- ✓ Recharges from £5, delivered in about a minute
- ✓ Pay in rupees, pounds, dollars or euros: card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, UPI in India, bank in the UK
- ✓ Email receipt with the operator's transaction ID
- ✓ Your own number, your own line: nothing to install
Questions
How long can a giffgaff SIM go unused?
giffgaff deactivates a SIM that has not been used for 6 months. A call, text or MMS to another number, mobile data use, or buying credit or a plan keeps it active; free calls (emergency, Member Services, 0800) do not count. giffgaff emails a month before and about 5 days before. After deactivation a PAC can be requested for 30 days, then the number is recycled. Keeping a small balance on the line before you fly, and topping up during a long trip, avoids losing the number.
How long can a Vodafone Pay as you go number go unused?
Use it for at least one chargeable activity, such as a text or a top-up, every 180 days. After 90 days without use Vodafone sends a text warning; with no use in the following 90 days the number is disconnected. Keeping a small balance on the line before you fly, and topping up during a long trip, avoids losing the number.
How do I keep a Three Pay As You Go number active?
Use it for at least one chargeable activity every 180 days, such as a call, a text, data on Three's network, or using existing credit or a Data Pack. Keeping a small balance on the line before you fly, and topping up during a long trip, avoids losing the number.
How long can a Tesco Mobile pay as you go number go unused?
Tesco Mobile disconnects a pay as you go phone that has not been used for six months or more, and the number and any remaining credit may be lost. Reconnection needs a call to Customer Care and carries a fee if Tesco agrees (read 7 Nov 2026). Keeping a small balance on the line before you fly, and topping up during a long trip, avoids losing the number.
How long can an O2 Pay As You Go number go unused?
O2's Pay As You Go terms (clause 7.1) say that without at least one chargeable activity in any 6 month period the phone is disconnected, remaining credit is lost and a reconnection comes with a new number. Keeping a small balance on the line before you fly, and topping up during a long trip, avoids losing the number.
Do I need the SIM in a phone?
No. The recharge lands on the line whether or not the SIM is in a phone. For OTPs and calls you do need it in a phone with roaming on, or in the second slot of your travel phone.
How fast is it?
About a minute from payment. You get an email receipt with the operator transaction ID.
Can I pay from India or the UK?
Yes. Pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay from anywhere, by UPI in rupees if you are in India, or from your bank in pounds if you are in the UK. Prices are shown in your currency.
Can you top up my number every month?
Set a reminder for the validity date, or keep a Slashtel Balance so the next recharge is one tap.
Sending credit to someone in the UK instead? Use the full United Kingdom recharge page. Keeping another number alive: Indian · UAE · Philippine · Saudi · Qatar · Kenyan · Pakistani · Bangladeshi · Nepali · Sri Lankan · Egyptian · Ghanaian · Moroccan · Jordanian · Nigerian · what it costs by country.