Find out how to use up your remaining Pay As You Go credit when moving to another network.

In the UK, it isn’t possible to get a refund for unused Pay As You Go credit, nor is it possible to transfer your credit to another network. This can be an issue if you’re changing to another mobile network and if you have some leftover credit on your old Pay As You Go account.

For this reason, we typically recommend trying to use up your remaining Pay As You Go credit before moving your phone number to another mobile network. Alternatively, you could donate your credit to charity or you could keep your old SIM card as a backup.

Order Free Pay As You Go SIM Card → Transfer Your Phone Number →

In this article, we’ll explore the four things you can do with remaining Pay As You Go credit.

Transfer Your Credit

With certain exceptions, it normally isn’t possible to transfer credit between mobile networks.

If you’re changing mobile networks, it normally won’t be possible to transfer Pay As You Go credit (though some mobile networks have a way for you to do this e.g. with Lebara Mobile and Lycamobile’s international credit transfer).

For customers staying on the same mobile network as before, it will sometimes be able to transfer your Pay As You Go credit (for instance, when you’re upgrading your handset, changing to another tariff, or upgrading to Pay Monthly). While mobile networks are under no obligation to move your credit to another account, they will normally do this as it’s a way to keep a loyal customer.

If you’re changing to another Pay As You Go account on the same network, you should contact your mobile network to ask them to transfer your credit to your new account.

Upgrading to Pay Monthly

If you’re upgrading from Pay As You Go to Pay Monthly on the same network, your credit can sometimes be applied to your new Pay Monthly account. Officially, this service is offered on EE, O2 and Vodafone. However, customers of other mobile networks should still enquire to see whether this is possible on their network.

Mobile Network Transfer your credit to Pay Monthly?
EE Yes, up to £100 of credit can be transferred to EE Pay Monthly
O2 Yes, up to £350 of credit can be transferred to O2 Pay Monthly
Three No
Vodafone Yes, credit can be transferred to Vodafone Pay Monthly (no limit specified)

For more information, please see our guide to the best value Pay Monthly SIM cards.

Spend Your Credit

On the major Pay As You Go networks, you can use your credit for purchases on some online stores.

If you’re moving to a different mobile network and would like to keep your existing phone number, it unfortunately won’t be possible to transfer your Pay As You Go credit. For this reason, we’d typically advise you try to use up any remaining Pay As You Go credit before transferring your phone number elsewhere.

While it’s possible to use your credit frivolously, we’d recommend against doing this if at all possible. Instead, there are two good ways of efficiently using up your credit: either buying a Pay As You Go bundle or using the credit for purchases elsewhere.

If you’d like to use your Pay As You Go credit for airtime, the most efficient way to do is probably to buy a Pay As You Go bundle. Most mobile networks will offer a Pay As You Go bundle, with the minimum purchase typically being either £5 or £10. You’ll get a 30-day allowance of minutes, texts and internet to use on your phone.

If you’d like to use your Pay As You Go credit for purchases elsewhere, the UK’s four largest mobile networks allow you to do this through either Boku or Payforit. You can use your Pay As You Go credit for purchases on the Google Play Store, PlayStation Store, Windows Store, Spotify and others (look for the “carrier billing” option when paying for your purchases).

You can donate unused credit to your favourite charity.

As an alternative to spending your Pay As You Go credit, it’s also possible to donate it to charity via text message. Charities you can donate to include Cancer Research, the Red Cross and Save the Children. You can also check with your favourite charity to see whether they can accept donations via text message.

Typically, the minimum donation by text message is around £3. Before donating, you should double-check to see how much money is actually received by the charity (on good campaigns, the charity should receive 100% of your donation). You should also check to see if it’s possible to add Gift Aid to your donation, as the charity could receive an additional 25%.

On some smaller mobile networks, it may not be possible to send SMS messages to a five-digit short-code. If this is the case for your network, it may not be possible to donate your credit to charity.

