Keeping O2 Ireland SIM active without any credit

[drama queen]

Originally Posted by NFH

Yes, I was similarly thinking of porting my number to a Three SIM, as I already have one that's not yet activated. The problem with Meteor is that you have to add €5 every 150 days to stop it expiring, and they charge €2 for a micro-SIM, making it more difficult to order than a free one.

Is there any way of adding a small amount of credit to an O2 Ireland SIM?

I don't know of any way of getting smaller top-ups than Meteor. I don't believe it is possible. As far as I know the minimum is generally €10 - including 3. Meteor is the only one I know that does €5 top-ups. I think the credit expires on all networks after 6 months or a year if you don't top up. I would be very surprised if the €10 credit on 3 lasted any longer than a year.

In fairness, €10 a year isn't bad value to keep a mobile number in foreign country. You can probably get to do quite a few services like the free webtext to friends in Ireland, and free incoming roaming with Meteor. Hard to see how you wouldn't get a tenners worth of value over the year, even if you are abroad.