Out of all the numerous products Safaricom has, I think Flex is the most misunderstood of them all. For some reason, consumers are always comparing Flex to other bundled offerings such as Daily Data bundles and even SMS bundles but those come with a caveat. For example, once you buy the 150MB and 150 SMS daily bundle, you are at a loss if you do not use up any of the two.
We can’t just look at Flex as a data offering or a purely SMS offering because that would be like grading a fish in its ability to climb trees. Flex was meant to serve those in the society that know the value of making phone calls, sending texts and being able to communicate online, all at the same time.
We have looked at the dynamics of Flex bundles before, varying from the daily bundles to the monthly bundles, all at different price points ensuring that everyone is accommodated but flexibility is not just in the pricing but also in the usage. With Flex, Safaricom says that you get more value than regular airtime and I took it upon myself to prove this.
40% More Value
Welcome to class, well, not really but we shall do some simple and quick calculations. Our sample Flex bundle shall be the Kes.99 daily bundle that gets you 115 Flex units every day. With this bundle, you will get 345MB if you use it only for browsing, using the daily bundle on SMS only will get you 345 texts and using the bundle just for calling will get you about 38 minutes of talk time, both on-net and off-net. Still together?
For the same amount of 99 bob airtime, you can get 25MB if you use it just for browsing or 99 texts if that’s the way your cookie crumbles or 33 minutes on-net calls or 24 minutes for off-net calls.
With Flex, the value is clear. Without having to go through the hustle of buying bundles for SMS, Data and even looking at Tunukiwa for call deals, you can comfortably use Flex and get more than you bargained for. It doesn’t stop there:
The Rewards
A day hardly passes before we send some money via M-Pesa, regardless of the reason, we will in one way or the other perform an M-Pesa transaction at least once a day. Here’s the good news, Safaricom subscribers with an active Flex bundle will get 3 free flex units every time time you send money via M-Pesa worth more than 100 shillings.
To break this down for you, remember that 1 Flex unit gives you 20 seconds of talk-time or 3MB of data or 3 text messages. In short, you can send money back home and call them to confirm receipt, all on Safaricom’s tab.
Prices for Flex Bundles are as follows:
- Kes.50 valid for 24 hours gets you 50 flex units
- Kes.99 valid for 24 hours gets you 115 flex units
- Kes.599 valid for 7 days gets you 700 flex units
- Kes.999 valid for 30 days gets you 1100 flex units
- Kes.1,499 valid for 30 days gets you 1700 flex units
- Kes.1,999 valid for 30 days gets you 2700 flex units
- Kes.2,499 valid for 30 days gets you 3500 flex units
- Kes.4,999 valid for 30 days gets you 7500 flex units
Flex is available to all Safaricom prepay, hybrid and individual postpay customers. Prepay customers can access the bundle by dialling *100# and selecting the first option, postpay customers, on the other hand, can access Flex by dialling *200#.
