Pay As You Go SIM Card Expiry: Minimum Usage Requirements To Stay Active

To stop your Pay As You Go SIM card & credit from expiring, there’s a minimum usage requirement on most UK mobile networks.

If you’re looking for a Pay As You Go SIM card where your credit doesn’t expire, there are a number of options still available out there. However, you’ll need to follow the minimum usage requirements to keep your SIM card active and also to stop your credit from expiring.

In this article, we’ll look at the expiration policy on UK Pay As You Go networks and what you’ll need to do to keep your SIM card active. We’ll also summarise the top deals for customers wanting a ‘no expiry’ Pay As You Go SIM card.

Best No Expiry SIM Deals

Before we dig in to the best ‘no expiry’ Pay As You Go deals, it’s important to clarify what we mean when we talk about this:

• If you’d like to avoid monthly payments (or the need to top-up every month), choose a traditional Pay As You Go plan. That way, you’ll just pay for what you actually use on a per-minute, per-text and per-megabyte basis. There are no monthly fees on traditional Pay As You Go.
• If you’d like to prevent your SIM and phone number from being disconnected, it’s important to follow the minimum usage requirements as detailed in the provider’s terms and conditions. This is important, for instance, if you only use your SIM card from time-to-time (e.g. because you’re often outside the UK, or if it’s a backup SIM card for emergencies).

When it comes to choosing the best ‘no expiry’ deal, we’d recommend getting a Pay As You Go SIM card with no monthly fees and where there’s a fairly generous policy on disconnections (e.g. with a 180-day minimum usage requirement). You should also look at the coverage available in your area, along with their Pay As You Go rates.

For many people, we think giffgaff is a good choice as they offer a Pay As You Go SIM card with no need to top-up every month. The only requirement is that you’ll need to use your SIM card every 180 days to keep it active. You’ll get 4G & 5G coverage from the O2 network. ASDA Mobile is also worth a look, but you’ll need to top-up your SIM card with new credit every 180 days.

If the 180-day requirement is likely to be onerous (e.g. because you’re often outside the UK, or if you think you’re likely to forget about it), Lyca Mobile has the option for you to maintain a mobile service and a UK phone number for £5 per year (with no minimum usage requirements).

SIM Card Expiry: By PAYG Network

In the following section, we’ll look at the minimum usage requirements on each Pay As You Go network in the UK along with the rates and network coverage available.

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Minimum Spend:	£10 every 60 days
Credit Expiry:	Subject to £10 minimum spend every 60 days
Pay As You Go Rates:	1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/MB
Coverage:	Uses EE network (5G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	Great headline rates, and flexibility on how to use your PAYG credit. Access to EE’s 5G network with uncapped speeds, WiFi Calling & more.
Reasons To Avoid:	You’ll need to spend at least £60 per year to keep your SIM active.
Free SIM Card:	Order 1pMobile SIM card →

If you’re looking for a classic Pay As You Go SIM card with lots of flexibility on how to spend your credit, 1pMobile offers a Pay As You Go SIM card where you’ll pay just 1p/minute, 1p/text and 1p/MB. You’ll get access to EE’s 4G and 5G network on the SIM.

The biggest disadvantage of 1pMobile is that you’ll need to spend at least £10 of credit every 60 days (from October 2024). If you spend less than £10 over a given 60-day period, the shortfall will be deducted from your balance. For instance, if you’ve spent £8 over 60 days, the remaining £2 of credit will be expired from your account.

