How do CommBank’s Telstra-powered mobile deals stack up?

A few short months after Commonwealth Bank (CBA) partnered with More Telecom to provide NBN plan discounts to its customers, the bank has taken its relationship with the Telstra-powered MVNO to the next level. CommBank customers can now access discounts on More’s 4G and 5G SIM plans. The deal effectively gives CommBank customers 30% off their monthly bill for the first 12 months, then 10% off every month ongoing.

To be eligible for the discount, CommBank customers just need to make sure they use a Commonwealth Bank credit or debit card when signing up online for a More mobile plan.

More has five month-to-month 4G SIM plans and one month-to-month 5G plan, all of which are powered by the Telstra wholesale network and eligible for the CommBank customer discount.

In short, CommBank customers will save 30% off their monthly More mobile plan for the first 12 months, then 10% per month after the first year is up. CommBank’s 4G SIM deals are genuinely pretty compelling; offering some of the cheapest 4G plans from a Telstra MVNO in Australia. The standalone 5G plan would be pretty competitive too if it weren’t for Mate’s existing 5G SIM deal, which blows it out of the water.

Not only is Mate’s 5G SIM deal cheaper at an ongoing rate ($40 for the life of the plan,) but it also doesn’t have as many caveats as the CommBank deal from More.

Here’s a breakdown of the CommBank discounts on More plans.

When compared with Telstra’s own SIM plans, CommBank’s mobile deals compare favourably. Telstra’s closest comparable plan, the $58 Upfront Plan, gives you 40GB for $58 per month. As well as unlimited calls and texts, and a few neat entertainment perks (Foxtel Now, Binge and Apple TV+).

CommBank customers can nab even more data, 42GB per month, for $26.60 for the first 12 months (and $34.20 per month thereafter). Then again, Telstra MVNOs like More only access parts of the Telstra 4G/5G network– it’s a huge part of the network, just not quite as widespread as Telstra’s own coverage. Not a dealbreaker, just an important consideration for those with less-than-ideal coverage already.

Otherwise, More’s CommBank discounts will get you cheaper access to the Telstra wholesale network than any other MVNO at the time of writing, at least for the first 12 months.

It’s a different story for CommBank’s discount on the 5G SIM plan. Compared to the rest of the market, More’s 60GB 5G Plan offers pretty decent value (and even more with the CommBank discount) but it doesn’t hold a candle to Mate’s current 5G plan, which nets you 60GB per month at $40 per month for the life of the plan.

Here’s a quick look at some of the most popular SIM plans available on the Telstra network for comparison.

CommBank’s deal will certainly be tempting for customers looking to save on their mobile deal, and for the most part, the discounts available offer some great value on the Telstra wholesale network. But there are a couple of small caveats to consider. Firstly, More’s SIM plans are all speed-capped. Its 4G plans are capped at 100Mbps and its 5G plans are capped at 250Mbps. Speed limitations aren’t out of the norm these days. They are becoming an increasingly popular way for providers to delineate between plan offers but it’s still worth considering.

Less important is the limit on MMS. More’s plans limit customers to 1,000 MMS per month. We’re not sure what the going average is for MMS messages sent in a month by Australians, but 1,000 seems more than enough.