Prepaid SIM - Vietnam
Jan 13, 2017, 6:22 am
#31
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: IAD/DCA, USA (MD Suburbs)
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, HH Diamond, Fairmont RIP, Hertz Plat, BA Gold
Posts: 1,622
Upscale restaurants and shops will accept credit cards but honestly we rarely had a meal that topped $10-15 pp. including drinks (many under $10!) so didn't feel the need to pull out the plastic. We only used credit cards at hotels and one tailor shop in Hoi An where my wife had a few really nice dresses made (and I got a cheesy smoking jacket decorated with dragons for a gag!).
Feb 9, 2017, 4:33 am
#32
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
Picked up a Viettel SIM for 265k for 3GB package.
Getting LTE! But speeds range from 6-7 to about 20 Mbps. I've been only to HCMC and now, just on the outskirts of Hoi An old town.
Initially I picked up a Mobifone SIM at the airport and that has ranged from 3-4 to up to 13 Mbps. But coverage seemed more spotty even in District 1 of HCMC.
I'm suppose to have 4 GB on that one and I paid 160k VND.
Getting LTE! But speeds range from 6-7 to about 20 Mbps. I've been only to HCMC and now, just on the outskirts of Hoi An old town.
Initially I picked up a Mobifone SIM at the airport and that has ranged from 3-4 to up to 13 Mbps. But coverage seemed more spotty even in District 1 of HCMC.
I'm suppose to have 4 GB on that one and I paid 160k VND.
May 26, 2017, 12:19 am
#33
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 2,781
Quick update: Band 3 LTE seems to be live and is pretty widespread, at least on Viettel. Was getting 25/20 speeds consistently in HCMC, Hoi An, Hai Phong, and Hanoi.
The "official" Viettel stores at HCMC rip you off (as expected) -- they'll take your money for whatever plan you buy, and then activate it with the lowest unlimited plan (600 MB high-speed, throttled after). Luckily, Viettel is really pushing to get people on 4G, so they were throwing in free data with new SIM activations when I bought mine (up to 10GB), but not sure this will always be the case. If you want to buy it at the airport, buy the cheapest plan you can, and then buy a top-up card when you get into town. They often run reload bonuses of up to 50%.
Current plans are here: https://4gvietteltelecom.vn/. Don't even need to speak Vietnamese to figure out how much to reload. 4G plans are a much better value than 3G plans. As of the time of writing, 90,000d gets you 1.2GB of 3G, compared to 3GB of 4G.
The "official" Viettel stores at HCMC rip you off (as expected) -- they'll take your money for whatever plan you buy, and then activate it with the lowest unlimited plan (600 MB high-speed, throttled after). Luckily, Viettel is really pushing to get people on 4G, so they were throwing in free data with new SIM activations when I bought mine (up to 10GB), but not sure this will always be the case. If you want to buy it at the airport, buy the cheapest plan you can, and then buy a top-up card when you get into town. They often run reload bonuses of up to 50%.
Current plans are here: https://4gvietteltelecom.vn/. Don't even need to speak Vietnamese to figure out how much to reload. 4G plans are a much better value than 3G plans. As of the time of writing, 90,000d gets you 1.2GB of 3G, compared to 3GB of 4G.
Jul 31, 2017, 12:17 pm
#34
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Menlo Park, CA, USA
Programs: UA 1MM 0P, AA, DL, *wood, Lifetime FPC Plat., IHG, HHD
Posts: 6,912
Can someone comment on what the EASIEST way to get a vietnam sim (that would hopefully cover vietnam and cambodia) after landing at HCM or Hanoi airports? Having ATT global international data clearly isn't going to work and I'd like to get just something quickly upon landing.
Aug 3, 2017, 5:54 pm
#35
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 2,781
Can someone comment on what the EASIEST way to get a vietnam sim (that would hopefully cover vietnam and cambodia) after landing at HCM or Hanoi airports? Having ATT global international data clearly isn't going to work and I'd like to get just something quickly upon landing.
Aug 3, 2017, 6:43 pm
#36
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Travel Safety/Security & Texas, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: AUS / GRK
Programs: AA, HHonors, Hertz
Posts: 13,485
Might be too late now, but there is really no need to get Uber/Grab at SGN airport, just go outside and grab a taxi, the preferred companies are Mai Linh/Vinasun, and the driver would start the meter, a ride to the city would be <10$ (I think we paid about 130K or 150K VND)
I ended up not getting a local SIM at all and relied on WiFI during my short time in SGN.
I did catch an Uber from the airport into town. The cost was about US$4. I actually used Uber quite a bit around town, mostly the motorcycle version and many rides were $.40-$.50.
And with using WiFi, it was a pain at times. But there are plenty of hotspots. A few times I asked someone standing near me, "hotspot?" and they'd let me latch on to theirs. I can see how that would get old though.