If you’re unable to spend at least £10 every 60 days (e.g. because your credit has run out), your SIM card will be terminated and your phone number will be lost. This is described in section 3(a) of the 1pMobile terms and conditions:

3 a. i. Your 1pMobile service is subject to a minimum spend on calls, text, data and Boosts of £10 every 60 days. If your actual spend during any 60-day billing period is below £10, we will deduct the shortfall from the credit balance on your account; your usage period runs on a 60-day cycle from the Commencement Date, or for customers whos Commencement Data is before 1 February 2024 the date notified to you. If we are unable to collect the shortfall because your credit balance is insufficient for us to do so, then your service will immediately be suspended until (i) the date you top-up your 1pMobile account, and (ii) 10 days have elapsed (in which case we will close your 1pMobile account and your mobile number will be disconnected), whichever shall come earlier. In addition, if the balance on your 1pMobile account falls to zero and you do not make a top-up within the following 10 days, then we will close your 1pMobile account and your mobile number will be disconnected.
ii. Closure of your account means,
a. we will close your 1pMobile account,
b. your mobile number will be disconnected,
c. and any unused credit will be lost.
d. If you have ported a mobile number to us then the number will be returned to the issuing network provider and may not be retrievable.

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Minimum Usage:	Requires a top-up or bundle purchase every 180 days
Credit Expiry:	No expiry, subject to top-up or bundle purchase every 180 days
Pay As You Go Rates:	15p/minute, 10p/text and 10p/MB
Coverage:	Uses Vodafone network (4G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	Top-up from £5, so you can keep your SIM active from £10 per year. Bundles available from £4/month for unlimited minutes & texts.
Reasons To Avoid:	Speeds are restricted to 4G, unless you spend at least £10/month.
Free SIM Card:	Order ASDA Mobile SIM card →

If you’re an ASDA Mobile customer, you’ll be able to use your mobile phone at their standard Pay As You Go rates of 15p/minute, 10p/text and 10p/MB. This is possible without the need to buy a bundle.

To keep your ASDA SIM card active and to prevent your credit from expiring, you’ll either need to top-up your account or buy a bundle every 180 days. This is stated within the FAQs on their website:

Does my top-up expire?
For your account credit to remain active you must top-up or purchase a bundle within 180 days of either activating your account (i.e. when you first made a call, sent a text or used data) or the last top-up or bundle purchase you made. Every time you top-up or purchase a bundle within 180 days, this time frame will reset.

Technically speaking, they’ll put your account in a ‘restricted’ state for a 90-day period. Once it’s restricted, you won’t be able to make any outgoing calls, texts or use data. However, you’ll still be able to receive incoming calls and texts. You’ll need to call their customer services team on 0808 006 2732 if you want to reactivate your SIM card.

After a further 90 days in the restricted state, your SIM card will be terminated entirely and any remaining Pay As You Go credit will be expired. You’ll also lose access to your phone number at the same time.

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Minimum Usage:	Call, text, use data or top-up every 180 days
Credit Expiry:	No expiry, subject to minimum usage requirement
Pay As You Go Rates:	40p/minute and 20p/text. Bundle required for data.
Coverage:	Uses EE network (4G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	Big name provider with good UK-wide coverage.
Reasons To Avoid:	You’ll need a bundle (from £10) to access mobile data. Speeds are restricted to 25Mbps and coverage is limited to 4G.

In the UK, EE offers a hidden-away Pay As You Go mobile service where there’s no need to top-up every month. To get it, you’ll need to order one of their Pay As You Go SIM cards. You can then opt-out of their monthly Subscription Packs to get the classic Pay As You Go rates of 40p/minute and 20p/text.

There are two main disadvantages to using EE’s Pay As You Go service on this basis.

Firstly, mobile data is only available if you have a Subscription Pack. For that reason, you’ll need to spend at least £10 per month to access data on your device. This can be a deal-breaker if you’re using an internet-of-things device (e.g. a GPS tracker or alarm) as you may need access to small amounts of data on an ongoing basis.

Secondly, EE’s Pay As You Go service is restricted to 4G, and there’s a maximum download speed of 25Mbps on it. With many other providers, you’ll get access to 5G without any download speed limits.

You can see the relevant terms and conditions in section 6.3 of EE’s Pay As You Go network terms and conditions:

‘Connection action’ an action that must be taken to maintain connection. Connection actions include by way of example only, topping up Your Account, using data and making a chargeable call or sending a chargeable text. A full list of connection actions is set out in Our booklet of Charges;
…
6.3 You must make a Connection Action at least once every 180 days. If You do not, Your SIM Card will be disconnected from the Network and You will not be able to use the Services. You will lose Your mobile phone number and any Credit on Your Account at the time of such disconnection will be forfeited.

