lsquare

Is any of the Malaysian cellphone plans worth keeping for the long term? Is it possible to sign up for post-paid? Can these plans roam around Asia on the cheap?

GodAtum

Hi, I would like to check if hotels in Malaysia still require proof of vaccination before checking-in?

lsquare

Not in KL.

ftrichard

Hotlink, Maxis’s pre-paid brand, offers roaming in most SE Asian countries for MYR10 a day. I kept my Hotlink account open during Covid because I still had a Malaysian bank credit card and needed the number for authorisation. I built up a huge credit balance that I used up in Thailand in Feb/March/April 2022 at MYR10 a day. As soon as it was gone I got a regular True SIM in Thailand which gives unlimited 5G for THB350 a month or about four days of Hotlink roaming. If you spend any time in a country it’s almost always cheaper to get a local SIM (unless in the EU where roaming is free).

Roaming with this True pre-paid SIM in Singapore and Malaysia is also cheaper than MYR10 a day that Hotlink charges but if I was spending any time regularly in these countries I’d get a local SIM again. At one point I had active local SIMs for Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Philippines. But I was all over the place during that period.

lsquare

Did you kept that plan long-term? It's cheaper to buy Singtel or Maxis if I'm there regularly vs paying the True SIM monthly?

ftrichard

I lived and worked in KL for five years so had a regular post-paid subscription with Maxis while travelling regularly to Bangkok, Singapore, and elsewhere however Maxis at the time charged MYR38 a day for roaming and I eventually discovered that its pre-paid brand, Hotlink, was substantially cheaper both for monthly usage in Malaysia and international roaming at MYR10 a day. I smelled a rat and switched my number to Hotlink in the Maxis shop at KLCC. As I continued to use my Malaysian HSBC credit card for years I kept the number alive when I left Malaysia and used it for SE Asia roaming as I always had a healthy balance on the account.

A pre-paid SIM with minimum top-up to keep the account alive will be cheaper than a post-paid monthly subscription in any of these countries but you'd have to check the web site of Singtel to determine their minimum top-up to keep the pre-paid number alive (I had to top up Hotline MYR60 every two months) and the cost of SE Asia roaming, True's minimum top-up and cost of roaming is cheaper than Hotlink. I once bought a Singtel SIM on board a Jetstar (IIRC) flight from KL to Singapore that was cheap and I kept it active for a while.

But if you don't *need* a number in one of these countries and you're just visiting then getting a regular pre-paid SIM upon arrival with a local 5G data plan for the month will always be cheapest way of doing things. Just don't buy a branded Tourist SIM package in one of these places at the booths at airports. They're wildly over-priced and exceptionally poor value.

lsquare

​​​​​​Thank you.

I think I prefer something like a postpaid where I don't have to constantly remember to top up a prepaid account.

I did a quick search, but I can't find that True plan of yours. Do they have their own network in Thailand? How many countries can you roam in? Is it easy for a foreigner to sign up? Can I use a foreign credit card to pay the monthly fee?

ftrichard

What did you search for? I entered "True roaming" and got this as the first search result:

https://www.true.th/truemoveh/sitein...g_abroad?ln=en

I top up in the True app using my UK Curve card.

oishi

If your phone have eSim capability, I find it cheaper to just buy an eSim at each country individually. It really depends on how many countries you're going to go to.

Recently I went to Malaysia and Singapore and got a Malaysian eSim for 10 MYR (about 2.50 USD) and a Singaporean one for 15 SGD (about 11.50 USD) and these lasts for a month each with a generous data bundle. The roaming SIM seems to cost more than these 2 combined and has a less generous data bundle.

They will ask for your passport details and a local address though, which I just put the places I'm staying at.

lsquare

Which one? Details of your plan?

oishi

I used Yoodo in Malaysia and chose the customised plan and picked the minimum data option. Downloaded the app and purchased the eSim plans before my flight.

For Singapore, I used MyRepublic and went with the cheapest plans however, I can't seem to find the option now for it, but there are some other alternatives I can find such as M1 $12 Tourist SIM which you can register at the airport. I've used them on my previous visits back before eSim was around and find them quite reliable.

GodAtum

Is there any VIP services at KLIA, like at Heathrow or Singapore? Ie car transfer to plane and private security.