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Poll: Prepaid or Postpaid Mobile Subscription?

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief August 15, 2009 · 1 min read

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For the past decade, I’ve always been on prepaid mobile subscription and the first time I switched to postpaid was when I bought the iPhone 3G last year.

Having had some billing issues on my postpaid account lately made me think if I should go back to prepaid again (besides, I’m no heavy texter or caller). Obviously, there are some advantages and disadvantages between the two.

This brings us to our poll of the week — are you on prepaid or postpaid? Why?

Please do send your answers to our Poll section on the right side and/or add a comment below.

React to this article:

postpaid prepaid

Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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252 Comments

Joshua · 17 years ago

according to my observation…

Postpaid, planado na ung load mo, di ka mauubusan, may free cellphone pa ung ibang plans, easy setup sa mobile internet, mms at kung anu anu pang churvaness.
ngunit, di mo pede ata palitan number mo, marami mambuburaot sayo.

sa prepaid, lagi nauubusan ng load, mahirap mag hanap ng load pag 2AM in the morning. hihingi ng pasaload..ngunit wala ren load ung hinihingan mo… nahihirapan ako mag activate ng mms, gprs, at makapagbrowse ng opera mini ko. (teach me how on nokia 5610 hehe).

pero ang masasabi ko lang sa prepaid.. pang babaero ito kasi marami kang prepaid sim at sa 1 sim = 1 chick haha.. I go for prepaid XD

jdGONEMAD · 17 years ago

PREPAID. my Php 25.00 load hasn’t expired in weeks. before, it usually expires after 5 days. thnx to Sen. Enrile for that.

whaâ„¢ · 17 years ago

i have two prepaid (smart and globe) and postpaid actually its the smart gold lite. consumable daw, pero parang lugi ako.. .. di ko rin nagagamit masyado.. thats why i’m planning to terminate it na

loadex · 17 years ago

I use to have Smart (prepaid) as my mainline, but with Sun expanding coverage in our area and most of my friends have SUN.. eventually Sun (postpaid) became my mainline.

Lezuric · 17 years ago

prepaid! use it when ONLY if needed! :)

ron · 17 years ago

postpaid – go with globe or sun. they’re good to their subscribers. don’t go with smart, their postpaid service is awful.

i’ve had globe for almost 3 years now, never had issues with billing or customer service. they go the extra mile.

with smart, you would have to be the one to have an extra mile of patience.

in my case, they endorsed my account to collections and decided to charge me the interest fee, collection fee, and reconnection fee (although they did not give me any notice at all and although i’ve paid like 98% of the bill – their fault anyway i paid only that much since that was what they told me to pay, they did not even mention anything about the extra charges). i’d like to vent some more but i’ll stop here.

suffice it to say, don’t go with smart if it is going to be postpaid.

prepaid, go with any provider.

i like postpaid better since in cases of emergency, you don’t have to look for a place to load up.

john · 17 years ago

prepaid .. because I’m using prepaid. :D

Oliver Viray · 17 years ago

Prepaid!, i’m a postpaid subscribe for Smart almost nine years now. I rather choose Prepaid now because they have lot of promotions and other services for prepaid but with postpaid they only have the rebates but still its taxable.

butch · 17 years ago

postpaid is more convenient, you don’t have to look for a prepaid load outlet in the middle of the night if your line is still on its credit limit (mine is smart gold LITE, and i always exceed my limit) will drop it in a month’s time though, kasi di ako inapprove ng smart gold for a regular line cause of lack of financial documents (student kas)

riza · 17 years ago

vote for prepaid.i hate bills

cmark · 17 years ago

i’m a sun postpaid subscriber even before they came up w/ 24/7. not really a loyalist but they gave me number that i can’t forget, just like those phone numbers for fast food deliveries. i would say that the service is good but they can do a lot better.

drealmarlon · 17 years ago

reply to peter> hey peter im very sorry if i make you mad about my grammar but that’s all i have and the only way thing i can deliver it, but what is important is the point is there and not too far on the topic.yes im not good with that but im trying making good it,and i think thats not too bad for for a low lever techies like me.

