How happy are you with your current phone plan? And how much value are you getting in return for your loyalty to your network? What if you could pay so much less, especially if you are out of contract or on pay as you go?
What if I told you that there’s a network out there that can save you up to £246 a year? That’s enough for a winter sun holiday to Spain, Portugal, Malta or the Canary Islands!
What is SMARTY?
Smarty is a simple and honest mobile network powered by Three. Because it uses the Three mobile network, the coverage of SMARTY is pretty much all over the UK. 98.3% of the UK population can benefit from high 3G and 4G speeds where available.
There is no contract, so you can change your plan or cancel anytime you want. There is also no credit check because you will pay in advance. SMARTY is a transparent mobile network, where you pay exactly for how much you use and have full flexibility on your plan. MoneySavingExpert.com has featured SMARTY as one of the best deals for pay as you go SIM cards that you can get.
But what makes SMARTY different from the other networks on the market? Keep reading…
Plans and tariffs
I am currently paying £15 a month for my pay as you go plan but I am not getting enough data. Every month I manage to go over it (I blame Instagram Stories for this) and I end up bumping my bill to around £20 because of the additional data bundles I add. And no wonder, as a poll revealed that 78% of the respondents pay an average of £15 more a month on their mobile phone contracts.
I have to admit that I am always searching for free WiFi networks when I am out of my house, because I am trying to save my data, so I don’t run out before the end of the month.
By moving to SMARTY, I can save £10 a month and get more data in the same time. SMARTY has 3 very simple plans, all with unlimited calls and texts:
• Small – with 2GB of data for £7.5
• Medium – with 4 GB of data for £10
• Large – with 8GB of data for £15
Unused data savings
What is unique about SMARTY is that you only pay for the data you use, and not the one you waste as well. If you are not using all your data in one month, you will receive a discount on your next month’s bill. SMARTY calculates the price of a GB of data at £1.25, which means that if you have 2GB left, you will get a discount of £2.50 on your next bill. How cool is that? Which other network gives your unused data back?
On the other side, if you do go over your data allowance, the cost of the data is the same, £1.25/GB.
Roaming and traveling abroad
As you know, I am an avid traveller who goes somewhere new every month. I do move very often between the UK and Spain and because I am always on the go and I need to be able to rely on my data to check my emails and to work.
I like that I can use the SMARTY sim card not only in my phone but also in a dongle or a mobile WiFi router, to share the data with my laptop. This is very useful, especially in airports with limited or non-existent WiFi connections.
In Europe, SMARTY works exactly the same as in the UK, without any extra charges. Outside of the EU you do need to top up. You can check the costs of each country outside the EU here.
Disclaimer: This post has been written in collaboration with SMARTY.
Some of the links one this website are “affiliate links.” This means that if you click on the link and do a purchase, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost for you. This helps me keep my website running and continue to share my traveling knowledge with you. I thank you for booking your flights or hotels using the links on my website. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.
This Smarty seems really wonderful! Perfect for travelers. I will have to keep this in mind for when I plan my European vacation.
I will keep this in mind for sure. I was always wondering how I’d use my phone when I was in Europe. One day I do want to visit, but I also want to keep in contact with friends and family.
This sounds like a really cool service to have especially when you are as “mobile” as you are. It doesn’t appear that this is available in the United States. SMARTY…please come stateside! 🙂
Been to Europe so many times & didn’t know jackshit about this. I feel like a bit ignorant here lol But now definitely using this on my next Euro trip!
Seems like a wonderful provider! Definitely checking this out as I travel between England and the Netherlands!
Omg Smarty looks amazing !! I am always going over my contract plan which I spend enough on already. Will definitely look into this 🙂
It’s really interesting to know about SMARTY. My first UK network was 3 and after reading your post, I think I should consider it again. The best thing about SMARTY I came to know from your post is you pay only how much you have used.
Excellent travel tips! We travelled Europe some 18 years ago, and managed to save a lot of money, but spent SO much time planning everything – Smarty seems like it would make things much easier!
I get free data roaming throughout Europe with EE but this sounds really good for those who are with 3.
I don’t live in Europe, so this won’t be of much use to me. I didn’t know about this when we traveled to Italy. Would have been helpful at that time if I had know.
Wow, it’s always interesting to find a company that can help with your travel necessities. Glad it works great when you visit Spain as well
Any service that can lower my bills while still providing a great product sounds good to me! I’ll check this out next time I’m in the U.K. It sounds perfect for when I travel.
Seems like a great idea to do. My husband and I are not on any plan anymore. Definitely checking this out.
This seems to be a great tips that can be very useful. I ahve to check more abiut smarty. Thanks for the review.
I am always on a hunt for ways to get discount and save for my travel! Thanks for sharing another hack 😀
Wow, I’ve never heard about SMARTY before. Saving money and yet getting more data is totally awesome. Thanks for sharing this!
Wow!! This is really something interesting . I never heard about any phone network till date that cares for it’s customers!! SMARTY is really unique in this regards. I think someday it will spread it’s wing in my country (India) too and we will be lucky enough to get such benefits.
This is good that there is no contract with smarty and has flexible plans, I’m sure it make it easy for travellers to have a way of communication with no hassle.
This sound such a great deal! I never get near my data allowance so it would be amazing to get money back each month.
C x
This sounds like a great idea. Anything that saves money when abroad I am all for!
Ahhh this is clever! I travel quite a lot so I’ll be looking into this in more detail.
Seems like a great provider with great options for plans. If I lived there I would definitely check this out!
Wow, I have never heard of this before and this is such a great information. Perfect for those who wants to save some bucks.
This is the first time I’ve heard of this, and I’m usually uptodate with most things like this. Thanks for sharing it!
This is a good travel service for people needing service in Europe. I think more and more companies should provide better service for traveling and cell service.
If only I was in Europe. I’ve always wanted better plans for my SIM plans since I really overspend on bundles for the net. SMARTLY would be nice in cutting down my super costs while still providing a good experience for me.
This sounds absolutely perfect for me! On my previous contract I was always going over my data allowance so with this contract I switched providers and got more data. Due to a lifestyle change, I now rarely use that data so I’m paying extra for things I don’t even use!
I’ve never heard of SMARTY before, but it sounds like a brilliant network. I’m definitely going to look into switching to them 🙂
Louise x
I just started using Three a few days ago once I got to London! It’s so nice not having to worry about getting a SIM card for every different country in Europe I go to
What a great initiative! That is such a cool system.I wasn’t aware of it, but I am definitely going to be checking it out now. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I wish I had of heard of Smarty before I travelled to Europe! Will definitely remember for next time I’m in that part of the world. Thankyou x
This is perfect for a friend who’s been asking me about roaming charges whenever I travel. Thanks for sharing the information. I’ll be sure to pass it along.
sounds like a good provider. if i’m in the market for a new one i’ll check this out more
I love using Three as its cheap and I find the coverage pretty good in the main cities, I have not heard of smarty before and will be checking this out before we travel overseas next year.