Anyone know if the phones for das Abo are Sim locked? I was thinking of getting das Abo anyways. If I get the phone, I can then proceed to flip it.
It is possible to divert calls to all numbers, also abroad, and it's not charged separately! A divert is charged and listed as if you effected a normal call to this number. So when included in the flat rate this is equally included.
What this means:
When roaming, instead of using the roaming-rates offered by das-abo, you just divert your number to a local number of where you happen to be. As such, receiving calls on your Swiss number is suddenly FREE (as opposed to das-abo roaming rates).
How to combine this:
You can get local SIM-cards of wherever you are and divert your Swiss number directly to those. This way you can receive calls on your Swiss number, free of charge, without giving anyone a different number. No one would even notice or know. A German www.alditalk.de prepaid card would provide this option for all of the EU, since they have free incoming throughout the EU. So when out-of-Switzerland you divert "all calls" to your German Aldi-number, and never have to worry about getting too many cards. Remaining problem: Data. While Aldi does offer one data-package for the rest of the EU, it's not great (€4.99 for 150MB valid for 7 days). However, if this suffices, this might be the best and easiest option. For USA/Australia/India (and some other countries...), combine das-abo with www.togglemobile.co.uk
How to actually use it:
Let's say you have your German www.alditalk.de number +491771234567 on your das-abo, enter **21*+491771234567# (call button) all calls from you Swiss das-abo number are now diverted to your German number. This is included in das-abo's flat fee and hence doesn't cost anything when someone calls your Swiss number, your German number will ring instead, throughout the EU free of charge (as explained above) when back to Switzerland, just enter ##21# - the divert is cancelled and all calls go directly to your Swiss phone as before if you're not sure what the story is, enter *#21#, and the phone will display your current divert status
It ́s not complicated at all to get used to this, and it can and will save you a lot!
PS - there are a lot more divert-strategies, both automating things and also for other countries such as South-East-Asia where no flatrates apply. But I won't dig into them if no-one even uses the simplest version as per above.
Unfortunately I'm tied to my contract for another 12 months so can't change until then.