Keep Your Credit

You can also keep your old SIM card as a backup and therefore the credit that’s on it.

The final option is keeping your old account open, as well as the Pay As Your Go credit that’s on it. For instance, your old SIM card can be used as backup or it can be placed in a second handset.

If you choose to keep your old account open and therefore the credit that’s on it, there are two important things you need to be aware of:

  • You won’t be able to transfer your phone number to another network. If you move your phone number to another network, it will automatically close the account on your old mobile network. For this reason, it won’t be possible to transfer your phone number to a new mobile network whilst keeping the credit on your old account.
  • You’ll need to keep an eye on account inactivity and credit expiry. On most mobile networks, there’ll be no problem keeping your old account open as a backup. However, you should be aware of the account inactivity and credit expiry policies. Typically, you’ll need to use your SIM card for a chargeable activity at least once every 180 days to keep your account open.

Dual-SIM handsets allow you to use two SIM cards at the same time in the handset. This can be a good way of dealing with two SIM cards, as you’ll be able to use both of them at the same time in the handset (and therefore receive phone calls on both numbers).

More Information

For more information, please see our full guide to the UK’s Pay As You Go deals. You can also see our detailed instructions on how to move your phone number from one mobile network to another.

Your Comments 43 so far

We'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have. So far, we've received 43 comments from readers. You can add your own comment here.

  • Clanger said:

    Hi Ken (or anyone else who knows the answer to this),

    If I buy and activate a sim card and top it up do the internet distance selling regs apply? So if I haven’t used the top up and want a refund within 14 days of purchase I should get my top up back?

    Thanks for any help.

    BTW Ken, this is my first question here but I’ve been using this website for along time. I have to say usually any question I have about networks, sims etc. is already answered on this website. Thank you for your excellent advice.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Clanger,
      Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, I’m not a lawyer so I can’t explain all of the details, but my understanding is the 14-day cooling off period does not apply for top-ups. This is because the money is made available for you to use straight away, and you waive the 14-day period.
      Ken

  • Amit said:

    I contacted Three via the Live Chat on their website to see if they could transfer credit between PAYG accounts. They said the system didn’t allow them to do it. That said, this was offshored support; I’m not sure the same limitation would exist if I called 333 instead.

  • Cynthia said:

    Thank you for your advice about donating PAYG credit to charity, and being sure to donate to a charity that gets 100% of your donation. We had just over £4 left and I don’t think Virgin needs it. Thanks, too, for all the help about choosing a PAYG provider. My partner uses his ordinary (non-‘smart’) mobile very rarely so the thought of paying (and losing) £8 or £10 was not an option for us.

  • Andy said:

    I have PAYG with the The Phone Coop who have just announced that they they are withdrawing all PAYG accounts in January.

    As for my credit balance, they have stated that they are just going to keep it thanks very much.

    That’s not very nice is it ?

    • sue rawlings replied:

      Yes I got the same response, I was going to text it to charity but they won’t let you do that either which I think is quite shocking for an ethical company

  • Mick said:

    I got a new Three SIM, topped it up payg, and have now requested that my old Virgin number be used to replace the original Three number. Will I lose the Three top up when the number changes?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Mick,
      Thanks for your comment. You’ll only lose any unused credit on your old phone number – any credit on your new phone number will not be affected. Therefore you should be fine with your Three top-up 🙂
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • Dennis Thurgood said:

    Is there any way I can arrange for my old credit on EE to be paid to charity after my number has been ported to my new provider?
    Is it usual for a new provider to obtain my PAC code from my old provider or must I do it myself?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Dennis,
      Thanks for your comment. You’ll need to obtain the PAC Code yourself, and will also need to arrange the charitable donation yourself in advance of the number moving over. Any credit remaining on your old account when your number transfers over will be forfeited and won’t be refunded or donated to charity.
      Ken

  • Jin said:

    Hello I have £10 on my credit can I take this out and get a £10 note or do I have to spend this on Microsoft or something like that

