O2 Pay & Go Go Go compared

O2's new pay as you go tariff rewards customers' loyalty over time, but how does it stack up against the competition?

O2 has launched a new pay as you go tariff with the somewhat cheesy name of O2 Pay & Go Go Go. Why the repetition? Because this tariff rewards you three times over if you stick with it.

Once you’ve signed up and stuck with the tariff for three months, your minutes, text and data allowances will be doubled. Then after six months you’ll get 10% back every time you top-up your phone with credit, which you can spend on phone credit, high street vouchers or tickets to events at the O2 in London. And after nine months you’ll get unlimited texts.

There are two tariffs, costing £10 and £20 a month respectively. Here’s what you get with each initially:

And here’s what you will get if you stick with the tariff for nine months:

How it stacks up

While it’s nice that O2 is rewarding customers for their loyalty, when it comes down to cold, hard price, how does Pay & Go Go Go compare?

I’m going to assume you want some data allowance to allow you to surf the web on your phone, otherwise this tariff really isn’t worth it at all. So let’s take a look at what the competition offers in terms of pay as you go and pay monthly sim-only deals (which tie you in for a month at a time, making them directly comparable to O2 Pay & Go Go Go).

I’ll start with what you can get for £10 a month:

And here’s what you can get from £15-£20 a month:

Some of the major players offer reward schemes, such as O2’s Priority Moments or Orange Wednesdays. But you can get hold of many of the discounts they offer, such as two-for-one tickets to theme parks or two-for-one restaurant deals, via voucher or discount websites.

Ultimately, while O2 Pay & Go Go Go is a nice concept, your loyalty will be better rewarded elsewhere.

Factor in the phone

When you start looking at spending £15-£20 a month, you might want to consider a contract that gives you a free or cheap phone as part of the deal, unless you really don’t want to be tied down for a long period of time to one provider or one phone.

If you stick to pay as you go, you obviously need to factor in the cost of your phone, although you can get a decent enough smartphone such as the Samsung Galaxy Europa or HTC Explorer for between £35-£80. Of course you could always use your old model, as Emma Lunn explains in How I saved £234 on my mobile bill.

If you’re happy with a basic phone with just WAP internet access you can spend as little as a tenner.

Don't forget to check coverage

If you're thinking about switching to a new phone network, don't forget to check the coverage in your area first. This page on the Ofcom website has links to most major networks' coverage checkers.

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