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Minimum Usage:	Call, text, use data, or top-up every 180 days
Credit Expiry:	No expiry, subject to minimum usage requirement
Pay As You Go Rates:	25p/minute, 10p/text and 10p/MB
Coverage:	Uses O2 network (5G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	Classic PAYG with the requirement to use it once per 180 days. Part of O2, but more flexible & with access to 5G coverage.
Reasons To Avoid:	Not the cheapest provider: others have lower PAYG rates. Missing features like WiFi Calling, so you’ll need to have good O2 signal.
Free SIM Card:	Order giffgaff SIM card →

giffgaff is part of O2, but is run as a separate brand with different customer benefits. If you’d like a traditional Pay As You Go service with no need to top-up every month, this is still available on giffgaff. You just need to add ‘Pay As You Go credit’ to your account, instead of adding a monthly plan when you sign up.

On giffgaff’s traditional Pay As You Go service, you’ll pay 25p/minute, 10p/text and 10p/MB. You’ll get free calls and texts to other giffgaff members for 3 months each time you top-up.

To keep your giffgaff SIM card active, you’ll need to use it at least once every six months. This could include making a phone call, sending a text message, using data, or adding credit to your account. This is stated within clause 13.5 of giffgaff’s terms and conditions:

Our rights to bar or disconnect your SIM Card

13.5. Your SIM Card will be disconnected unless, at least once every six months, your Account is used to:

a) make at least one call, SMS or MMS to another number (not including calls to emergency services or Member Services or 0800 numbers or texts/calls to free rated numbers);
b) make at least one connection to the Internet;
c) make at least one airtime credit or Plan purchase

13.6. If your SIM Card is disconnected due to inactivity, you will lose any remaining credit or Plan balance on your Account. giffgaff recycles numbers and we will not be able to reconnect once a number is disconnected and recycled. giffgaff may reconnect you if any disconnection was due to our negligence.

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Minimum Usage:	Chargeable activity every 180 days
Credit Expiry:	Credit is automatically exchanged for bundle which expires after 30 days
Pay As You Go Rates:	55p/minute, 30p/text and £2/day for data.
Coverage:	Uses O2 network (4G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	Access to the O2 Priority app.
Reasons To Avoid:	There’s no way to opt-out of credit being turned into a bundle. Limited to 4G coverage (unlike giffgaff which offers 5G).

On O2’s Pay As You Go service, your credit will be converted automatically into one of O2’s Big Bundle plans. For instance, a £10 top-up would be exchanged for a £10 bundle, which would then expire after one month. If there are insufficient funds to buy a bundle, you’ll be charged their standard Pay As You Go rates instead (55p/minute, 30p/text and £2/day for data).

You’ll need to use your O2 Pay As You Go SIM card for a chargeable activity at least once every 6 months to keep it active. This is stated in clause 7.1 of O2’s Pay As You Go service terms:

7.1 If you do not carry out any chargeable activity at least once in any 6 month period your Mobile Phone will be disconnected and you will lose any remaining credits balance on your Account. If you wish to be re-connected after this time you will be given a new Mobile Phone number.

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Minimum Usage:	Call, text, or use data every 90 days
Credit Expiry:	No expiry, subject to minimum usage requirement
Pay As You Go Rates:	25p/minute and 19p/text. Bundle required for data.
Coverage:	Uses Vodafone network (5G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	Access to Vodafone’s 5G network.
Reasons To Avoid:	Usage required every 90 days to keep your SIM card active. You’ll need a bundle (from £5) to access mobile data.

On Lebara Mobile, it’s possible to call and text without topping up each month. You’ll pay their standard Pay As You Go rates of 25p/minute and 19p/text for this. Mobile data is only available when you buy a monthly plan from them (unless you have a Lebara SIM card from before the 24th May 2023, in which case you’ll be able to pay 9p/MB for data without a monthly plan).

