Every travel eSIM loyalty programme, and what the points are actually worth

The two that publish everything

Airalo: tiered, and it reaches ten per cent

Airalo’s Airmoney is the most generous programme in the category at the top tier, and the rate is published:

The referral is localised, which almost nobody does. An Australian referrer earns A$5, in Australian dollars, rather than a US figure that moves with the exchange rate.

Two caveats worth knowing before you value it.

Airmoney expires. There is an expiry policy on the balance, so it is a use-it-or-lose-it currency rather than a bank.

It is denominated in US dollars. An Australian’s balance moves with the exchange rate between earning it and spending it, so ten per cent back is ten per cent of a figure that can shift.

Where it genuinely wins: if you are a frequent traveller who has already spent a couple of hundred dollars with Airalo, ten per cent back is the best rate anyone offers and it is real money. Below Platinum, at 5 or 6 per cent, Nomad’s programme is better.

Nomad: flat five per cent, with the best refund mechanic

Nomad publishes the whole thing:

• 25 points per US$5 spent, redeemed at 100 points to US$1. That is a straight five per cent.
• 200 bonus points, worth US$2, on any repeat purchase of 10GB or more, up to five times a calendar month.
• Points can be taken as bonus data, extra days or extended validity rather than money off, which is unusual.
• Points expire after six months, except points issued as a refund, which do not expire.
• Referral pays US$5 to the referrer and US$5 off for the new customer, capped at five friends.
• A free starter eSIM for new users, which nobody else in this category offers.

The repeat-purchase bonus is the part people miss. Five bonuses a month at US$2 each is US$10, which on a category where plans cost fifteen to thirty dollars is a meaningful uplift for anyone buying regularly.

One thing to understand about the refund mechanic. Nomad lets you take a refund as points instead of money, and points issued that way do not expire. That is genuinely better than the alternatives in one respect and it is also a retention device: it keeps your money inside Nomad. Take the card refund if you want your money back rather than a balance. That is not a criticism, plenty of retailers do it, but it should be a decision rather than a default.

We went through the same schemes before deciding what to build, and wrote up why we did not launch a points programme.

The one you cannot value

Holafly’s HolaCoins have no published conversion rate that we could find.

They are earned on purchases at a rate reported at around seven per cent, and they can be redeemed against future purchases. What is missing is the number that tells you what a coin is worth.

Without a published conversion rate, a loyalty balance is not a comparable benefit. You cannot work out whether 700 HolaCoins is worth five dollars or fifty, and you cannot compare it to Airalo’s ten per cent or Nomad’s five.

We are not suggesting the coins are worthless. We are saying that a programme you cannot value is not one you should factor into a purchase decision, and that publishing the rate would cost Holafly nothing.

To be fair to Holafly on the wider point: they have the best unactivated refund window in the category at six months, which is worth considerably more to most buyers than any points scheme.

The rest

Saily runs a credits scheme at roughly three per cent, which is the lowest of the published rates here. Their refund centre determines the split between your card and Saily credits rather than letting you choose it. They also sell a phone number add-on from about US$0.99 a month, which is not a loyalty benefit but is the cheapest useful extra anyone bundles.

Ubigi runs a tiered scheme that we could not value clearly from their published material. At low spend it does not appear to match Airalo’s or Nomad’s. Where Ubigi is genuinely better than everyone is refunds: they pay to your card only and do not offer store credit at all, which is the opposite of a loyalty play and, for some people, worth more than one.

aloSIM advertises five per cent back in store credit. The rate is stated; the expiry and denomination are not.

SimCorner has no points scheme and something arguably better: a price-beat guarantee that refunds the difference plus five per cent if you find the same SIM cheaper before you buy. That is a real, immediate, Australian dollar benefit rather than a balance in a proprietary currency. We do not offer anything equivalent.

And us

Eligible orders earn 5% SIM Shop Credit after fulfilment. Credit begins as pending and is normally reviewed after seven days. The current earn cap is A$10 on an ordinary order and A$15 where the order has at least three eSIMs or an eligible subtotal of at least A$120.

Earned credit expires after 12 months. It belongs to the account that earned it and the amount usable on a particular order can be limited to protect the underlying product cost. Selected coupons, friend-referral discounts, Passport Club rewards and active member pricing do not stack with it.

