Hungry for Savings? How your telco plan can slash your grocery bill

The rising cost of living has been hitting almost every household bill and expense lately, and our groceries haven’t been exempt. So, any saving off your supermarket shop is sure to be a winner, right?

While mobile and internet plans don’t typically have many perks and extras, both Telstra and Everyday Mobile (formerly Woolworths Mobile) offer different ways to save on your grocery bills. But is it worth switching to save?

Telstra’s rewards grocery gift card hack

Telstra’s rewards program, Telstra Plus, has been around for a while now, and the idea is simple: earn rewards points by paying your phone or internet bill. In order to join Telstra Plus, you’ll need to be over 18, have an active Telstra account (personal or business) and have a Telstra ID. 

You’ll be able to earn points on eligible bills including a range of mobile plans (prepaid and postpaid) and internet plans (including NBN, 5G home internet and mobile broadband), with 10 points earned for every $1 of eligible payments made. This also means that if you have multiple services on the one Telstra account — such as a mobile plan and internet plan, or multiple mobile services for the whole family — you’ll earn even more points. 

Rewards points can then be used in the Telstra Plus rewards store to buy a range of items including technology, appliances, video games and gift cards. Points can also be earned on eligible purchases in the Telstra Plus rewards store, so you may be able to make a little of your points back after purchase. 

Gift cards are available for a range of stores and services, such as The Iconic, Event Cinemas, Priceline Pharmacy, Big W, Uber Eats and the PlayStation store. However, you can also pick up gift cards for Woolworths supermarkets and fresh fruit and grocery retailer, Harris Farm (which currently has locations in NSW, ACT and Qld only). 

There’s several different gift card amounts available, with a higher number of points required for the gift cards with larger value. 

The following table shows how many points are required for each grocery gift card amount. Note that the terms and conditions and points may change.

How much do you need to pay in Telstra bills for grocery savings?

While it seems like a great passive way to save on your grocery bills, the downside is that Telstra’s mobile and internet plans are some of the most expensive on the market. You’ll also need a lot of points to make the most of your rewards.

The below table shows estimated points generated for several mobile and internet plans from Telstra, along with the estimated rewards points accrued over 12 months. In the case of prepaid plans on 28-day expiry periods, calculations are for 12 recharges (you may need to recharge these plans a minimum of 13 times per year). Note that Telstra’s plan prices may change.

If you’re a customer with only one of the above listed Telstra plans, your annual points accrual will only be able to get you a $10 gift card for Woolworths. In order to really get the most out of your points, especially if you’re looking to save a decent amount off a grocery shop, it’s much easier if you have multiple services on the one account.

To put it into perspective, if you only had an NBN plan with Telstra (the Premium NBN 100/NBN 500 plan), it would take over five years of paying your bill to earn enough for a $100 Woolworths gift card.

What about multiple Telstra bills?

A family with a Premium NBN 100/NBN 500 internet plan, along with two of the Basic Upfront mobile plans, would earn an estimated total of 29,640 points in one year, which will be enough for a $20 Woolworths or $25 Harris Farm voucher, but just short of a $50 Woolworths or $50 Harris Farm voucher. 

For a larger family of four, a Premium NBN 100/NBN 500 internet plan, plus one Essential Upfront mobile plan and three of Telstra’s Mobile Bundle plans at $61 per month would earn a total of 43,920 points over one year. This is enough for $50 vouchers for Harris Farm or Woolworths, but short of the $100 vouchers.

Is this really a grocery hack?

Telstra Plus, like many other rewards programs, can be a great passive way to get free gift cards and discounts on other purchases. However, it’s the amount of money you’ll need to spend on your Telstra bills that you’ll need to weigh up. 

Considering that Telstra’s plans are some of the most expensive on the market, comparing mobile or internet plans from other providers might give you more savings in your pocket — perhaps more than you’d get from that supermarket gift card. 