The main thing to be aware of is that you’ll need to use your SIM card for a chargeable activity at least once every 90 days to keep it active. This is stated in clause 60 of Lebara’s terms and conditions:

60. If you do not use the Pre-Pay Services to carry out at least one chargeable activity ( make a call, send a text or use data) with your Lebara SIM for a consecutive period of 90 days, you will lose any top up credit or outstanding balance remaining. To continue using our services, you will need to make a top up or add a plan online or with a voucher in-store.

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Minimum Usage:	Call, text, use data, or add credit every 120 days or pay £5 per year to maintain your service (with no min usage)
Credit Expiry:	No expiry, subject to minimum usage requirement
Pay As You Go Rates:	23p/minute, 23p/text and 15p/MB
Coverage:	Uses EE network (5G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	Ability to keep your service & number active with no usage requirement. Available on eSIM (e.g. for dual-SIM on the iPhone & Android).
Reasons To Avoid:	The 120-day usage requirement is more restrictive than other networks.
Free SIM Card:	Order Lyca Mobile SIM card →

If you’d like to keep your UK phone number active without the need to use it every so often (e.g. because you’re going abroad), Lyca Mobile will allow you to maintain a UK mobile service for a fixed fee of £5 per year. This is stated within the general FAQs on their website:

How long can I keep my number for if I don’t use any of Lyca Mobile’s services?

Normally, we will keep your number for 120 days if you do not use our service. However, you may also keep your Lyca Mobile number for up to 1 year without using our service. Just dial *139*9999# from your Lyca Mobile and follow the instructions on the screen. Please be aware that there will be a fixed annual fee of £5 which will be deducted from your balance.

When you do this, you’ll just pay their standard Pay As You Go rates of 23p/minute, 23p/text and 15p/MB in the UK. Different rates apply for international calling or if you’re outside the UK.

Another benefit of Lyca Mobile is the fact that you’re able to get your plan on an eSIM. This makes it perfect for things like receiving incoming verification codes (OTPs) for online banking and shopping on a UK phone number. Most eSIM-capable phones allow you to use an eSIM at the same time as a regular plastic SIM card.

If you don’t have the £5/year add-on to maintain your mobile service, you’ll need to use your Lyca Mobile plan for a chargeable activity every 120 days. This is stated in clauses 3.3 to 3.5 of their terms and conditions:

3.3 If you do not use your SIM Card to make a voice call, or send a message or data, or if you do not purchase a top-up using the Top-Up Services, for a period of ninety (90) days from the date you registered or activated your Account or your last use of the Services (whichever is later), Lyca Mobile will contact you by SMS or e-mail advising you that your SIM Card will be deactivated. Lyca Mobile will then provide you with an additional thirty (30) days to make a voice call, send a message or data, or purchase a top-up using the Top-Up Services.

3.4 If you make a voice call, send a message or data, or purchase a top-up using the Top-Up Services within the additional thirty (30) day period, your SIM Card will remain active. Any previous credit balance in your Account will remain available for you to use, and you will be able to access and use the Services.

3.5 If you do not make a voice call, send a message or data, or purchase a top-up using the Top-Up Services within the additional thirty (30) day period, your SIM Card will be deactivated. If the SIM Card is deactivated, your specific telephone number will be reallocated to another Customer, you will not be able to access or use the Services, and you will not be entitled to a refund of any credit balance in your Account.

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Minimum Usage:	Chargeable activity every 120 days
Credit Expiry:	No expiry, subject to a top-up every 365 days
Pay As You Go Rates:	3p/minute, 2p/text and 1p/MB
Coverage:	Uses Three network (5G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	Low Pay As You Go rates.
Reasons To Avoid:	You’ll only have access to Three’s 4G network. There’s no 2G coverage. Bundles are expensive (e.g. 1GB data for £6 and 6GB for £10).
Free SIM Card:	Order iD Mobile SIM card →

iD Mobile is the own-brand mobile network from Currys and the Carphone Warehouse. If you have an iD Mobile Pay As You Go SIM card, you’ll need to use it for a chargeable activity every 120 days to keep it active. This is stated in clause 10.5 of the iD Mobile Pay As You Go terms:

10.5 We may also end this Agreement immediately by notifying you;
…
10.5.4 if there is no chargeable activity for 120 days or more. We will notify you via SMS after 90 days of no chargeable activity;

In addition, to maintain your Pay As You Go credit, you’ll need to top-up your iD Mobile SIM card at least once every 365 days. This is stated in clause 12.4 of their terms and conditions:

12.4 Unless an additional Top-Up has been made, any unused Credit will expire after a period of 365 days from the date of purchase and unused allowances will expire as specified and this is non-refundable.

One disadvantage to be aware of is that there’s no 2G coverage. Therefore, an iD Mobile SIM card will not work with older 2G or GSM-only devices. In addition, iD’s Pay As You Go bundles offer poor value.

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Minimum Usage:	Use your phone every 180 days
Credit Expiry:	No expiry, subject to minimum usage requirement Free credit on ‘Triple Credit’ plan expires after one month
Pay As You Go Rates:	25p/minute, 10p/text and 10p/MB (Triple Credit) 8p/minute, 4p/text, 10p/MB (Lite)
Coverage:	Uses O2 network (5G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	Earn Tesco Clubcard points on all of your Pay As You Go spend.
Reasons To Avoid:	Triple Credit offer can be a little complicated.
Free SIM Card:	Order Tesco Mobile SIM card →

On Tesco Mobile, it’s possible to use your mobile phone without topping up each month. To do so, you can switch to their Triple Credit or Lite Pay As You Go plans.

With Triple Credit, you’ll get bonus credit that lasts for one month each time you top-up. For instance, if you top-up by £10, you’ll get £20 of bonus credit (making a total of £30). The catch is that your bonus credit expires after one month, so it will disappear if you don’t use it all. However, your paid-for credit will remain.

To stop your paid-for credit from expiring, and to stop your account from being closed, you’ll need to use your mobile phone at least once every six months. This is stated in clause 5.4 of Tesco’s Pay As You Go terms:

5.4 If you do not use your Mobile Phone for six months we will disconnect you and you will lose your Credits and Mobile Phone number. If your Mobile Phone is disconnected and you would like to reconnect it, you must call Customer Care. If we agree to reconnect you, you must pay a reconnection fee. Details of the current reconnection fee are available by calling Customer Care.

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Minimum Usage:	Chargeable activity every 180 days
Credit Expiry:	No expiry, subject to minimum usage requirement
Pay As You Go Rates:	35p/minute, 15p/text and 10p/MB
Coverage:	Uses Three network (5G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	Access to Three+ rewards (subject to min. £10 top-up every 90 days).
Reasons To Avoid:	Coverage can be patchy in some areas. No 2G (GSM) support.
Free SIM Card:	Order Three SIM card →

On Three’s Pay As You Go service, your credit won’t expire, as long as you use your SIM card for a chargeable activity every 180 days. This is stated within Three’s Pay As You Go terms and conditions:

If within a 180 days you have not made any chargeable events or activities (for example, made telephone calls, sent text or photo messages, accessed content or the internet or any other Three Services for which a charge is made), we may also suspend our Services or disconnect you.

As a Three Pay As You Go customer, you’ll get access to Three+ rewards. However, this is subject a minimum £10 top-up every 90 days.

2G (GSM) coverage is not available to customers on Three.

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Minimum Usage:	Call, text, or use data every 90 days
Credit Expiry:	No expiry, subject to minimum usage requirement
Pay As You Go Rates:	£1/day for unlimited minutes, unlimited texts & 50MB data (Pay As You Go 1)
Coverage:	Uses Vodafone network (4G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	£1 daily charge can work out well for occasional mobile users.
Reasons To Avoid:	You won’t have access to Vodafone’s 5G network.

On Vodafone’s Pay As You Go service, you can use your mobile phone without topping up every month by switching to the Pay As You Go 1 plan. To do so, text PAYG1 to 49503 on your Vodafone Pay As You Go phone.

