Alternating between Tchibo & Lidl 5 GB/mo plans - would that work?

RobF

I'm presently using a Tchibo SIM card in my Huawei E173u-1 Internet stick for G3 Internet data access (no phone calling or SMS involved), and I'm on their XL plan for EUR 20/mo with a cap of 5 GB fast data transfer/mo. It looks now as though I'll typically be running out of this 5 GB allowance in considerably less than 30 days, and then would be left out in the cold with a 64 kbps data transfer rate for the rest of the month. So I'm thinking of unlocking the stick, and then putting in the Lidl SIM card with their 5 GB high speed data plan for EUR 15/mo. Both cards appear to offer very similar terms, incl. support for VoIP and video calling via Skype (over the O2 network), which is important to me. Is that correct?

What I'm not quite clear about are the details in the fine print regarding the required tactic of alternating between the two cards, if need be. With Tchibo, it appears that the monthly XL plan is deactivated if within 2 days after its expiration there aren't sufficient funds (i.e. at least EUR 20) in the account. "Wird nicht gekündigt, werden die Optionen automatisch für 1 weiteren Monat aktiviert, wenn innerhalb von 48 Stunden nach Ablauf des vorherigen Buchungsmonats ausreichend Guthaben vorhanden ist, ansonsten erfolgt keine Reaktivierung."

Would the Tchibo XL account continue to be maintained but simply be dormant until new funds are put into it, let's say three weeks later, when I've used up my 5 GB allowance on the Lidl card? And similarly, what would be Lidl's policies wrt to continual activation and deactivation of the account at less than monthly intervals?

Or are there prepaid cards available from second-tier MVNO's that use the O2, Vodaphone or T-Mobile network that offer favorable terms similar to those of Tchibo and Lidl but are strictly pay-as-you-go, i.e. you purchase 5 or 10 GB of fast transfer data volume for 15/20 or 30/40 EUR, and you're free to use it up in a week or a month or 3 months, whatever, and simply recharge the account when you've run out of that allowance? This is how my WirMobil (e-plus) prepaid plan works for my handy (for calls and SMS). Are there comparable prepaid GMS data-only plans?

	(#1)
RobF (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 16 Join Date: 20 Oct 2011 Country:	Alternating between Tchibo & Lidl 5 GB/mo plans - would that work? - 05-11-2011, 12:02 I'm presently using a Tchibo SIM card in my Huawei E173u-1 Internet stick for G3 Internet data access (no phone calling or SMS involved), and I'm on their XL plan for EUR 20/mo with a cap of 5 GB fast data transfer/mo. It looks now as though I'll typically be running out of this 5 GB allowance in considerably less than 30 days, and then would be left out in the cold with a 64 kbps data transfer rate for the rest of the month. So I'm thinking of unlocking the stick, and then putting in the Lidl SIM card with their 5 GB high speed data plan for EUR 15/mo. Both cards appear to offer very similar terms, incl. support for VoIP and video calling via Skype (over the O2 network), which is important to me. Is that correct? What I'm not quite clear about are the details in the fine print regarding the required tactic of alternating between the two cards, if need be. With Tchibo, it appears that the monthly XL plan is deactivated if within 2 days after its expiration there aren't sufficient funds (i.e. at least EUR 20) in the account. "Wird nicht gekündigt, werden die Optionen automatisch für 1 weiteren Monat aktiviert, wenn innerhalb von 48 Stunden nach Ablauf des vorherigen Buchungsmonats ausreichend Guthaben vorhanden ist, ansonsten erfolgt keine Reaktivierung." Would the Tchibo XL account continue to be maintained but simply be dormant until new funds are put into it, let's say three weeks later, when I've used up my 5 GB allowance on the Lidl card? And similarly, what would be Lidl's policies wrt to continual activation and deactivation of the account at less than monthly intervals? Or are there prepaid cards available from second-tier MVNO's that use the O2, Vodaphone or T-Mobile network that offer favorable terms similar to those of Tchibo and Lidl but are strictly pay-as-you-go, i.e. you purchase 5 or 10 GB of fast transfer data volume for 15/20 or 30/40 EUR, and you're free to use it up in a week or a month or 3 months, whatever, and simply recharge the account when you've run out of that allowance? This is how my WirMobil (e-plus) prepaid plan works for my handy (for calls and SMS). Are there comparable prepaid GMS data-only plans?