Airalo Review: Is it worth using in 2024?

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Airalo is one of the main options for travelers wanting to stay connected abroad. By leaving the usage of a physical SIM aside, Airalo now offers a variety of eSIM data packages. That’s why we need to make an Airalo review to see how these work, what they offer, and much more.

So, let’s learn all about the company and what it offers within a data plan so travelers can stay connected in just a few minutes.

What is Airalo?

Airalo is an online store where travelers can buy eSIMs to stay connected while abroad. Currently, Airalo is present in more than 200 destinations, offering a variety of data packages through their website and the Airalo app.

With the Airalo eSIM, travelers can access a limited data package to stay connected while abroad. The company doesn’t offer phone calls or text messages on most of its plans, but it does offer data sharing to provide internet connection to other devices.

In addition, this eSIM provider offers three different data packages, including local, regional, and global eSIM. Now it’s time to get into the details to know more about what the company offers with detail.

Airalo pros and cons

Airalo Review: Features

Let’s talk about the Airalo eSIMs features. Even though it’s clear the company offers eSIMs for traveling around the world, it’s necessary to know about other details. 

• How good is the eSIM card coverage? 
• What are the available eSIM data plans from Airalo? 
• How hard is the setup process? 
• What mobile carrier do they use to provide connectivity to travelers?
• Is the Airalo support good enough? 

Travelers have questions on their minds, and we will now answer them in detail!

Network Coverage and Quality

Let’s discuss the network coverage and quality provided by Airalo. When purchasing an Airalo plan, travelers will be provided with information about the network provider and the data speeds it offers.

Let’s take the example of the Europe eSIM. This one works with a variety of phone networks provided by carriers like Vodafone, Orange, O2, Nova, Simmin, Telenor, and others. These networks will work with 4G/LTE/5G coverage in the available destinations.

While this data plan is available for the European region, there are stand-alone alternatives for people visiting a single destination. For destinations like Colombia, the data plan works with the Movistar mobile network.

All the available data plans from Airalo will show information about carriers, data speeds, additional information about top-up, and the data plan type. 

One thing about the Airalo eSIM cards is that coverage in remote areas is not as good as expected, as the data speeds and overall coverage are extremely limited.

Data Plans

Time to know about the data plans Airalo offers. While there are no unlimited data options, there’s a variety of options available for the destination country people choose.

As mentioned before, there are three types of data plans. These are local plans, regional plans, and global plans, all of which have different prices, so let’s talk about them:

• Local plans: These plans are among the affordable prices from Airalo. There are a variety of data plans that start at $4,50 for 1GB for 7 days, while other plans start at $9,50 for 1GB for 7 days. It all depends on the destination, but these are data only plans.

• Regional plans: Airalo offers regional data plans for Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, the Caribbean Islands, and the Middle East plus North Africa. These plans provide internet access in different destinations, but once again, these are data only plans. These plans vary from $5 to $185.

• Global plans: Airalo eSIMs can work in 124 destinations with their global plans. These will work with various mobile carriers while adding text messages and calls to their packages. These plans vary from $15 to $89 but have more limited access to mobile data and additional features.

Now that people have an idea of what the available data plans from Airalo are, it’s necessary to know other details about it. 

For example: 

• Can people add more data to a new eSIM? Yes, but not all the Airalo plans offer the top-up feature. 
• Are there fees for adding more data? The only thing to pay for is the plan people choose. 
• Is there are limits when using data? The data usage limit is based on the purchased plan!

Lastly, there are different payment methods available to get an eSIM from Airalo, such as PayPal, AliPay, and credit and debit cards. There’s no Apple Pay or Google Pay available for now.

Customer Service and Technical Support

Let’s move on to how good the Airalo troubleshooting service is. For this Airalo review, we also took a look at Trustpilot, where the company has a 2.3 rating based on 1,700+ reviews from previous customers!

But how does the support team help travelers? The first option is to go through the live chat on the Airalo website. This live chat is available 24/7 but won’t allow people to contact a real person to get help as soon as possible.

For people to get more support from Airalo, it’s necessary to ask some questions so the site bot can ask for your name and email address.

While this is available on the website, support is also available for an Android phone or Apple device. The live chat on the app will work in a similar way, so it’s important for frequent travelers to keep this in mind.

Leaving the live chat aside, there’s a “Contact Us” form where people can send Airalo what their issue is faster, but the response time is slower while using this method, as it can take up to a day to get a response.

