Often we find ourselves in situations where we may need to buy for somebody, usually a loved one, airtime. Fortunately, this is possible without having to resort to giving out money to buy a credit voucher thanks to mobile money and services such as Mula.
Alternatively, we also have the option to just transfer our airtime from our accounts. Sambaza as it’s more commonly referred is usually the go-to choice for this task. Airtel Kenya has their version of sambaza which goes by the name of ME2U, however it’s only limited to airtime transfer.
To transfer data bundles and other plans (UnlimiNET, Tubonge etc.) Airtel would rather have you buy for your recipients instead of just transferring what you’ve in your account. This seems rather counter-intuitive seeing Safaricom has a service just like this, albeit one that has been crippled over the years as a response to mwitu bundles. Still, it’s better than having nothing at all.
Gift a Bundle
1. Dial *544# on your Airtel line and select Gift a Bundle option from the USSD menu.
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| Gift a Bundle |
2. You’ll be presented with a list of bundles and plans that you can buy for somebody else. These include:
- Tubonge (voice plan)
- Amazing Data Bundles (Daily, Weekly & Monthly data packages)
- UnlimiNET (all-in-one bundle with data, minutes and SMS split in Daily, Weekly & Monthly validity periods)
- UnlimiNET Modem (unlimited* data bundle)
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| Select Bundle Type |
Select the bundle that you wish to buy for your recipient.
3. You’ll now be prompted to enter the Airtel phone number of the recipient.
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| Recipient’s Phone Number |
4. Next select the bundle package to buy from the available options.
5. Confirm whether to buy the bundle only once or to auto-renew it once its validity period expires.
6. That’s it. You’ll receive a text SMS confirming the purchase for the provieded phone number.
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| Confirmation SMS |
Your recipient will also shortly after this receive a text SMS confirming the bundle you’ve purchased for them.
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| Recipient’s SMS |
Conclusion
While a good idea at tackling the arduous task of having subscribers remember a long list of different Airtel Short Codes, lumping all services in one menu (in this case *544#) can be rather overwhelming for some. This service should therefore come in handy if at all any of your loved ones (shosh I’m looking at you) have expressed difficulty at subscribing to one of Airtel’s pocket friendly plans.
