How to Top Up Your giffgaff SIM

On giffgaff, Airtime Credit is your pay-as-you-go balance — a pot of money on your account that you can use for anything not included in your plan. This typically includes international calls and texts, premium-rate numbers, and pay-as-you-go usage if you don't have an active plan.

You need to top up when: you don't have an active plan and want to use your phone on a pure pay-as-you-go basis; you want to make international calls or texts; you've used up your plan's allowance; you want to activate a new SIM (£10 minimum); or you want to buy a plan using Airtime Credit.

The minimum top-up is £10, whether by card, PayPal or voucher. Online you can top up £10, £15, £20, £25 or £30 (up to £100).

Topping up online is the fastest method — credit is added almost instantly.

After topping up, you'll be offered the chance to buy a plan straight away or set up auto top-up. You can skip these and keep your money as Airtime Credit.

If you have both a card and PayPal saved, giffgaff uses whichever one you added first by default. You can change this in Payment Methods by selecting 'Set as default'.

Vouchers are available at supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose), petrol stations, Post Offices, corner shops and newsagents displaying the Payzone, PayPoint or epay logos.

giffgaff vouchers come in £10, £15 and £20. O2 vouchers (also accepted) go up to £50.

Option A — Redeem online: Log in at giffgaff.com/top-up, click 'Or redeem a voucher', and enter the 16-digit code.

Option B — Redeem by phone: Dial 43430 from your giffgaff phone and follow the voice prompts.

Option C — Redeem during SIM activation: Enter the voucher code on the activation page at giffgaff.com/activate.

Voucher top-ups are usually instant, but in rare cases can take up to 24 hours.

Auto top-up adds credit automatically whenever your balance falls below £3.

• You can set it to £10, £15, £20, £25 or £30.
• You can limit how often it triggers: 1, 2 or 3 times per calendar month.
• It works with credit/debit cards and PayPal.

To set up: go to giffgaff.com/profile/payment-details, scroll to Auto top-up, toggle it on, pick your amount and frequency, and save.

• Wait a few minutes and refresh your balance. Card and PayPal top-ups usually appear within seconds, but can take up to 15 minutes.
• Check your email and bank statement. If you received a payment confirmation and were charged, the top-up is on its way.
• Vouchers can take up to 24 hours.
• Make sure you entered the correct voucher code — 16 digits, no spaces. Watch for zeros vs. the letter 'O'.
• Still no joy? Contact a giffgaff agent at giffgaff.com/support/ask with proof of payment.