Lucky mobile vs public mobile

I think i partially answered my own question as i learned you can’t use data or phone add ons with 15.00 plan you have to use service passes.Are service passes expensive?

I used to recommend Public Mobile years ago, but now it's Lucky Mobile. Their big advantages are the phone support with real humans and the unlimited low-speed data after the high-speed allotment has run out. In your case with the $15 plan, the unlimited data will not apply, but you can get a little data (250 MB) monthly by signing up for Automatic Top-Up. This is the same as Public Mobile's $15 offering, though it's not clear whether Public Mobile requires auto top up. Anyway, Lucky's $15 plan does allow some data without a service pass, so I'm not sure where your conclusion originates.

If your father ever needs more, being on Lucky Mobile means that he can trivially change his plan to the $25 one for unlimited calling and texting, more data, and the unlimited low-speed data.

Also, if he ever needs a burner number, Lucky Mobile is distinct in a weird feature of having a secondary number that is only usable on WiFi in Canada/USA. It appears to be free.

I'd still go with Public Mobile and your mom could refer him, so she'd be getting 1$ per month off. Plus, PM still has rewards (points) that Lucky does not. Having said that, he can always go to Lucky if PM is not good for his needs which I doubt will be the case.

Thanks both. Does pm still have the 2.00 off autopay? Between that and the referral that would make it worth it. Otherwise, i think lucky mobile with the phone support may be better.

PM doesn't have the 2 $ off autopay anymore (leaving your CC on file for automatic payment).

New customers since January 25th 2022 are on the points program. Other than getting points to redeem instead of $$ directly off your bill the main difference is no $2 autopay reward you get 5% back in points. The $40 plan being the break even point : 5%=2pts=$2

I'm with Public. My wife is with Lucky. I have no huge complaints with either.

Some things to weight if they're important to you:

- Public Mobile doesn't support VoLTE. This doesn't impact most people in Canada (exception is parts of Manitoba), but voice while roaming in the USA will be spotty at best.

- Lucky Mobile data on plans higher than the $15 plan has no cap. Once you hit the full speed data limit, your data speed is capped at 128kbps but not disabled. That's good enough for very light browsing, streaming Spotify, using Google Maps, and checking emails.

- I hate the way Lucky Mobile handles autopay. They charge the full amount monthly to your credit card, even if you have credits (i.e. if you are on a $15 plan and have $5 in credits, they still bill $15 to your card and the credits sit there). To use the credits, you need to turn off the autopay, which means you lose the autopay bonus. So we let them build up to cover an entire month and then turn off autopay for one billing cycle to consume the credits. Meanwhile, Public Mobile's autopay just tops up to what would be required to maintain the plan (i.e., if you're on a $15 plan and have $5 in credits, they only bill $10).

- Both companies have referral programs, so consider asking a friend before signing up to save your dad a few more dollars.

- Lucky Mobile's referral program is $50 over 10 months. If you buy the SIM direct from Lucky, you also get your 3rd month free (added as a credit to your account after 2 cycles). After 6 monthly payments in a row, you also get an extra 250 bonus data per month (though I'm not sure if that applies to the $15 plan).

- Public Mobile's referral program is $10 (sometimes there are bonus events that bring it to $25 over 5 months). They also give a $10 credit once you activate. You then get 5% back in points for every dollar spent (note, it's based on dollars spent not 5% of plan value, so if you have credit that drops your $15 plan down to $5 for the month you'll get $0.25 worth of points that month instead of $0.75), and once you build up $15 you can redeem for a statement credit. NOTE: For the first 12 months, the points back is 3x (15% instead of 5%).

- At the end of the year, Public Mobile also provides a holiday bonus; last year, it was 3 Gbps of extra data that stays on the account until it's used (and is only tapped once the monthly data limit is reached.

One thing PM has over Lucky, you can use PM in the US if you want to buy a US Roaming add-on. I don't think Lucky has any options to work outside of Cda.

This is likely a minor point, but still something to consider

spots01 wrote: ↑ One thing PM has over Lucky, you can use PM in the US if you want to buy a US Roaming add-on. I don't think Lucky has any options to work outside of Cda.

