Buying SIM card after landing?

[pointplace 179]

Hi there, I hope its ok I make a new thread on this since things might have changed.

 

I am landing end of September and going to the Pullmann hotel near Soi Cowboy. So my questions are:

 

- Where do I get a sim card for 3 days?

- Any recommendations if I want around 5-10gb for the 3 days?

 

Last time I was in Bangkok was 2011 when you still had to go to an internet cafe to check mails and the like. Much harder to sit surrounded by teenagers trying to reach ladyboys

 

Cheers

[mikel 2,564]

The arrivals hall at the airport has several telco desks. Just pick what you want hand over the phone and the staff do the rest. You'll be on your way in five minutes.

[staple 406]

If the booths at Suvarnabhumi are swamped you can always go to Terminal 21 (very close to your hotel) on the top floor all the major carriers have a store. Just find the plan that fits your needs and they will set everything up for you. I prefer this to Suvarnabhumi because you can take a little time to find the right plan and best deal. Also the food court there is awesome.

[Boomerang 2,251]

i get a sim @ the airport now as its easy . i also get them to do a print out of my my number in bold text & stick it inside my phone cover . Sure helps when asked your number at hotel or bar or wherever

Edited September 5, 2017 by Boomerang

[flipflops 1,276]

I have a monthly 4.5 GB plan with dtac that i've used for 2.5 years. When I leave the country I make sure the balance is below the monthly fee of 399baht plus VAT. The number stays in effect and when i return a few months later, I stop at the airport dtac place and they load my sim card, top up and i'm ready to go again.

 

If my account renews on say the 10th of the month and I'm scheduled to leave on the 15th I can still use my phone for calls, line and internet etc but it deducts from the balance. That is fairly expensive.

 

I think (but not positive) that if you have a balance in your account the account will remain active for a year.

[pointplace 179]

great thanks, I will see what the line is like at the airport, would be nice to hit the ground running since im only there for 3 days, so probably worth the wait at the airport.

[buffalojunk 0]

Stupid question, if I use my existing iPhone with a new Sim Card from the airport, will I still have access to all my contacts and/or apps?

[Geronimo42 501]

Yes! All that is stored on phone not the sim. The only thing that changes is your phone number. Just put in the new sim and you are off and ready. If you get a sim at the airport the girls will load it and make sure all is in working irder.

[sornierob 590]

I have used AIS and True. Recommend AIS. And be sure to keep your home country sim in a safe place so you can re-install on your return.

[scot56 251]

Dtac has worked ok for me as well.

[scottie1954 622]

1 Giga for a week is more than sufficient

I am just off a trip in Africa and I loaded a 3 giga plan. After 10days I had used 850Mb out of it and trust me I have been extensively browsing, chatting etc as no WiFi were I was for 5 days.

Thailand offers a wide variety of free WiFi access in any bar, restraursnt etc.

Just the gogo might not offer acces, but I believe one doesn’t stay in a gogo for long and for browsing.

[rouke 351]

FYI, you can also pre order a klook sim card and pick up at at the bkk airports.

 

I think they have a partnership with dtac as it look almost like a dtac sim.

 

If you see the circled drop down option, you can choose to pay in different currency other than thai baht, Just follow the instructions

 

it is very clear and concise. Moreover, they are giving a better discount now. When i last pre-ordered the sim card in March , it was 25% off, whereas now it is 50% off.

 

https://www.klook.com/activity/1235-thailand-sim-card-bangkok/

 

[mangatanga 191]

Is it possible to pick up one of these DTAC Tourist SIM Cards from any of the 7/11's in and around NEP? Or do I have to get registered at one of their counters?

https://www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/tourist-sim.html

Thx.

Edited January 20, 2019 by mangatanga

[flipflops 1,276]

4 hours ago, mangatanga said:

Is it possible to pick up one of these DTAC Tourist SIM Cards from any of the 7/11's in and around NEP? Or do I have to get registered at one of their counters?

https://www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/tourist-sim.html

Thx.

You can get any of the cell services at the airport.

I have a friend who went to 7-11 when he arrived and they didn't set the new provider correctly and he got a bill for $200 for roaming on his home account. 

[mikel 2,564]

6 hours ago, mangatanga said:

Is it possible to pick up one of these DTAC Tourist SIM Cards from any of the 7/11's in and around NEP? Or do I have to get registered at one of their counters?

https://www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/tourist-sim.html

Thx.

