in subscribing to this plan. After several years of turning my back on a postpaid subscription (I still remember my old Globe Plan 100 with its Foreign Currency Adjustment, wtf was that!), I am still a bit wary of taking the plunge. There are still several cons though — such as people saying that Smart charges more than what they advertise, 2% higher. And, historically, Smart postpaid subscribers were worse off compared to prepaid subscribers when it came to promos, etc… I guess I am just wary of commitment to Smart or Globe. Sun, I have had no problem with since they were very transparent and straightforward with their billing. They even show you how much you saved! I just did not renew after 6 years because I found that TU150 was enough for my needs, and needs changed – I needed to maintain Sun, Smart & Globe numbers.

Anyway, I will be waiting. I hope they iron out the kinks and resolve some of my cons. The plan really does seem good on paper, I think I will be able to save a bundle on TriNet400. I will also be reading up on other people’s feedback about this plan and see if they have a good experience. If you have any feedback, please let me know in the comments below!