DummyName · 17 years ago

Prepaid… coz the Sun’s service hotline sucks!

Weblogger|CarloBlogg Online · 17 years ago

Im on prepaid, though thinkin on subscribing for a postpaid one; hassle minsan pag kelangan tumawag, walang load :D

Vance · 17 years ago

I used postpaid now – P350 sun hehe..
Sun has the same plan for prepaid but you have to pay 450 per card..

cardiac pumper · 17 years ago

i prefer postpaid. the convenience of being connected 24/7 these days is re assuring. especially in my line of work where i usually go on call for emergency operations.

besides, one can be on prepaid for two years, but will never be given any loyalty reward. With a postpaid account, one can have a chance of owning a brand new phone after two years(in time when his current phone is already outdated) and/or get a monthly rebate from his phone bills. :-)

i have been on postpaid service for 3 years and am happy with it. my postpaid plan is just right for me. i have no complaints with my bills. :-)

sky · 17 years ago

prepaid. easier to budget. and sometimes, there were dubious charges in my billing statement when i was still using postpaid.

godgets · 17 years ago

post paid.. love the free phone

richard · 17 years ago

prepaid;

its a simple fair deal for paying for what you’ve only consume, no more, no less.

dongkidoodles · 17 years ago

postpaid. had my number since 1999 and i don’t want it changed anymore. initially, i was a heavy texter and i didn’t like to run out of load which was a big deal before there was pasaload or e-load. besides, i like the cellphone giveaways in those days. now i rarely text anymore (stopped forwarding non-sense messages, the social networking thing). And i just got the call-all pldt mobile landline which i now use in making calls. still postpaid but downgraded from plan 1200 to plan 500 recently.

Edgar · 17 years ago

@peter

Haha! Lupet, mo ‘pre! Honestly, I view your comment more on the constructive side. It was hard on the ears, really. Wheww!

bisdaktech · 17 years ago

Prepaid all the way. The telcos don’t keep a record of prepaid users and I value my privacy hehehe!!!

http://bisdaktech.wordpress.com

my5800 · 17 years ago

Postpaid, i won’t have to worry that my phone will run out of prepaid load. just have to worry paying my bills on time. lol

Edgar · 17 years ago

Prepaid. No need to go to payment centers for the bills. Easier to manage, too. Just have a ready load for emergency calls. For me, I see to it that I have at least 3-minutes worth of call credits at any given time. Load centers are close at hand anyway. I also subscribe to unlimited text. I am on Smart, and here in Mindanao they are offering a 1-day unlitxt for 10 pesos.

Ton · 17 years ago

Postpaid. Rebates per month + no service interruption. Less hassle = more time to actually communicate.

www.livedito.com · 17 years ago

postpaid is better for emergency situation.

jpeb · 17 years ago

prepaid is better i can control costs better. i’ve never experienced that disappearing load.

if i need load i can just send a sms command and it gets charged to my credit card account.

wheng · 17 years ago

Prepaid. I’m using ubt/fbt, 24/7 free mobile internet.hehe

Nitecrawler · 17 years ago

@Glenn Santos

Prepaid po has no contract.. maybe you’re referring to Postpaid which is 2 years lockup period..

misterpinoy · 17 years ago

Go for Prepaid Meralco subscription!!! para lahat tipid!!

Glenn Santos · 17 years ago

I’ve weighed both options before and backed out from prepaid due to the long contract, lengthy process (they should trim this down to get more customers) and the possible overage in minutes – even from Globe, the leader in postpaid.

The phone for free is really the only thing attractive about prepaid since I’ve set up loading both via credit card and via text for emergencies.

I really hope we get Google Voice here so we don’t hear any more of these horror stories. ;)

bouie · 17 years ago

Sun ko is postpaid kasi I use it for heavy talking, even urging my family and friends to add a Sun line to their mobile arsenal. Saka sweet din yung deal na may libreng texts na yung line ko. Di ko nga nauubos every month. Saka mura kasi pantawag sa abroad ang Sun kung ilalaban ko sa ibang postpaid accounts.