Their desks are right in front of you as you exit immigration.  The queues move quickly - just hand them your phone, passport and the cash you want to spend.

[mangatanga 191]

Their desks are right in front of you as you exit immigration.  The queues move quickly - just hand them your phone, passport and the cash you want to spend.

Thanks Mikel.

Quick question... my memory is fuzzy from a couple years ago. Upon exiting immigration will I have picked up my bags from the carousel? Or can I go to these cell phone counters before getting my bags. Thx

[SAGuy 8,425]

Manga

The best place to pick up a SIM is at the airport. The cell phone service providers counters are in the main arrivals area, after you clear immigration, pick up your bags and walk through the customs out the doors and into the main airport area where all the greeters are.

The benefit of buying a sim and package at the airport or one of the service providers shops in the malls over 7-11 is that they offer packages - 15 and 30 days of call minutes and data for THB xxx, whereas 7-11 is straight top up.

Also, you will have your passport on you so its more convenient than walking around BKK with your passport to do this later in the day.

Sometimes the queues look long at the booths, but as Mikel says, they move fast and they sort everything out for you, whereas at 7-11 sometimes you are on your own, fiddling with a nano sim LOL.

I normally go with DTAC as I was told they have better coverage in the city, but I dont know if thats true or not.

Cheers

SAG

[mangatanga 191]

Ok thanks Flipflops, SAG and Mikel, I'll definitely try to set it up at the airport.

As I ordered a pick up service for my arrival at the airport, they'll be waiting to pick me up as I make my way to the main arrivals area. I'll see if the driver is willing to wait while I get my SIM card set up.... otherwise, I'll go to Terminal 21 and I believe there's a DTAC store on the 6th floor.

Edited January 21, 2019 by mangatanga

[Thanks 3,094]

Early February 2019 I bought a dtac happy tourist sim card with 8 days unlimited internet access. I was happy with the happy card and would like to use the same sim card again in a few weeks. 

Is it possible to reactivate the card outside of Thailand already and extend its validity and perhaps to top up / refill online - again outside of Thailand? 

I want to avoid long queues at the airport. Also liked the easy to remember number.

[flipflops 1,276]

I'm not sure how the tourist sims work but regular sim accounts will stay active for a year if there is even a few baht in the account. You might try logging in to the dtac website and see if it is still active or if you know someone in Thailand who can top it up for you either online or at 7-11 that would work. dtac website is dtac.co.th

[Thanks 3,094]

Thanks flipflops!

I've never uploaded any monies while in Thailand and only used the sim card during the free 8 days period. I suspect the account balance was zero. 

I was now able to refill the account! BTW: The specific dtac site I used was:

https://www.dtac.co.th/en/serv/quickrefill/index.html

Thanks :-)

[Boomerang 2,251]

Most likely you can top it up again . However for a few minutes of your time , getting a new one for 299baht seems a much better deal to me 

[Thanks 3,094]

Thanks for pointing this out, @Boomerang ! 

TBH I don't know how much time b100 or even b300 will buy me. B300 unlimited for 8 days indeed sounds like an excellent deal. As I'll have 2 phones with me, I will then buy a new sim for one phone and keep the old one for the other phone, just in case...

BTW: klook offers the same card for only b195:

https://www.klook.com/activity/9494-thailand-sim-card-bangkok/

Thanks :-)

 

Edited March 3, 2019 by Thanks

[Thanks 3,094]

Has anyone of you guys tried the WorldSIM card? What's your take?

www.worldsim.com

 

 

[Gympy 561]

On 3/2/2019 at 9:48 PM, Boomerang said:

Most likely you can top it up again . However for a few minutes of your time , getting a new one for 299baht seems a much better deal to me 

I've found it cheaper to keep the same sim and top it up online and then just buy a data package. You can get 5GB for a week for 149 baht from DTAC which was plenty for me and I found the 4G coverage in both Bangkok and Pattaya from DTAC was excellent with very good speeds. I used it as a hotspot for my other devices (laptop and tablet) and it was perfect. There is a DTAC app for the phone which makes adding a data package and checking usage very easy and it's all in English .

I've had the same "tourist" sim for 5 years now. Actually I did have to have it changed at one stage to a nano Sim when I got a newer phone and I had to visit a DTAC shop to do that where they also took my passport details as it was not required when I got the sim originally. But I kept the original number.

The big advantage of keeping your number is that you don't have to reinstall Line, Wechat, whatsapp etc. I know you can transfer your IDs when you change phone number but it's much easier to keep the same number all the time.