Topping up your 1 2 Call sim

[teelack 9,646]

I went to top up my phone yesterday thinking that it would take me to the next time I am in Thailand but it was in fact a fair way short. I took a walk down to Central AIS shop and asked them what the solution was and was surprised when I got it. For all you people that are looking for a relatively pain free top up here goes.

 

Go to AIS and say insert 100 baht in the machine. Select English (or whatever) and go to top up. This will show your credit and amounts from 10 baht up that can be credited to your phone. Now enter 10 baht and insert your phone number and your credit is extended one month. Just keep on going till you use your credit and have totally pissed of those behind you.

I just didn’t know this till today and hope that it is useful to others.

 

[ikkrang 490]

Where in Central do you find this AIS machine?

[jacko 8,822]

I top up directly from Internet Banking with Bangkok Bank.

Yes there are certain packages now where a small top up will extend your validity by a month.

To figure out what package you are on, what alternatives there are etc etc, with AIS go to..

https://aiseservice.ais.co.th/eServiceWeb/

 

 

Select English...top RHS.

Enter your number and request a password.....enter the OTP you will receive as a SMS, in the field and click OK.

 

AIS got a bit of stick a while back for reducing the validity of credit. True gives you a full year I believe.

But there are ways to manage it as you have found out.

[teelack 9,646]

AIS has a bureau on the same floor as food.

[ikkrang 490]

Yes, I was sent there one day when I wanted to do something with my sim card, but never found them....

Close to the supermarket?

[nkped 1,208]

Yes, I was sent there one day when I wanted to do something with my sim card, but never found them....

Close to the supermarket?

Beach Road end of the basement.

[Gabor 296]

If you have a thai bank account you can do it online or at any ATM...

[jacko 8,822]

If you have a thai bank account you can do it online or at any ATM...

The real point is how he is extending the validity of his credit... so that the money and number is available to him for his next trip.

AIS has become 'tighter' in that respect.

One I use is Mao 30 Baht get 30 days validity and free call 30 minutes within 5 days, useful when I know I will be making a longish local call as the rate 1b/minute is good and my validity gets extended 30 days. Ordered via above web page or using some *500 code.

Soon I may switch to 3G and I am expecting that to bump up my costs.

Edited March 23, 2014 by jacko

[ikkrang 490]

Thanks guys.

[teelack 9,646]

My advice was for tourists who possibly have no Thai bank accounts or ATM cards. There are a lot of us out there and this solution will be best for those type of people. Extend your card for 5 months for 50 baht is a great solution for a lot of us. It even works for those that only come here one time a year and I guess that over your holiday you could pop in a couple of times and keep extending.

 

There is another AIS at Tucom but I do not know if they have machines there.

[goldeni 33]

Not sure if I was given the correct information, but at the Truemove store near Tucom, was told I couldn't extend my previous SIM, which had expired, even though I'd received an SMS advising it was valid til November 2014. Salesperson told me that True now only extends life of SIM for 2 months. If you don't top up in that 2 month period, the SIM will expire.

[plahgat 523]

Outside most 7/eleven there is a small mashine were you can insert money to top up your sim, and extend the validity!

 

Plahgat

 

[nkped 1,208]

Outside most 7/eleven there is a small mashine were you can insert money to top up your sim, and extend the validity!

 

Plahgat

 

post-7521-0-15838900-1390783334.jpg

So that's what those are!:-)

[Grandpollo 366]

If you have a credit card with Verified By Visa and can receive text messages where you are, obviously Thailand and others (I can receive AIS 1-2 SMS in Canada, Hong Kong as examples), you can refill online with a credit card.

 

They send a SMS with a one time password. You use that to log in, add say 100 Baht for $3 or so, and then you're done. No fees and let's face it whatever the exchange rate amounts to for 100 Baht is immaterial.

[jacko 8,822]

My advice was for tourists who possibly have no Thai bank accounts or ATM cards. There are a lot of us out there and this solution will be best for those type of people. Extend your card for 5 months for 50 baht is a great solution for a lot of us. It even works for those that only come here one time a year and I guess that over your holiday you could pop in a couple of times and keep extending.

 

There is another AIS at Tucom but I do not know if they have machines there.

These Top-Up machines are quite common, often in-front of 7-11 shops.

Although I do live rural, and I bet they are only in Thai language.

[teelack 9,646]

The thing was that I didn't know how toi manage the system and this is where a call direct to the AIS shop can be a great assistance as they not only tell you but then work through the machine settings with you till you have it sorted. I would be interested to know if the orange machines do in fact have an English option because if they do not then they are not suitable for the normal tourist.

[nkped 1,208]

The thing was that I didn't know how toi manage the system and this is where a call direct to the AIS shop can be a great assistance as they not only tell you but then work through the machine settings with you till you have it sorted. I would be interested to know if the orange machines do in fact have an English option because if they do not then they are not suitable for the normal tourist.

I glanced at one at a 7-11 towards the southern end of Thappraya and it did not seem to have an English option.

[jacko 8,822]

I glanced at one at a 7-11 towards the southern end of Thappraya and it did not seem to have an English option.

Perhaps you need to look closer......

One near to me, in-front of a 7-11, on first appearances appeared to be all Thai, but I touched the screen, and up came language options, Thai, English and Hindi......

[Greg_B 306]

Jacko

 

My wife has one of these at her apartment building, it only takes a phone line to install

Cost was 30,000 Baht and she does very well with it.

You buy time from AIS, True and Happy at a discount and sell it to the public

 

Maybe something for a rural area...?

[ajsp9 18]

I suppose you could also buy a couple of top up credits and periodically load them on your phone whilst back home

[teelack 9,646]

I suppose you could also buy a couple of top up credits and periodically load them on your phone whilst back home

Yes but for 10 baht per month extended why would you?

[gregUK 44]

The other way to do the same thing is to hand the phone over to the girls that top it up "over the phone" and top up 20 Baht at a time until the date is moved forward enough.

We have 3 Thai SIMs with 1 year expiry, so last until next year's visit. 1 of them did not go forward the full year and this is what she did

[rainsberger 0]

After my last visit which ended on November 12th 2013 i was still in credit which expires on May 17th 2014

 

I take it that when i return to Pattaya on May 12th my phone will still work can someone comfirm please as

the last 2 visits i have has to get a new sim card at 7/11.

[gregUK 44]

Our 3 SIMS always work when we return, the date in the balance-check is correct as far as I'm concerned.

Always topup first day I arrive - have had same SIMS for several years now.

[tuba 0]

I top-up my 49 baht 1-2 Call sim inside any 7/11. My last visit (and top-up) was sometime Jan 2014 and my sim will still work on my next visit in May.