SMARTY's data discount explained: money back for unused data
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We think SMARTY paying you back for data you've not used is even better than other networks' data rollover schemes. Here's why. Last updated: 27th April 2022.
In our SMARTY data discount guide
How it works in a nutshell
Get money back for the data you don’t use on select SMARTY deals
SMARTY have a special range of plans that get you money back for your unused data. Your next month’s plan will be discounted based on the amount of data you didn’t use, essentially giving you back what you paid.
SMARTY's data discount plans cost £5 for unlimited minutes and texts. You’ll also pay £1 per GB of data included in your plan. The 3GB plan for example costs £5 + £3 = £8.
All of these deals come with the moneyback benefit:
The amount of money you get discounted depends on how much data you had leftover. Basically, since you’re paying £1 per GB, you get £1 off your next month for every GB you didn’t use. Simple.
In our opinion, it’s the fairest system for unused data in the UK. Keep reading this guide to get a detailed overview of all the scheme's benefits and disadvantages.
Useful link: Read SMARTY's own guide
Where to next within this guide?
What we like
You get back the money you paid for your data
It’s annoying to waste money on data you don’t end up using. So, we like that SMARTY have thought up a creative way around this issue, while with the majority of networks you lose what you don’t use.
You won’t get this problem on SMARTY. The first month is full price, but future months could cost as little as £5 if you used no data at all (once the discount is applied).
SMARTY were set up by Three as a way of offering a fairer deal for the customer, hence why they introduced the data discount deal. But it’s not the only thing they did to make SMARTY fair:
If you go OVER your monthly data allowance, it costs the same £1 per GB to buy the extra data. We like this because other networks tend to charge a higher rate once you’ve exceeded your limits.
Useful link: How SMARTY's data add-ons work
It’s better than rolling over unused data for most users
Networks are generally aware that consumers are unhappy with having to pay for data that they didn’t end up using by the end of the month.
Before SMARTY was born, the only solution was to go with a network offering data rollover. This let users keep the data they don’t get through. It’s good to know you can use what you’ve paid for, but there’s a logical issue:
If you’re not going to get through the data plan you’ve bought, that probably means you should just go with a smaller plan. So how is accumulating even more data helpful in this situation?
Nothing is better than cold hard cash, so money off your bill beats stockpiling data. For us, this is one of the advantages SMARTY have over their low-cost competitors iD Mobile.
Useful link: Our guide to the best data rollover plans
Get money back to the MB and penny
You don’t just get your money back rounded to the nearest pound, they give you back every penny. You get back every MB (essentially a thousandth of a GB) as pounds and pennies.
When breaking it down, it’s almost like you’re getting back 1p per 10MB of data that you didn’t manage to get through.
SMARTY could have got away with just giving you back your money in pounds and pocketing the pennies, but we really like the fact they give everything back to you even if you won’t really notice.
So if you believe that the pennies look after the pounds, then SMARTY are on the same page - giving you back what you’ve put in for the data that you didn’t use.
Useful link: How billing works on SMARTY
You can choose to have it all renew automatically
SMARTY add to the flexibility of their plans by letting you have your plan renew automatically at the end of each month. Or you can choose to do it buy your plan manually each time.
If you’ve gone for automatic renewal, then everything to do with your data discount is automatic too - including money back calculations. Your discount will also be applied automatically.
SMARTY also notify you about how much money you’ll get back from your unused data. They usually send an SMS message and an email, but we only got an email when we tried.
You’ll still qualify for the discount if you decide to buy your plan manually. This will be added to your "money off" balance, which you can then use to partially pay for the next plan you choose.
Useful link: How auto-renewing your plan works
Where to next within this guide?
What's not so good
The discount applies only to a handful of small data deals
When SMARTY first launched, the data discount applied to every single plan. But SMARTY have changed, and they now offer larger data plans (even unlimited ones) and don’t have the data discount on every plan.
We suggest doing your research before choosing a plan as over half of SMARTY’s range now doesn’t pay you back for unused data.
These deals don’t give you money back for your unused data:
Most of their non-data discount plans get you more than 1GB of data per £1, hence why the discount just wouldn’t work for SMARTY. And you obviously can’t have unused data on an unlimited data plan.
Not so much a flaw, but it’s something to be aware of when doing your research and eventually choosing a plan that’s right for you.
Useful link: See SMARTY's unlimited data plan benefits
SMARTY keep your next month’s discount if you leave
The data discount scheme is meant to keep customers loyal to SMARTY in the long term. That’s why you only get money off your next month’s plan, not your current one.
If you choose to leave SMARTY, there won't be a plan to discount the following month. And they don’t refund any credit from your SMARTY account back into your bank account once you leave.
Changing data discount plans is also complicated. If you switch plans with 3GB left over (so you should get a £3 discount) SMARTY will only give you the discount your new plan would get you, not your full £3.
Stay on the same plan and things stay simpler.
Useful link: How SMARTY's plans compare
Where to next within this guide?
How SMARTY's SIM only plans compare
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