I recently wrote about the expanded GigSky x Visa partnership, which offers Visa cardholders complimentary data roaming plans covering Canada, France, Thailand, Mexico, UAE, UK and USA.
However, there’s actually another free eSIM option offered by Travelgoogoo, which provides coverage for 123 countries worldwide.
These plans offer just 1GB of data, which you’ll probably burn through in a flash. But what’s interesting is that they also include an annual messaging pass that covers LINE, Telegram, WhatsApp and other popular messaging platforms — and not just text, but data calls and photos too.
Travelgoogoo eSIM for Visa cardholders
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| Travelgoogoo x Visa |
Visa Infinite, Visa Signature and Visa Platinum cards issued in Asia Pacific can now redeem complimentary Travelgoogoo data roaming plans, according to the table below.
| Card | Travelgoogoo 365 Annual Plan | Data Plans |
 Visa Infinite |
✅ | 1GB Global 1GB APAC |
 Visa Signature |
✅ | 1GB Global |
 Visa Platinum |
50% off | 1GB Global |
Mind you, there’s no reason to go any lower than a Visa Signature, since even the most basic of credit cards (e.g. Citi Rewards, DBS Altitude, OCBC 90°N) already start at this tier.
Cardholders are limited to one redemption per eligible Visa card number, per mobile, per year, and up to two redemptions until 30 November 2027.
Therefore, if you have multiple Visa cards, you can redeem multiple free plans — though each will need to be linked to a unique mobile number and email (and it could be a bit messy tracking them all as you’ll receive a separate eSIM for every Visa card).
Travelgoogoo 365 Annual Plan
The Travelgoogoo 365 Annual Plan offers unlimited messaging on the following platforms:
- iMessage
- LINE
- Telegram
- Viber
- Zalo
Unlike those “free messaging” plans you might have used onboard airplanes, which support text-only messaging, this also includes data calling and photos.
With coverage for 123 countries, it should be a useful fallback option in emergencies where you’ve run out of data on all your other plans, and don’t have Wi-Fi handy.
1GB Global
The 1GB Global plan provides 4G/5G internet speeds across the following 123 countries.
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Basically, you should have coverage everywhere except parts of the Middle East (most notably Jordan and Saudi Arabia), Africa and South America, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.
APAC 1GB
The 1GB APAC plan provides 4G/5G internet speeds across the following 23 countries.
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This is on top of the global data allowance mentioned above.
How to redeem your plan
To redeem your free plan, visit this page and click on Redeem.
You’ll be prompted to enter your 16-digit Visa card number, which will confirm the type of plan you’re eligible for.
After this, you’ll be sent to a payment page. Make sure it shows just an authorisation charge of US$1, which will be reversed to your card subsequently.
You’ll then receive your eSIM QR code via email.
That’s it. There are no recurring charges to cancel. Once your plan expires (after one year), simply repeat the process to redeem it a second time.
| 💳 Standard Chartered cards? |
| Both principal and supplementary Standard Chartered cards share the same card number (and expiry date, and CVV, if you can believe it). Therefore, only one cardholder (whether principal or supplementary) will be able to utilise the Travelgoogoo benefit. |
Should you top up your data?
Not really. While Visa cardholders get a 20% discount on data add-ons, there are much cheaper data plans available (and your Singapore mobile plan might even provide free roaming data).
After the 1GB is exhausted, the main reason for keeping the Travelgoogoo eSIM around is the unlimited messaging plan.
How does this compare to GigSky?
Visa cardholders are also eligible to redeem complimentary GigSky eSIM data plans with unlimited data for up to seven days.
| Travelgoogoo | GigSky | |
| Validity | Global | Canada, France, Mexico, Thailand, UAE, UK, USA |
| Data | Annual messaging plan Infinite Signature 1GB Global Infinite Signature 1GB APAC Infinite |
Unlimited, 7 days Infinite Unlimited, 3 days Signature |
| Availability | APAC Visa cards | Worldwide Visa cards |
| Entitlement | Once per year | Once per year |
However, while the GigSky plans provide more data, they are only valid in seven countries, whereas Travelgoogoo covers 123.
Anyway, there’s nothing stopping you from redeeming both!
Free GigSky eSIM data roaming now available to Visa cardholders worldwide
Conclusion
Visa cardholders in Asia Pacific can redeem a complimentary Travelgoogoo eSIM, which provides 1GB of Global data, and an additional 1GB of Asia Pacific data for Visa Infinite.
1GB won’t last you long, but what could be useful is the annual messaging plan that covers texts, data calls and photo sharing on WhatsApp, Telegram, LINE and other popular messaging platforms. I can see the benefit of having this on standby in case of emergencies.
the downside is that you have to give your credit card details. I worry something bad (excess data charges) may happen the moment you cross the 1gB limit….
I went to the site and don’t see any T&C I need to accept before giving my 16 digit visa card number. Is there any T&C that says what happens after you hit your 1gB quota?
Hi hw… I am Stephen Tan, CMO at Travelgoogoo. Please be assured that your 16-digit Visa card number goes directly to Visa system for verification of your Visa Infinite, Signature or Platinum Card. The number does not get retained or accessed by Travelgoogoo at anytime. Travelgoogoo’s Annual Membership (which your status as Visa cardmember now entitles you to) gives you 365 days of always-on unlimited messaging in 123 countries over multiple trips. EVEN if you haven’t purchased a 4G/5G highspeed data plan. When you have consumed your 1GB Global data plan, your connectivity will remain, though not at 4G/5G speeds.… Read more »
Stephen, what does TravelGooGoo get out of giving 1gb data for “free”. There is no free lunch.
He’s the CMO. How many of us have heard of this outfit before?
The value of these 1 Gb eSIM has been greatly reduced at least for those residing in Singapore due to the cheap mobile plans that now mostly come with at least some free roaming data in APAC, or the world.
Hi Dr Tan,
On the contrary, there are very few global eSIMs out there that give you always-on messaging connectivity (even without needing to purchase 4G/5G highspeed data).
Also, many mobile operators require the purchase of fixed blocks of highspeed data. With Travelgoogoo, we have 1/2/3/6/10GB options available, so you don’t end up losing data you paid for but could not finish consuming.
And there are no other global eSIMs that give you always-on messaging connectivity (that allows you to use WhatsApp, iMessage, Wechat, FB Messenger etc) in 123 countries without first buying 4G/5G data plan.
Hi Stephen , what happens if the eSIM is installed a couple of days prior to travel ? Does the countdown timer for the free data start immediately ? or is it only when switched on while travelling ?