Maintaining a prepaid SIM monthly plan during months of non-use

[SueyLaPalma]

I just bought a 65 $ monthly prepaid SIM card _ with unlimited data - because I will be in the US for a month. Then I will go home to Spain . I will  be back in 3 or 4  months again. How can I keep my SIM card alive during these months so I can use it upon my return ?

[sandblaster]

Before you leave, change your plan to the $0.25 per minute plan and refill your account with at least $25. Any $25-$99 refill is good for 90 days. You then have another 60 days to renew/refill before your account is closed. If you are back before the 90 days, that refill will still be there to use. If you return after 90 days but before 150 days, that refill will have expired and will be gone but your account will still be open. Change back to the $65 plan and refill your account to pay for it. If you don’t want to lose any money, a $100 refill is good for a year. 

[lizdance40]

You can switch to pay per use plan ($2 or 25¢) and put yourself on $10 Auto pay.  $10 will be added every 30 days and will sit unused in your balance.  You can then add enough for a monthly plan when you return.  The $40 or $50 will be waiting for you.  

[sandblaster]

We normally advise travelers not to use autopay but actually, what would work best for you is to put your account on autopay. When you change to the $0.25 per minute plan, autopay will refill $25 every 90 days and you won’t lose the balance. If you come back after 4 months, you would have a $50 account balance which can be used to pay for the $65 plan. Just make sure you disable autopay when you leave for good.

[SueyLaPalma]

That sounds super ! Thanks so much. So , you mean that credit will never
expire so long as I stay on autopay ? Like if it was 8 months , I would
still have 75 $ credit. So then I could change back to the monthly , pay
the 65 $ , and still have 10 bucks in credit for the next month ??

[sandblaster · Accepted solution]

Yes. Every time you refill, you extend the expiration of the balance to match the refill, so your balance never expires. An added bonus, with autopay you will get a discount on the $65 plan.

[SueyLaPalma]

 Thats brilliant ! Thanks so much for your help !!😁

[SueyLaPalma]

....or the 25$ every three months on autopay....In that case I won't lose
any money either. Isn't that right ?

[sandblaster]

---

@SueyLaPalma wrote:
....or the 25$ every three months on autopay....In that case I won't lose
any money either. Isn't that right ?

---

Correct.