Australian Phone Card for Helper

[sherwes]

Hi, we are taking our helper to Australia with us for a month shortly. She has her own mobile and will obviously want to keep in touch (particularly with her relatives in the Phils) whilst we are away.
My employer pays for my mobile phone so I am not sure how the mobile phone charges work in HK. However, I assume that if she uses her HK phone to call the Phils from Australia it could get very expensive. I thought of buying her a phone card in Aust but I don't think that helps as I assume she will still pay charges as though she is calling Aust from HK (given she will be using a HK sim card). Can we get her a temporary pre-paid Australian sim card?
Any solutions from more tech savvy mums??

 

[Bumps]

Yes, just get her a pre-paid sim card in Australia. Just go to a Telstra or Optus store and they will connect it up for you too. really simple to use and re-charge.

 

[fingerscrossed]

I second Bumps. There are a lot of prepaid sims over there but mind you, these SIM cards run out really quickly. But she really shouldn't be calling her family any more than she's calling them while working in HK.

 

[nicolejoy]

Australian mobile phones are ridiculously expensive. I wouldn't be calling with a phone card from a mobile phone there! It's better to get a phone card and if possible use it from a land line otherwise the cost would be very extravagant. I know that you may not want her talking for long on a land line phone and tying up the line - but maybe she could use the phone at night when no one else wants it? I always bought my phone cards for international calling at the post office, I think.

 

[0ze_Kid]

Lots of places now sell international calling cards in Australia. Post offices, newsagents, 7-11 and the like.

As other PP have said. It is a double in costs if you get a calling card and then use it on a mobile phone. You save NO money.

Also, look at the call charges on her HK mobile (for international calls outside HK) as they are sometimes cheaper than buying a prepaid mobile sim in Australia and using that. I found that I still used my HK mobile when making calls as it was cheaper than my Australian one (and I was on a postpaid account!).

I would go with the calling card from a landline. Or, if you will have internet access you could look at a skype to landline option.

 

[Smiles]

I used to phone my family in the UK from my aussie mobile a lot. I used a $49 (I think it might have been a bit more) which gave you quite a lot of minutes (again a bit hazy on the figure but 200minutes?) with vodafone voucher. Then I bought a $10 phone card called 'estar' from the local shop which lasted me ages. To phone internationally you are dialing a local number (on the mobile) and the card charges at international rate (for the UK it was really cheap but not sure on other countries). 'Apple' was another good international card you can also get from local shop.