Topup O2 SIM with Tchibo voucher?
 

I know I can use O2 vouchers on Tchibo SIMs, but can I do the reverse? I have an O2 Prepaid Surfstick.

Yes you can :)

Thanks for the confirmation.

The O2 SIM must be topped-up/activated every 6 months. Since I may not be back in Germany for a year, I plan to top-up via the internet while in the USA. How much must I add to the account to save the SIM? 15 Euros?
Do I actually have to apply a data plan to the Surfstick or just add money to the SIM's account? If I purchase a phone next year in Germany, can I use the same SIM on the phone, just adding a talk plan to the SIM?

Anyone have an answer?

1. Before the six month deadline, how much must I add to the O2 SIM (I think it must be a Loop, as I got it for 15 Euros) account to save the SIM? 15 Euros?

2. Do I actually have to apply a data plan to the Surfstick or just add money to the SIM's account?

3. If I purchase a phone next year in Germany, can I use the same SIM on the phone, just adding a talk plan to the SIM?

4. If I don't top-up by the six-month deadline, is the SIM useless or will it be reactivated when I top-up? ( I suspect it is dead)

1)If i read this correctly the tchibo cards dont have an expiry date anymore and dont need to be recharged every 6 months: Tchibo mobil ? Prepaid-wiki

2) only adding money is sufficient, you can use up the balance later

3) the SIM can use voice and data parallel, so you can use it either in your stick or in your phone.

4) see 1)

Thanks for your response. Speedy and helpful.

Yet another question. I see how I can purchase top-ups with credit cards and paypal here: Prepaid-Karte & Handy aufladen – Prepaid online aufladen bei Cabox.de

If I regardless of whether I top-up with a O2 or Tchibo voucher, with I decide to use it on the O2 SIM, I will be purchasing a plan at the O2 rate (for example the XL data pak,25 Euros/mon flatrate). If I had the Tchibo SIM, I could topup and later purchase the same data pack at 20 Euros/mon. Is that right?

I originally thought I could top-up the O2 SIM with a Tchibo voucher and then purchase the XL pak at the Tchibo (20 Euro) rate. Upon reflection, it seems top-ups do not control the price for the data plan.

Indeed, your operator (Tchibo or O₂) controls the prices of the data plans. How you recharge them isn't of any significance.

Relating to O2 and Tchibo.

I bought a Tchibo surf stick 3 years ago
It was a good deal, 30Euros for the stick and one month service. (US sticks cost $50 or $60)
I have used it for a month a year for three years.

Each year I had to visit the store 3 times because the staff there is so inept. It is a coffee store (beans and brewed coffee) and the staff knows nothing about the stick. One year they forgot to fax a paper that was the registration. It is only worth going there if to save money you don't mind making 3 visits with your laptop. And most of the time they put you on the phone to a techie who doesn't speak English.

So now that I have the Tchibo stick, can I take that to an O2 shop, pay the extra 5Euros they charge over Tchibo (where I paid 20E for one month unlimited; there is also 10E for 500mg a month) and get good service?

Or if buying a month's service is based on the fact it is a Tchibo sim, even if it works on the O2 network, am I stuck with buying the service at a Tchibo store? Will an O2 shop not sell me a month's top-up and then register it on the network?

(By the way, unlimited wasn't really unlimited; when I reached a certain usage I got a message that the speed would be sharply cut. It was.)

Yes, you can buy an O2 SIM and use it in your stick. But I would recommed you buying a Lidl SIM, through which you'll get exactly the same monthly flatrate (with speed throttling after exceeding 5GB) for just € 14.99/month. Besides the monthly flatrate you can also opt in for their dayflat, which gives you unlimited internet access for € 1.99/day.
Btw I have a spare Lidl SIM here, which I bought for the promotional price of € 5 and which I offer profitlessly: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/buy-...activated.html
There's no provider in Germany offering completely unlimited mobile internet access - all throttle speed at some point, which usually is 5GB.