With Pay As You Go 1, you’ll pay £1 per day for unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and up to 50MB data. Crucially, this is only charged on the days that you actually use your mobile phone. For this reason, there’s no charge on the days that you aren’t using your phone, or on the days where you only use it for receiving incoming calls and texts.

To keep your SIM card active on Vodafone Pay As You Go, it’s necessary to use your phone for a chargeable outbound activity every 180 days. This is stated within their Pay As You Go airtime terms:

Leaving us/suspending the services. We can suspend, restrict (including, without limitation, prevent you from receiving incoming or making or sending outgoing calls and texts) or stop providing all or part of the services if:
…
(ii) you do not use the service for 180 consecutive days i.e. you do not carry out any chargeable outbound activity such as making an outbound call (excluding calls to 191), sending an SMS, using data or topping up your account;
…

If you choose to stop using the services.
If you don’t use the services for 90 consecutive days, we will send you a SMS notifying you to top up your account or make a chargeable outbound call (but not calls to 191), send a chargeable SMS or use your data. If after 45 days from the first notification you fail to do one of the above, we will send you a final notification via SMS for you to use the services. If the services remain unused after 45 days from the final notification, we will disconnect your mobile equipment and you will lose any credit held on your account. If you wish to leave Vodafone to move to another provider and keep your number, please note the following:
i. If you are disconnected due to inactivity, then you will lose the right to keep your number.
ii. If you have been warned about a potential disconnection (at 90/135 days of inactivity) and wish to switch your service to another provider you can request a PAC prior to the disconnection date.

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Minimum Usage:	Chargeable activity or top-up every 180 days
Credit Expiry:	No expiry, subject to minimum usage requirement
Pay As You Go Rates:	30p/minute and 14p/text. Bundle required for data.
Coverage:	Uses Vodafone network (5G) – check postcode
Reasons To Buy:	Access to Vodafone’s 5G network.
Reasons To Avoid:	You’ll need a bundle (from £10) to access mobile data.

On VOXI, your Pay As You Go credit won’t expire, providing you’ve opted out of the monthly plans and as long as you keep your VOXI SIM card active.

To ensure your VOXI SIM card remains active, you should use it at least once every 180 days for a chargeable activity, top-up or plan purchase (strictly speaking, you can leave it for up to 270 days, when you take their 90-day notice period into account). This is stated in clause 5b(ii) of VOXI’s Terms and Conditions:

5b. If we want to suspend our services or end the Agreement. We may suspend our services (in whole or in part, including the provision of equipment if applicable) or end the Agreement if,
…
ii. you choose not to use the service for 180 consecutive days. Using the service means purchasing a Plan, topping up or making any chargeable outbound activity;
…
c. If we suspend the mobile services because you have chosen not to use them (as defined in 5b(ii) above) for 180 consecutive days we will send you a text notifying you that you should purchase a Plan or top up your account or make a chargeable outbound call (but not calls to 191), send a chargeable text or use your data within the next 90 days. If you then fail to do so within 90 days from the date of the text because you have not kept to this Agreement or not used the services for 270 consecutive days, we will disconnect your mobile services and you will lose any credit held on your account.

One limitation to be aware of is the fact that you’ll need to have an active plan at all times to access data on your phone (available from £10 per month). Without an active plan, you’ll only be able to use the SIM card for calling and texting.

Other Mobile Networks

At present, other mobile networks (such as Honest Mobile, Smarty, Sky Mobile, Spusu and Talkmobile) only offer their plans on a Pay Monthly basis.

If you have a Pay Monthly mobile plan, there’ll be a regular fee to pay each month. Normally, your allowances will also expire after the month is up (though in some cases, you might be able to roll it over). On the other hand, there’s no need to worry about minimum usage requirements as your plan will remain connected as long as you’re paying your bills.

More Information

For more information, please refer to your mobile network’s website. You can also see our guide on the best Pay As You Go SIM cards for light users.