Lastly, Airalo also offers a “Help Center” where people can get assistance with different topics, such as the loyalty program, smartphone supports information, eSIM not working, how the QR code works, and more.

Contract and Cancellation Policies

Moving on with the Airalo performance review, how good is their service with regard to cancellations and refunds? The company has specific terms and conditions for travelers to get a refund.

• Refunds must be processed within 30 days from the purchase date.
• Customers have to cooperate with Airalo to find solutions for the refund.
• There are no refunds after an eSIM has expired.
• If you get a different eSIM mobile provider, Airalo won’t be able to proceed with the refund.
• Once an eSIM has been installed, refunds are no longer available for travelers.
• Once the eSIM has been installed and the eSIM data plans are active, refunds aren’t available even though they don’t work.

For people to request an Airalo refund for a new eSIM, there are two ways to do it:

• Go to the “Contact Us” page and fill out the form. There’s no “Refund” option within the topics, so you have to choose “Other” to proceed.

• Send an email to support@airalo.com requesting a refund. The support team will ask for further information, such as information about your mobile, eSIM-compatibility, and much more.

These are the available options to get a refund in case your Airalo eSIM doesn’t work, so be sure to read them carefully!

Airalo App

An important feature of Airalo comes with its app. Currently, the app is available to download on iOS and Android devices. The app is available around the world, so there’s no need to worry about where it will work.

The Airalo app allows one to make purchases directly, and it will work in the same way as the website. 

Once people have purchased an eSIM, they will receive a QR code to install it and forget about data roaming while traveling abroad. 

Customer support is also available on the app, which allows users to choose whether to keep talking through the live chat or to change to WhatsApp to get support from an Airalo bot.

So, people can purchase a mobile data plan and get support from Airalo through the app, which is good for travelers. 

Before we move on to the Airalo loyalty program, let’s point out the pros and cons of the app:

• Pros
  • Notifies how much mobile data is left for your plan.
  • Allow the purchase of multiple countries’ eSIM with regional plans.
  • Adapts to the phone’s settings to display dark or clear mode.
  • The menu is easy to access in the lower part of the app.
• Cons:
  • No improvement in directly contacting customer support.
  • eSIM information is not fully displayed.

Airalo loyalty program

With the loyalty program from Airalo, people have the chance to get a cashback reward based on their previous purchases. 

With every phone plan people make, there will be a certain percentage of cashback that will be provided as Airmoney. 

The thing about this program is that people can increase their level. There are 4 different loyalty levels:

• Traveler: $0 spent on purchases with a 5% cashback.
• Silver Traveler: $20 spent on purchases with a 6% cashback.
• Gold Traveler: $70 spent on purchases with a 7% cashback.
• Platinum Traveler: $200 spent on purchases with a 10% cashback.

This program is available for all new Airalo users. No matter the eSIM data plans travelers purchase, these will include the cashback on Airmoney based on the traveler level.

Airalo eSIM review: Opinions

Julien review on Trustpilot. Source: Trustpilot.

Airalo eSIM alternatives: Travel with Holafly unlimited data eSIM

If you don’t want to turn on airplane mode on your device when traveling, chances are you prefer taking a Holafly eSIM for your trip!

While Airalo offers some cheap data plans, these are data-limited packages. Holafly offers a variety of data packages with unlimited data that also allows you to activate the mobile hotspot option while abroad!

Holafly prices currently start at $6, and unlimited data is available for most destinations. There are some additional features, like the automatic eSIM installation on iOS devices, mobile hotspots for up to 500MBs per day, and real 24/7 customer support through different channels!

Overall, Holafly is a great option for getting an internet connection while abroad, so let’s make a Holafly vs. Airalo comparison to see which one is better!

Conclusions about the Airalo review

Up to this point, we have talked about two eSIM providers. But we mainly focused on the Airalo review and everything it offers to travelers.

Overall, Airalo stands out due to different reasons. Cheap prices and a loyalty program make Airalo look like a good option, but there’s room for improvement when it comes to their services!

Airalo lacks packages with unlimited data, and while they offer phone calls and text messages, these are available for global plans, which are more expensive and have fewer features than local eSIMs.

But when it comes to customer support, not having a top up for all their data plans, and lacking good coverage in remote areas, that’s where the cheap mobile data is not worth the shot!

While there are other eSIM providers like Holafly that offer unlimited data, better customer service, flexible refunds, and more features, it’s fair to say these eSIMs are a better option when traveling abroad!

FAQ

Plans that may interest you

Europe

From

€6,00

EUR

USA

From

€6,00

EUR

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