Can you still get proper PAYG SIM cards?

[icebearforpresident]

I’ve just upgraded my mobile and kept my old
one to be used by my eldest daughter. She’s 10 and this is the first summer we are letting her out for short periods without us (to the park at the end of the road for example.

At the moment the phone is only to be used when she’s out without an adult or away for a sleepover so my plan was to buy a PAYG sim for my old handset, but now I’m trying to find one they all seem to be monthly payments for u limited calls and a small amount data. I just want to give her £10 credit so she can phone me if she needs to, can you still get these?

My sister got one from Asda Mobile recently for my niece

Lebara still do the top up option and the sim lasts for 1 year even if not used.

You can online. Giffgaff do one for example. And tesco mobile IIRC. Giffgaff will try to upsell you a PAYG "bundle" (or even a monthly bundle) but you can go out and just buy top up credit codes for the account if you want.
I'd test the cost effectiveness of buying a "one-off bundle" (that lasts a month) vs topup credit in future - with my DD's giffgaff account you can buy it with topup vouchers or a card.
For example, I now buy my DD a PAYG bundle each month for £6, as this gives her more calls, text and data than she's ever going to use, whereas topping up her credit she was spending £10 in 2 weeks once she started using it more!

Thanks both but I’m still only seeing monthly payments, I just want a SIM card and a top up. The nearest Asda to me that has a phone section is 20 miles away but there’s no rush so will go and speak to someone next time I’m up that direction.

I know that in the long run I’ll need to get some sort of pay monthly set up for her but for now the phone just needs credit so she can call if she needs to. We’ve told her, and she has agreed, that the phone is only to be used when she is out without an adult if she needs to reach us, £10 credit could last months and months. We aren’t putting any apps on it and she won’t be using it in the house to call or text friends. As far as she’s concerned it’s baby steps towards getting her own proper phone, while for her dad and me it’s desperately trying to avoid letting that particular genie out the bottle.

Yes I use EE. Have done for years. You can set up a subscription or just top up. They have decent packages for PAYG.

Giffgaff rolling on £6 a month. I was on £10 but they've upped data so much I don't need it. I know that's a bit more than you want but that's pretty good

I've just had a look on EE and they do a standard Pay As You Go sim card for 40p a call and 20p a text, so I imagine other providers do them too.

My parents have a standard PAYG sim card with 1p Mobile, for 1p a minute, 1p a text and 1p per MB of data. But you do have to buy at least £10 of top up every 90 days.

Giffgaff is straightforward but beware you cannot contact them by phone and everything is done online or via their forum.

I have one called 1p mobile, you have to top up every three months by £10, it lasts me the full 3 months and any unused data/credit gets carried over. You send off for it online and top up online. 👍

What PAYG there is is so expensive, now. I have an Asda SIM in my secondary phone. £5 per month, only 3GB data but unlimited calls and texts as opposed to the 10 minute call and couple of texts £5 would buy you on PAYG. I see they have a just talk and text option for £4
https://mobile.asda.com/pay-as-you-go

Yes Asda has those Payg bundles but you can just ignore them and do traditional PAYG once you’ve got the SIM card, can top up at Asda stores or through an app

I'm on an ASDA PAYG sim card. I can top it up either via their app or online via a laptop, or instore.
_
Well, I went looking on their webpage - nothing. So I had a look on moneysupermarket and they had nothing too! Seems the providers aren't doing this service anymore unless you are already on one 😯

I do via Tesco

If you get true PAYG be very careful about the call costs. They can be 40/50 p per minute meaning that any top up is used up with a short call and can work out more expensive than the cheapest SIM only plans which start from around £4/5 pm but tend to include unlimited calls and texts but not much data.

But you also have to be careful with data use as unless you really limit the apps and keep an eye on the settings it can be used up in no time with updates and downloading the odd picture.

Asda talk and text is £4 per month - unlimited calls and texts but no data. You can order a SIM and set it up online and then manage via the app. Ideal for children (and elderly parents).

I have a giffgaff PAYG. I top up once a year, barely use it for outgoing calls and texts but want to keep my personal number separate from my work number that I use most of the time.

I bought one two weeks ago from Three. There were lots of options and I went with Three just because there’s was the first shop I saw.
(I live overseas and always get a payg sim when I visit the Uk. It’s never been an issue to find one)

Lyca. https://www.lycamobile.co.uk/en/help/general-faq/

I have a bundle with them that renews every 30 days, it is less than £5 a month.

three mobile do a traditional payg. However on the common theme of other pp, lebara currently have an offer of a £1 per month deal for seven months with data and calls through hot uk deals. You can cancel at any time, so would be a really cheap way of letting her get used to having a phone.
Lebara

For those of you saying a contract is cheaper - DS2 is still on his original £10 top up after 2 years. We get him to make a call every 6 months to keep it active, but he just uses wifi and Hotspots. That's miles cheaper than any subscription.

It's a three account, bolted onto DH's three contract.

I bought a Vodafone PAYG sim card for 75p. Although as someone else mentioned the charges are pretty steep.

DC only got a mobile about a month ago though and mainly uses phone with WiFi at home. In fact he's never taken his mobile out.

We're just doing the same with my son and we did the gifgaf sim. He's actually used it a lot more than I thought so I'm glad we did a minutes deal not payg as the credit would have been eaten straight away.

He has no access to the Internet on his phone. That was something I was very insistent on.

Tesco do but you have to tell them you want it PAYG. It's not advertised.

You just order a lebara free sim card, activate on the app and then it let's you just top up instead of having a plan.

I have a payg one from tescos. It works really well, I rarely have to top up and when I do tescos gives me triple credit

like a pp, I only really use it at home for WhatsApp etc