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Jin,
      Thanks for your comment. Sadly, any Pay As You Go credit that has been added to your account is non-refundable. For this reason, you’ll need to spend it or you’re likely to lose it.
      Ken

  • Nat said:

    Hello,
    I have a question about transferring numbers to other network.
    I want to move to giffgaff from another provider, keeping my former number. Before deciding this, I bought a goody bag and topped up credit for £10 just in case I need to make calls or so.
    I asked for the PAC, received it and just need to make the switch.
    Before that, I want to know if the credit I had topped up on my new giffgaff SIM will be kept once I transfer the phone number or will I lose those £10?

    Thanks in advance,

    Nat

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Nat,
      Thanks for your comment. You’ll still have your goodybag and airtime credit after transferring your old phone number to giffgaff. There’s no impact to the plan on your new network after you transfer you phone number in.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

        • Ken replied:

          Hi D,
          Thanks for the message. You’re absolutely right: the account on your old network will be ‘killed’ or closed after the transfer. However, the account on your new network (and all of the credit you have) remains open and is unaffected. I believe the poster above was transferring their number in to giffgaff, and hence that account on giffgaff will still have the number after transfer.
          Ken

  • Alun said:

    Hi, I have a Giffgaff account which uses both fixed monthly Goody Bags and variable credit. I’m sure all the credit has been used up but will the monthly Giffgaff Goody Bag charge just stop when I transfer to BTmobile pay monthly or will I face an exit charge?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Alun,
      Thanks for your comment. Yes, the monthly goodybag charge will stop when you transfer to BT Mobile. There are no exit fees on giffgaff – you’ll just lose any credit that’s remaining on your account and any unused allowances in your current goodybag.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • Pat said:

    Hi there,
    I have just received a new SIM card from Virgin saying I need to change from my old one.
    I keep a small credit on my rarely used mobile. Will this credit be automatically be carried over do you think?
    I have spent the last hour going round in circles on the virgin website but cannot see any mention of transferring credit.
    Hoping you can help.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Pat,
      Thanks for your comment. Do you know if this is simply a replacement for your old SIM card (i.e. if the new SIM card will have the same phone number as your old one)? If so, all of your credit should be carried over automatically.
      Ken

  • Ken said:

    I have two SIM only O2 Classic PAYG phones. I’ll call them A and B. A has considerably more credit than B. I am getting a new phone and I’ll want to PAC the mobile number of phone A (what I consider to be my main phone) to a new carrier. Effectively, phone A will then become defunct with O2 and so I would like to be able to transfer the credit on that phone to phone B before I PAC the number to the new phone. I will continue to use phone B on O2, hopefully with the enhanced credit transferred from phone A. Hope I haven’t made it sound too complicated!

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Ken,
      Thanks for your comment. I believe O2 should be able to arrange the transfer of your Pay As You Go credit from one account to another. However, you’ll need to get in touch with their customer services team in order to do this.
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Michael,
      Thanks for your comment. Sadly, it isn’t possible to transfer your EE Pay As You Go credit elsewhere. You should try to use it up before moving to Tesco Mobile.
      Ken

  • John Morrison said:

    I have ported a PAYG number from O2 to BT. I neglected to use the (approx.) £19 left on the O2 account before porting across. O2 say they cannot do anything about this.
    I am not bothered about the sum but I would like it to go to a charity rather than remain with O2.
    How can I get O2 to pass the sum to a nominated charity?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi John,
      Thanks for your comment. Sadly, there’s no way to do this once your account has been closed, unless you’re able to get O2 Customer Services to agree to reinstate the credit for you to a different account. Normally, once a Pay As You Go account is closed (e.g. because the number has been ported out), all of the credit will be forfeited at that point.
      Ken

  • Carol said:

    Hi, I’m trying to transfer my mobile number(pay as you go)keeping my old number from my old ee phone onto my other phone on3. I am successful putting information on the form from 3, until I get to the activation date. What ever date I enter comes up with a message saying “Incorrect Date” Why?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Carol,
      Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, I’m not sure why this is happening – it might be best to contact Three Customer Services on 333 so they can have a look into it for you.
      Ken

  • Moira Riley said:

    I have £20 extra credit on my phone credit(paygo)..Can I use this to pay an online site?(philosophy-astrology).The site says it’s acceptable,but when tried to check/rang O2 Cust service he didn’t seem to know,but said it can’t be done in South Africa??.Not a very clear answer to the q.!
    p.s. I live in U.K

    • Ken replied:

      Hi Moira,
      Thanks for our comment. Typically, it isn’t possible to use your Pay As You Go credit to pay for services online. There are sometimes a couple of exceptions to this (e.g. at partners like the Google Play Store).
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

  • I. Simpson said:

    I was told by an Orange person that there was a way to transfer my PAY AS YOU GO balance to charity which I wanted to do. Unfortunately when I found your website my no. Had already been transfer to new phone. Perhaps you could work out a way that would give this negative info sooner?

    • Ken replied:

      Hi there,
      Many thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, this isn’t really something that Orange publicise themselves, as they obviously want to keep all of your unused credit! I’ve collated the information on this page to try and help people out but unfortunately there aren’t many ways of getting the word out there (except from by word of mouth and by people searching for this topic).
      Ken

  • Mark A said:

    It’s rather convenient for the network providers that anything under £3 can’t be text donated to charity. They must make a fortune on left over balances sub 3 quid as unless you make unnecessary calls just to use it up (what’s the point?) it is pure profit for them. It’d be nice if we could clear the credit in full (albeit small amounts) in anyway we wish without restriction.

    • John replied:

      Very true Mark! Millions that amounts to no doubt. There should be a way to have a refund of your credit. I am surprised Ofcom etc has not enacted that to the Telcos. What is stopping that? Surely thats a Consumer right to have your credit back. The power companies are required of course to give you back your credit balance so why should the Telco companies not?

  • Rob said:

    Hi Ken,

    Thanks for the comprehensive suggestions! With regard to donating leftover PAYG credit, I’ve set up a dedicated JustGiving page with active text donation code for Oxfam UK – http://www.justgiving.com/how-to-use-payg-credit

    My aim is to keep the page updated with feedback on which networks allow you to donate your balance through the text donation service, and whether or not they charge for the shortcode text itself.

    Hope this helps, Rob

  • Cedric Wenger said:

    Dear Ken,

    First, thanks a lot for all your hard work putting this site together and collecting all this information and presenting it in an easy-to-read and understandable way – very helpful for those of us trying to navigate the mobile sim waters!

    Second, thanks a lot for reminding me that I can donate my remaining credit to worthy charities. I totally didn’t think of doing that, duh!

    Thanks a gain for a really helpful site.

    Cedric

  • JPAC said:

    I have a PAYG from EE and want to spend some of my credit to buy some EE accessories. (https://accessories.ee.co.uk/products/) Unfortunately there is no option to do this, just Paypal and credit cards and EE vouchers. I asked Kondor, the company that operates the EE accessories site, but they wouldn’t help. Is there a way to change some of my credit from EE PAYG to EE vouchers, as Kondor accept these? Thanks for any help.

    • Ken replied:

      Hi JPAC,
      I don’t believe it’s possible to convert your EE Pay As You Go credit into an EE gift voucher. Obviously, they make huge margins when you use your PAYG credit for calling, texting and browsing (while accessories and handsets typically have a much smaller margin). For this reason, I think they’re unlikely to offer any way for you to be able to do this!
      Ken

      • JPAC replied:

        That’s shame. Thanks for the reply though Ken. EE accessories are about four times the price of a regular shop. I bought the credit for my backup phone when travelling but it never got used. I would have liked to use most of the credit up and move the number to another network as a second SIM on a dual SIM phone.

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