Smart ko is prepaid para kontrolado ko yung 3G usage ko.

Globe, postpaid before then prepaid na ngayon. Bad trip kasi sa singilan ang Globe eh, ang daming charges na di ko ma-gets.

Ian · 17 years ago

I go with postpaid. just need to pay 500, where you can you use it for emergency purpose without worrying for a load.

Eric · 17 years ago

Kung may gugustuhin akong postpaid, that would be SUN. I am currently on postpaid SMART and such a horror. Buti na lang matatapos na contract ng postpaid ko with SMART this month and I will shift to postpaid SUN already. I am using prepaid Globe as a secondary line.

jumper · 17 years ago

postpaid. better value for money. and no disappearing loads or any of that shit.

it’s true that there’s a tendency to overspend, but that’s just a matter of discipline and if you can control yourself, there’s no point to go prepaid.

it used to be that prepaid had the advantage of being flexible, meaning, you’re not locked in to a fixed number of text messages or minutes – you can use your load any way you want to. however, with the advent of the G-Flex plans, that advantage is no longer there.

@peter: your hubris is nauseating.

Geri · 17 years ago

Prepaid,if you use smart phone you can text and surf for free!yahoo!

Romy · 17 years ago

Postpaid, easy outgoing call accounting for reimbursement of business calls and for loyalty rewards.

Greg · 17 years ago

PostPaid

Been a postpaid subscriber of Globe for more than 8 years. Advantage for me is that there are no disappearing loads. Had enough of that on prepaid.

Nitecrawler · 17 years ago

Postpaid since 1998..and still on Globe Advantage Plan.. :D .. not a heavy text or call user..some billing problem in the past(got billed with 40K for international SMS)..average bill for the last 11 years is Php430.. except when they billed me with that 40K and it took 8 months of arguing with their CSR before they decided to waive the charges… last year they offered me a monthly rebate of 990/month for the next 2 years or get an iphone at half the price.. I would have taken the rebate but my wife wants to have the iphone instead..

danny · 17 years ago

Both have its pros and cons:

Pro-prepaid: manageable
Anti-prepaid: emergency no load…

Pro-postpaid: good for mission critical moments
Anti-postpaid: cant control costs

Maye · 17 years ago

Postpaid. I’ve tried Globe and Sun. If you’re a loyal customer (as in nagbabayad on time), they don’t usually cut your line even if you have reached your limit. I’d recommend the P600 plan from Sun Cellular, enough use lang siya for 1 month. Yun nga lang, bulok pa rin signal ng sun hanggang ngayon. ;))

bursky · 17 years ago

i have both. and from the same provider! (yeah, stupid, i know.)

i recently got my postpaid because i don’t want to be caught in an emergency and not be able to text anyone. yeah, i’m paranoid. :P but seriously, i just hate those situations where i NEED to text or call someone but can’t because i was out of load. besides, P300/month isn’t that bad, right?

but since i also text the gf a lot (esp. on weekends), that’s when i use my unlimited texting on prepaid. :) mas sulit.

MPonteres · 17 years ago

I’ve been using postpaid for more than 10 years. I have been maximizing mobile phone capability.

Ardz · 17 years ago

Postpaid if I want to get a high-end phone for free. Otherwise, I go prepaid.

peter · 17 years ago

@drealmarlon
Favor naman, mag tagalog ka na lang. Your grammar is absolutely nauseating.

drealmarlon · 17 years ago

for me i want a postpaid plan because the prepaid plan always to be erratic when you load a higher value you did not able to use it on its single centavo because the network make sucks on it.while on the postpaid you will be sure of usage of your billing.but for what people like to be on prepaid is because of the hassle free requirements than you go postaid.

jehzlau · 17 years ago

voted for prepaid. :) I hate post paid horror stories. :)

Jay Ar · 17 years ago

Prepaid. I am a heavy texter so I register for unlitxt almost every day. most of my contacts are on globe anyway

CCLozano · 17 years ago

Prepaid, though I was on postpaid years back. Heavy texter and caller here. With prepaid, usage is more manageable, and forces me to make each text or call and Internet surfing minutes count (or worth it).