This is likely a minor point, but still something to consider

Very minor, because PM doesn't support VoLTE and as a result voice is spotty in the USA. No VoLTE means you drop down to 3G or 2G where and if available. Most of the 3G and 2G networks in the US have been decommissioned, so voice coverage is spotty at best.

With Lucky, as you say, you get chat and phone support, and if your parents are like mine, that would be a big plus.

Lucky has the unlimited throttled data if he upgrades his plan at some point. But even without that, you can get 250MB of data with auto top up, and 250MB after 6 months with their reward program.

Lucky also has a lot of activation deals. You can either buy the sim card at dollarama and get a $20 gift card, or there is often 1 month of free service flash sales like today (not as great of a deal on a only $15 plan). On top of that, there is a refer-a-friend program for $50 ($5/month for 10 months).

I'm most familiar with Lucky as multiple in my family are on them, not so much with Public.

sprdave wrote: ↑ ...or there is often 1 month of free service flash sales like today (not as great of a deal on a only $15 plan)

Does that apply to activation with eSIM? Their wording makes it look like SIM only (@$10) purchase is eligible

Latebuyer wrote: ↑ My dad is getting screwed by bell so wants to change plans. He thinks he only needs a 15.00 plan and he doesn’t need data. My mom is grandfathered into the 10.00 public mobile plan but i thought maybe using a different carrier for my dad wouldn’t hurt. Are there any drawbacks to lucky mobile? Plans look similar. I do like they have phone support.

Sounds like your dad barely uses his phone. Why not get him Freedom yearly plan as per your profile you live in Vancouver, Freedom has great coverage in cities and based on your dad's usage....i doubt he'll experience any inconvenience....again as he's willing to settle with a plan that has 100 out going minutes and unlimited incoming + unlimited texting....freedom ends up being cheaper and will get him unlimited talk + text + WiFi Calling right out of the box....

Thanks everyone for the responses. I seem to have missed some of them due to follow thread not working. My dad hasn’t made a decision but he is considering freedom as well. I’m a little concerned what happens to the freedom plan if its taken over by the Quebec company. I also wasn’t sure if it was still available so thanks for that.

Just to add i’m on public mobile myself on the 25.00 plan but am under the old rewards plan. I really hope they never stop the grandfathering or i’d be gone for sure.

Dynatos wrote: ↑ - Lucky Mobile data on plans higher than the $15 plan has no cap. Once you hit the full speed data limit, your data speed is capped at 128kbps but not disabled. That's good enough for very light browsing, streaming Spotify, using Google Maps, and checking emails.

Hi there! Have you noticed any data speed issues with LM's or PM's 3G data in Ottawa/Toronto? Thanks

7Chirp wrote: ↑ Hi there! Have you noticed any data speed issues with LM's or PM's 3G data in Ottawa/Toronto? Thanks

No. My wife (LM) and I (PM) have both been happy with the ~3 Mbps capped speeds. My wife hasn't yet exceeded her monthly plan limit of 1GB to test LM's speed limit past that.

My viewpoint might be biased by being a Public Mobile customer. I find that the support model is good enough for the amount of times that support is needed. I have been a customer since late 2016. I can count on one hand the number of times that I have needed support. These days, support response is pretty fast. It is no different that using the online support that many brands have on their website. The rewards have been pared down but not completely eliminated.

My dad was going to switch to lucky mobile. Then he found out from bell that they wouldn’t switch the phone number if he switched to lucky mobile. I couldn’t believe it. Its the same company.

Latebuyer wrote: ↑ My dad was going to switch to lucky mobile. Then he found out from bell that they wouldn’t switch the phone number if he switched to lucky mobile. I couldn’t believe it. Its the same company.

Just move him to Chatr for now. They can't hold him hostage, Bell is known for shady tactics and Bell reps are pretty rude when you contact them for support relating to Lucky....via the # listed on Lucky's website lol....

sprdave wrote: ↑ Lucky also has a lot of activation deals. You can either buy the sim card at dollarama and get a $20 gift card, or there is often 1 month of free service flash sales like today (not as great of a deal on a only $15 plan).

Is there a way to find out about these activation deals without checking their website everyday? I don't see such deals on their FB page.