[Firstrate]

Hi there,

I have only 10 months remaining on my visa here for Australia (I'm on a working holiday visa) but looking to relocate her permenantly, and will be here for at least another year after that (I can get another WH visa for a year with no issues). However, I want an iPhone!

I've been looking at getting a pre-pay one but the calls are more expensive and you don't get the value of a cap. I want to go with Optus, however the best deal is clearly the $49 cap on a 24 month contract (the handset payments are WAY too much if I take the 12 month option).

Optus will clearly not sign me up to a 2 year contract with my visa, but I was wondering - could I pay the whole 2 years up front ($49 a month plus $7 for handset) theoretically, which comes to about $1400 for 2 years complete phone usage with the iPhone thrown in. Would they let me do that you think?!

[fompsweeva]

Ring them and ask?

[tcn33]

Instead of paying out $1344 upfront (I'm not sure you could even do that) why not buy an iPhone outright (i.e prepaid), pay to get it unlocked, then go on a BYO iPhone plan month-to-month?

Q: I already have an iPhone, can I connect to the Optus Network?
A: Yes! You can connect to a BYO month to month Optus iPhone Cap or ‘yes’ Plan.

[Firstrate]

Because then I would miss out on the cheap handset payments and have to buy vouchers each month.

i.e. If I pay $7 a month for 24 months the iPhone is costing me $168. Then I have the contract which I need and will use anyway. Free calls etc.

If I buy an iPhone outright, that'll be $800-$850, PLUS the cost of credit (probably $50 a month) which is $1200 so I'd be paying around $2000 in total and get less calls and credit...

Or am I missing something?!

[tcn33]

Because as you said, with your visa you may have trouble getting approved. So since the best option looks to be off the table, the next best option is to own the handset outright and then go onto a month-to-month postpaid account. Same calls and credit as if you were on a contract, but with a better chance of being approved. Unfortunately, you pay more for the handset that way.

You never know, the visa may not even come up when you get credit checked. I've never been in that situation so I couldn't say.

Good luck

[Firstrate]

[QUOTE=tcn33;578415]
You never know, the visa may not even come up when you get credit checked. I've never been in that situation so I couldn't say.

Good luck [

I have a British passport so immediately they always ask to see my visa. Unfortunate, but will see what happens. Going to go into the store and see if they'll let me pay the whole lot upfront...

[fidou]

I'm in a similar situation as you Firstrate
in my case I'm on a student visa expiring in 11 months and wanted to go for a 12 months contract. The guys at Optus told me that they won't allow me to subscribe. I also offered to pay upfront for the extra months but they still said no.

Now I'm thinking about getting one prepaid/outright. I have done some calculations (for a 16gb iphone) and for example, on a 12 months basis with $40 monthly recharge, you'll pay around $1,400.
With a 12 months contract at $39 you'll pay around $1,100.

It could be an alternative..

[yenkuan]

I cant go on contract with optus as well. I m on a student visa. That is the reason I am always with 3, they dont get credit check as hard as optus. I think optus is quite stupid with this. They lose so many costumers with this. By the way, optus doesn't require to show passport maybe you can try with driver license. Good luck!

[fidou]

Originally Posted by yenkuan

I cant go on contract with optus as well. I m on a student visa. That is the reason I am always with 3, they dont get credit check as hard as optus. I think optus is quite stupid with this. They lose so many costumers with this. By the way, optus doesn't require to show passport maybe you can try with driver license. Good luck!

When I went to the Optus store, the 1st question was "are you a permanent resident?", I said no and the 2nd question was about my visa & passport

Yes I agree that Optus is losing customers. I understand their concern about someone having a visa expiring before the end of a potential contract.
But they could be a bit more flexible, for example if you pay upfront

[benzoenator]

Trouble with paying up front, is that you could rack up more usage than what is allocated in your cap option, thus making a more expensive bill. You can't be billed for something that they don't know the price for.

[fidou]

Originally Posted by benzoenator

Trouble with paying up front, is that you could rack up more usage than what is allocated in your cap option, thus making a more expensive bill. You can't be billed for something that they don't know the price for.

It could work in the case of let say your leaving 1 month before the end of your contract. Paying upfront for that last month is fine since you're not here anymore

It seems that the credit check isn't applied in the same way everywhere. Have a friend on 12 months student visa and he could sign with Optus on a 24 month contract lol