It's the battle of the eights. Which will you choose? iPhone 8/8 Plus or Samsung Galaxy s8/s8+/Note 8? Which telco will give you the best savings? Should you tie yourself to a two-year contract in order to enjoy a low upfront price on your new phone?
I'm only looking at Circles' pricing for now, because I know there aren't any real "discounts" on phones. The phone cost is already worked into the contract. In fact, it can cost more with a contract.
Is A Phone Cheaper with A Contract?
Let's say you're buying a 64Gb iPhone 8. Here's a comparison of Circles' base plan (6 Gb data for S$28) against similar plans from other telcos that offer contracts and "discounts" (you can guess who's who from the colour):
Just for the basic 6GB data plan, you can see that the two-year contract plans will cost you more in the long run. Double that for two-year contracts, and you'll see how much extra you're forking out.
The price of the phone may seem cheap upfront but you're better off paying instalments sans contract.
And this one is for the "upsized" plan, with the S$20 for 20Gb add-on:
The savings you get with Circles is even more evident. And these figures don't count GST yet, so the final savings tally could be even higher.
I know, it's ironic that a two-year contract can cost more than a no-contract arrangement that gives you the freedom to walk away anytime.
And yes, while some telcos are now re-offering the unlimited data bundles, I'm happy with my 80+Gb free extra data from Circles, which is almost like unlimited data.
Wanna know how I got 80+Gb free bonus data? Circles rewards you for referrals, loyalty and even for porting your number. It's insane how much you can accumulate. I've stopped using my referral code OBWAN (which I got to customise and think that's super cool), and started helping other people get more.
Referral Codes
Here are two codes you can use to get S$20 off registration fee:1. QOCLO (spelt with two letter "O"s not zeros)
This belongs to my friend Eunice of TravelerFolio, whose baby girl is using up all her data.
2. U3J5I (spelt with a letter "I" at the end)
This belongs to Jolie, my daughter. Here she is, with me, in a photobombed shot.
Circles Phone Pricing
Anyway, let's take a look at handset pricing under Circles. Basically, you can stretch out the payment up to 24 months using a credit card.
Wow, the prices are TEH SAME!!!
For Galaxy Note S8 and S8+, it's just a little more.
Kinda similar to the iPhone 8+, so there really isn't much of a difference in price. It will boil down to which operating system you prefer, and the individual phone features.
Well, I got my iPhone 7 Plus from Circles last year. Still happy with it. But everyone I know who has seen the iPhone X likes the brightness of the new OLED screen, the FaceID and animoji (possibly the only feature that hasn't been leaked).
Meanwhile, check out my other posts on Circles if you want to find out more:
$20 for 20Gb
http://www.camemberu.com/2017/03/circleslife-20-for-20gb-biggest-and.html
12 Reasons to Switch
http://www.camemberu.com/2016/10/circleslife-review-12-reasons-to-switch.html
Price plan comparison tables courtesy of Circles
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