SIM card for students?

[pereira]

Hi All,

I will in New Zealand from Feb 2014, I was advised by my university to buy a SIM card if I can at Auckland airport.
I want to know if there are any specific SIM cards for Students as concession.

I would like to keep the cost down to the bare minimum, since I am on a student visa and I really need to keep an eye on expenses.

Please advise.

[dbonnett]

You can get a pre-pay SIM card from any of the main providers (Telecom, Vodafone or 2Degrees) for ~$20NZD. The SIM normally comes with $10-20 of credit and can be refilled as needed at just about any dairy, service station or grocery (amongst others). There is no contract involved and the credits are good for a year so you can manage your expense as tightly as you wish. In the case that you are using your mobile a lot, you can transition to a post-paid (monthly) plan where the cost per call drops but you have a set minimum bill every month. You can keep the same number and even move between providers (with the same number) if you choose.

To answer about student concession, I don't believe any of the main providers offer special terms but to be honest, the pre-paid prices are low enough that you wouldn't see a major discount anyways.

[pereira]

@dbonnett you are my saving grace, you have given me all the information I have been looking for! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! The telecom.co.nz does not explain what you just did well enough so I wasn't sure! Thanks a MILLION!

[dbonnett]

Glad to be of help ;-)

[72andsunny]

I'm liking Skinny quite a bit; I believe they are owned by Telecom (and use Telecom's) backbone. They have a few different plans, including pay by the week. I'm on a $16/30 days: 90 minutes (currently doubled), unlimited texts, and 500 mb of data. I use it very differently than I would have used it in the US, but my cell bill is now something that is smaller here. (Don't get me wrong, I would rather have unlimited everything for $50 if it were an option here...)