Here’s what you can save if you switch your mobile or internet to comparable plans from another provider on Canstar’s database, using standard prices (excluding discounts). Smaller mobile plan providers listed use the Telstra mobile network to deliver service. Also note that NBN prices are changing from July 1 so the below listed standard prices may change.

As the above numbers suggest, switching from Telstra to a lower cost mobile or internet provider can give you significant savings on your bills each year. 

Keep in mind that smaller mobile providers on the Telstra network will have slightly limited network coverage compared to Telstra (with the exception of Boost Mobile) — but this only impacts less than 1% of the population.

As for NBN providers, as they all operate on the NBN network, there should be little difference in internet performance. You can compare the typical evening speeds that providers list alongside their plans as an indication of speed performance during the busy evening peak (7pm-11pm). 

If you’re finding that cost of living pressures are really biting more into your budget each month, making one or two changes to your mobile or internet service could add a bit more into your pocket. However, if you’re a current Telstra customer and you’re happy with your services, but don’t quite know what to use those Telstra Plus rewards points on, savings on your grocery bill — no matter how little — could be the way to go.

How can you save at the checkout with Everyday Mobile?

Everyday Mobile (formerly Woolworths Mobile) has been offering its customers discounts on groceries for a while. For those signed up to an eligible SIM-only postpaid or 30-day prepaid plan, you’ll get 10% off a monthly in-store Woolworths shop when you link an Everyday Rewards account to your eligible Everyday Mobile plan. Keep in mind that Everyday Mobile’s long expiry plans do not include the 10% discount.

The maximum available monthly saving is $50 (10% of the maximum $500 amount) in a single in-store shop for each month you stay connected to your plan. While you can’t split the discount across multiple shops or use it for online grocery orders, it can make a dent in those big fridge and pantry top-ups. Even if you’re only using it on a monthly $200 grocery shop, that’s still $20 off each month and a saving of $240 in a year.

But how does Everyday Mobile compare to Telstra and what’s the network coverage like?

Everyday Mobile uses the Telstra wholesale network, which delivers service to 98.8% of the population and includes access to the 5G network. You can choose between SIM-only postpaid and prepaid plans, which are reasonably priced for the data inclusions. Plans include additional features like data banking and international call inclusions (on select plans), and you can choose between eSIM or physical SIM. 

Everyday Mobile's cheapest 5G SIM-only postpaid plan is $40 per month with 70GB of data, which is $34 cheaper than Telstra’s Basic plan ($74 per month) with 50GB. This equates to a $408 price difference over a year. If you prefer prepaid, its 30-day $30 prepaid plan with 30GB of data is $24 cheaper than Telstra’s $54 prepaid mobile with 35GB on a 28-day expiry, totalling $288 in savings across 12 recharges. 

Score additional savings on Woolworths group eGift Cards with Everyday Mobile

Additionally, Everyday Mobile customers with eligible plans can save on select eGift Cards. You’ll save 5% on an eGift Card for Big W, Dan Murphy’s and BWS, 3% on an Everyday Wish eGift Card, and 4% on Woolworths Supermarkets eGift Card. 

This offer is available to Everyday Mobile customers on active plans until June 29, 2027, terms apply.

So, should I make the switch to save on my groceries?

Any savings on our bills, whether it’s a discount, cash back offer or bill credit, is always worth looking into. Even if you can save $10 off a weekly expense, that’s still going to add up in the long term. 

However, it’s about making sure that you’re not paying more than you want to, or signing up to a service that doesn’t really suit your needs. 

Existing Telstra customers who are already accruing rewards points might find that picking up a grocery gift card is more useful than other items on offer. Regular Woolies shoppers with an existing Everyday Rewards account might find an Everyday Mobile plan fits their needs and budget, especially with that monthly grocery shop discount.

But it’s never a good idea to solely sign up to a plan or provider based on discounts, extras or perceived value, especially if that plan is out of your budget and doesn’t really suit your needs. Compare a wider range of plans and providers to see what mobile or internet plan works best for you — if it just so happens that you can score a discount or extra with that plan, then that’s a bonus.