29 new countries added to Roam Free from 4th Sep

[chistery]

Some great news today from Vodafone.

Link

• Customers can now enjoy cost free roaming in 29 new destinations, including the USA, Canada, South Africa and Australia
• Vodafone announces it is the only network to include 500 international minutes in a Pay monthly price plan

Vodafone Press Release.

[ToniCa]

Well, your headline is incorrrect - it's subtly different! But very welcome for those customers who qualify (Red Entertainment) - they also get 500 international minutes to EU destinations, which is potentially more valuable.

[chistery]

Well yes, and it also looks like it's only for new or upgrading customers. 

Wonder what will happen to SIM only prices from 4th Sep.

[Getafix]

Interestingly, India is not included in the Global Roaming Plus.

And the date has been changed from 04Sep to 15Aug.

[ToniCa]

Hmm - the press release dated 15 August says very clearly "Global Roaming Plus and inclusive international minutes to EU countries will be available for new and upgrading Red Entertainment SIM-only customers from 4th September." On the other hand, everything I can find on the customer-facing pages appears to echo https://www.vodafone.co.uk/explore/costs/travelling-abroad/ in saying "If you purchased a Red Entertainment plan with a phone after 15 August 2018 you’ll benefit from Vodafone Global Roaming Plus,"

I hope they've got an adequate handle on this, or there's going to be real fun starting in a day or two's time. If you're going to one of the 29 destinations and reckon you're eligible for this, I'd suggest checking early on what (if anything) is getting charged to your account before deciding to call home every day.

[chistery]

If you buy a contract with a handset it's 15th Aug. For Sim Only it's the 4th Sep.

[ToniCa]

Ah, that explains it! I'm looking forward to the fun.

[ToniCa]

During the morning I've been thinking about those who sign up for a SIMO Red Entertainment deal between 15th August and 4th September. I've now had a look at the Shop, and there's plenty of incentive to sign up by 3rd September, but discovering that Global Roaming Plus won't apply unless you either include a phone or wait until 4th September - well, that strikes me as rather more of a journey, especially if you've only seen partial or garbled coverage of the news elsewhere.

As a PAYG bystander, I'm definitely looking forward to the fun.

[chistery]

You do have to wonder why Vodafone are trying to annoy as many new customers as possible don't you!

[donnyguy]

So Albania was free anyway until a few months ago.

They then make it a chargable destination.

Then make it free again for new and upgrading customers.

Suppose that was the plan with Turkey as well as that would have tempted a lot of people into re-grading but alas, the customer backlash meant it remained free for everyone 🙂