Kogan international roaming. How does it work and what’s the cost?

Many of us use our phones everyday to listen to music, keep in touch with friends or family or stream tv shows and movies. When you go overseas, it's important to keep in mind that your plan inclusions in Australia may or may not extend to your trip.

That is why knowing what sorts of international roaming packs or subscriptions are available, especially with your own provider can save you a buck on your travels. If you have a plan or prepaid account with Kogan Mobile, we’ll take you through what your options are for international roaming.

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Kogan Mobile International roaming. What is it and how it works

Kogan Mobile International roaming packages allow you to access their data and voice services while you travel to eligible destinations abroad. This means you’ll be able to call friends or family back home or access the internet.¹ Let's explore what type of options you can choose.

International roaming packages are available with Kogan Mobile

There are three roaming packages available with Kogan Mobile. These are¹:

Package	1 day roaming	3 day roaming pack	7 day roaming pack
Data Allowance	1 GB	2 GB	5GB
Call minutes	50 minutes	100 minutes	150 minutes
Text messages	50 texts	100 texts	150 texts

The above call minute allowance only includes making and receiving calls back to Australian numbers and landlines, or to numbers in an eligible destination. Your roaming pack excludes video calls, premium services calls, and re-routed calls.²

Do you get internet data & coverage Internationally with Kogan roaming

Yes, you get internet data coverage internationally across all packages as long as you are in an eligible country.³

What is the cost to use Kogan Mobile service abroad

To be eligible to buy a Kogan Mobile international package, you must be an existing active Kogan customer.² There are two ways to access international roaming.³

• Buy a package upfront
• Buy a package as a voucher

There is no difference in the costs whether you buy your package to use immediately or as a voucher.³ Here are the costs of each package and how they work with your existing contracts.

Kogan international roaming fees with upfront/prepaid packages

All three roaming packages are prepaid and are a one-off purchase.²

Package¹	1 day roaming	3 day roaming pack	7 day roaming pack
Cost	$10	$25	$45

Fees valid as of 9th July 2024

You can buy up to 5 roaming packs at a time. This means you can bundle your packs to take advantage of accessing more data and voice allowances. If you don’t use all your inclusions, you won’t be charged any extra fees if you decide to terminate an active pack early.²

Kogan international roaming fees with subscription/contract packages

Kogan does not offer any subscription international roaming packages. When you purchase any of the above prepaid packs, they are treated as a separate service to your subscription with Kogan. This means you still have to pay your monthly bill amount plus however many roaming packs you decide to buy.²

How do you activate roaming with Kogan Mobile

Depending on if you buy your package upfront or as a voucher will vary how you activate your pack.

Upfront purchase

If you want to use your roaming instantly, there are three ways to activate your international roaming package including:

1. Text the word “roam” to Kogan
2. Login to your account and click through the prompts
3. Visit the Kogan website and follow the prompts

Your pack will activate instantly for each option.³

Roaming Voucher

Unlike buying a pack upfront, a roaming voucher does not activate instantly. You can allocate a date for when you want your roaming to begin or manually activate your voucher when you are ready. One thing to know though, your pack date must start within 30 days of purchasing your voucher.³

Destinations eligible for international roaming with Kogan Mobile

You can use your mobile with an activated roaming package in 30 foreign countries. The list destinations are as follows.³

Belgium	Greece	Saudi Arabia
Brazil	Hong Kong	Singapore
Canada	India	South Korea
Chile	Indonesia	Spain
China	Italy	Sri Lanka
Croatia	Japan	Taiwan
Czech Republic	Malaysia	Thailand
Fiji	New Zealand	UK
France	Philippines	USA
Germany	Portugal	Vietnam

You won't be able to use your roaming pack in Australia.³

How to track roaming usage with Kogan Mobile

You can track how much of your roaming inclusions you are using through your online Kogan Mobile account on the website or by contacting them directly.¹

What to keep in mind before you travel.

As we hinted in the intro, using your phone a lot can use up your phone inclusions if you aren’t prepared. Here is what you should keep in mind about data usage abroad.

Data Use Abroad

Data usage varies significantly between individuals. Some people might like to use their phone all day to stream music, watch videos or even play games, while someone else may not. As a guide, a 1 day roaming pack with 1GB of data allowance will allow you to⁴:

• Watch just over one hour of video at Standard Definition
• Listen to eight hours of high quality music
• Send or receive about 1000 emails
• Send over 1.5 million WhatsApp text only messages

This may come as a surprise if you’ve never taken much notice of your usage before. When overseas, it's always best to try and use WIFI wherever it's available.⁴

Contacting Kogan Mobile

If you need to contact Kogan Mobile, you can call 1300 056 426 from within Australia.

Phone lines are open 8am to 8pm between Monday to Saturday. Additionally, you may find your issue through their help support portal.

FAQs about international roaming with Kogan Mobile

Looking to learn a little more? Here are some extra frequently asked questions and answers about Kogan Mobile and international roaming.

Can you get a refund for unused data, call minutes or text allowance?

Any leftover data, call minutes or texts will be forfeited once you reach your pack’s expiry day. It is not possible to receive a refund on unused inclusions.²

If I buy multiple packs that activate instantly, will I get a longer expiry period?

If you bundle your packs, your expiry period won’t extend. For example if you buy a 1, 3 and 7 day package that activates at the same time, you’ll use the inclusions from the 1 day roaming pack first. You will then draw from the 3 day and 7 day packs thereafter, as you use up your inclusions. Your expiry date will still be 7 days from when you purchased and activated your bundle.²

Is data roaming turned on automatically and how do you turn it off?

Whether or not data roaming is turned on comes down to your device and if you’ve turned on data roaming manually yourself on a previous trip overseas. If you buy a roaming pack and it doesn’t seem to be working, you can check if data roaming is turned on in your phone's settings. Here is how to turn data roaming on and off on an Apple iPhone and an Android device.⁵

Apple iPhone

1. Open the grey ‘Settings’ app.
2. Find the ‘Cellular’ or “Mobile Data" option.
3. Toggle or press to an off status

Android device

1. Open the ‘Settings’ menu.
2. Choose the ‘Data Usage’ option.
3. Turn off ‘Mobile data’

Turning off mobile data when you don’t need it can save you from incurring extra fees using your phone abroad.⁴

What is “bill shock” and how can I avoid it?

Bill shock is a term used to describe the feeling someone gets when they return home to a large phone bill after unknowingly (or knowingly)using data roaming or voice services overseas. These bills generally occur while using PAYG roaming option when travelling instead of organising a prepaid roaming pack or roaming subscription service with your provider.⁵

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Sources:

1. Kogan critical summary
2. Kogan Mobile roaming info
3. Kogan mobile roaming page
4. Kogan data usage
5. Kogan data roaming settings
6. ACMA bill shock

Sources checked on: 09 July 2024