It is store credit, not cash or cashback. It cannot be withdrawn, transferred, sold or exchanged for cash. That does not replace a customer’s right to a monetary refund or another remedy under Australian Consumer Law.

It is denominated in Australian dollars. A ten-dollar balance remains a ten-dollar store balance regardless of the exchange rate. The caps mean the effective earn rate can fall below 5% on a large order, which is why the table publishes both the rate and the limits.

How to actually value a loyalty programme

Four questions, in order.

1. What is the published conversion rate? If there is not one, the programme has no comparable value and you should ignore it when choosing.
2. Does it expire? A balance with a six month expiry on a product you buy twice a year is worth much less than the headline rate suggests.
3. What currency is it in? A US dollar balance held by an Australian is exposed to the exchange rate between earning and spending.
4. How often do you actually buy? This is the one people get wrong. Most Australians buy one or two travel eSIMs a year. On two purchases of twenty dollars, five per cent back is two dollars. That should not decide anything.

Loyalty programmes matter for frequent travellers and are close to irrelevant for everyone else. If you buy once a year, choose on price, published fair use limits, hotspot policy and refund terms, and treat any points as a rounding error.

The four things that actually should decide it: the best travel eSIM for Australians.

Referrals, briefly

Worth separating from loyalty, because the value is clearer.

Airalo: A$5 to the referrer, in Australian dollars.

Nomad: US$5 to the referrer and US$5 off for the new customer, capped at five friends.

Holafly: HolaCoins to the referrer and a percentage off for the referee, with the coin value unpublished.

Referral schemes are the one part of this that is usually worth the effort, because the payout is immediate and the rate is normally published in cash terms rather than points.

Questions people actually ask

Which travel eSIM has the best rewards programme?

Airalo at the top tier, paying 10% back once you have spent about US$200 lifetime. Below that, Nomad’s flat 5% plus a US$2 bonus on repeat purchases of 10GB or more, up to five times a month, is better.

What is Airalo’s Airmoney worth?

It has a published conversion, earned at 5% rising to 10% at Platinum tier on US$200 lifetime spend. Two caveats: it expires, and it is denominated in US dollars, so an Australian’s balance moves with the exchange rate.

What are HolaCoins worth?

We could not find a published conversion rate. Without one, a loyalty balance cannot be valued or compared, so we would not factor it into a purchase decision. Holafly’s six month unactivated refund window is worth far more to most buyers.

Do travel eSIM loyalty points expire?

Airalo’s Airmoney expires. Nomad’s points expire after six months, except points issued as a refund, which do not. Most other providers do not publish an expiry rule at all.

Is a loyalty programme worth choosing a provider for?

Only if you buy several eSIMs a year. On two purchases of about twenty dollars, five per cent back is two dollars, which should not decide anything. Price, published fair use limits, hotspot policy and refund terms all matter more.

Which travel eSIM has the best referral scheme?

Airalo pays Australian referrers A$5 in Australian dollars, which avoids the exchange rate exposure most schemes carry. Nomad pays US$5 each way, capped at five friends.

Does The SIM Shop have a rewards programme?

Yes. Eligible orders earn 5% SIM Shop Credit, normally reviewed after seven days, capped at A$10 ordinarily or A$15 on eligible larger orders, and expiring after 12 months. It is store credit, not cash or cashback, and the terms are public.

Is store credit the same as cashback?

No. Store credit is a balance you can only spend with the company that issued it. Cash is money. Several programmes in this category are described in ways that blur the two, and it is worth checking which one you are actually being offered.

Sources

Airalo loyalty programme and refer and earn pages, with the Australian referral value from Airalo’s own localised currency data. Nomad Points help article, rewards page and refunds help article. Saily Terms of Service and refund centre. Ubigi and Holafly loyalty positions from their own published material; Holafly publishes no HolaCoin conversion rate that we could locate. aloSIM store credit rate from alosim.com. SimCorner’s live 5% price-beat and 30-day price-lock terms. The SIM Shop’s public SIM Shop Credit terms were read back 25 August 2026.

Written by Lachlan, who runs The SIM Shop from Brisbane and answers the support email himself.