Buying a SIM Card at Brisbane Airport (BNE) Guide

Brisbane – known for its year-round warm weather, the Ancient Rainforest & lovely views along the Brisbane River.

Do not let people fool you by not visiting Brisbane because it is apparently a big country town.

I heard this nonsense from Melbournians and Sydneysiders before heading to Brisbane.

Well, these are all lies 🗿.

When I confronted these people when I returned from Brisbane, they all told me they had not been in one or two decades.

Yeah… no wonder they had negative views of the city, lol.

Anyway, Brisbane is the capital city of Queensland – the second-largest Australian state in terms of landmass and the third-largest in terms of population.

Writing a list of all the cool things to do in Brisbane would require another blog post (or a dedicated Brisbane blog), so I will save you from that because you want to know what SIM card and eSIM options are available at the airport.

You can get an Optus or Vodafone Australia SIM card or eSIM for 10 AUD to 250 AUD at Brisbane Airport (BNE).

That is quite a spread – what gives?

It is mostly because you can get a starter pack lasting a full year – useful for Working Holiday Makers.

But you can also get a seven-day SIM card for only 10 AUD if that is all you need.

So let's review all your options and see if getting a SIM card at Brisbane Airport is even worth it.

Original publication: 22nd of February 2023. Last updated: 3rd of March 2023.

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Table of Contents

Mobile Operators in Australia

Before I tell you about the SIM card and eSIM options you have at Brisbane Airport, you first need to know about all the mobile operators in Australia.

Australia has three mobile operators and 14 Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) offering prepaid services easily accessible to travelers:

• Telstra
• Optus
• Vodafone Australia (TPG Telecom)
• ALDImobile (Telstra MVNO)
• Amaysim (Optus MVNO)
• Australia Post Mobile (Optus MVNO)
• Belong Mobile (Telstra MVNO)
• Boost Mobile Australia (Telstra MVNO)
• Coles Mobile (Optus MVNO)
• Gomo Australia (Optus MVNO)
• Gotalk Australia (Vodafone Australia (TPG Telecom) MVNO)
• JB Hi-Fi Mobile (Telstra MVNO)
• Hello Mobile Australia (Vodafone Australia (TPG Telecom) MVNO)
• Lebara Australia (Vodafone Australia (TPG Telecom) MVNO)
• Lycamobile Australia (Telstra MVNO)
• Telsim Australia (Telstra MVNO)
• Woolworths Mobile (Telstra MVNO)

That is quite a list, huh? (Un)fortunately, you cannot get most of them at Brisbane Airport.

For more information about Australian SIM cards, check out my Australia SIM card buying guide.

Alright, back to what Brisbane Airport has to offer to us.

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Where to Buy a SIM Card (or eSIM) at Brisbane Airport?

Two booths at Brisbane Airport (international arrivals) sell different Australian SIM cards (and eSIMs): Optus and Vodafone Australia. You can also purchase Optus SIM cards from vending machines in the domestic arrivals hall of the airport.

Both Optus and Vodafone have booths in the international arrivals hall of Brisbane Airport that you cannot miss.

If you take an international flight to another Australian airport, like Melbourne or Sydney, and fly from there to Brisbane, you can still get Optus SIM cards in the domestic terminal (which I did not expect, honestly).

Telstra has no dedicated booth or store at the airport.

The Newstravel Express store in the international arrivals hall of Brisbane Airport does tell Telstra SIM cards.

However, the store has been closed since the pandemic and was not open when I was in Brisbane (November 2022) and still is not at the time of writing (February 2023).

So I will not list Telstra's options in this guide because I do not know about them (but you can let me know when the Newstravel Express store finally opens).

If you visit a Telstra store in Brisbane CBD, check out my Telstra review, where I list all of Telstra's prepaid options and share my experience with its SIM cards (spoiler: it was fantastic).

Let's go through each mobile operator to see what they have to offer us at the airport.

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What SIM Cards & Plans does Optus Sell at Brisbane Airport (+Prices)?

Optus only sells its tourist SIM cards and eSIMs at Brisbane Airport, costing 30 AUD and 60 AUD.

I will list all the prices in AUD (Australian Dollar).

To convert AUD to your currency (let's say NZD – New Zealand Dollar) with up-to-date exchange rates, use the Wise Currency Converter tool.

Optus is the second-largest mobile operator in Australia – launched and owned by Singtel from Singapore (the largest there).

At Brisbane Airport, you can get your Optus SIM card from a booth in the international arrivals hall.

If you arrive at the domestic terminal instead, which is completely separate from the international terminal (which takes five minutes with the free transfer bus between the two terminals), you can get your Optus SIM card from the visitor information booth or two vending machines selling its SIM cards.

It is not often that you can get SIM cards in a domestic terminal if it is separate from the international terminal, so it is cool that this is possible in Brisbane.

Moreover, the SIM cards sold from the vending machines in the domestic offer more choices than the booth at the international terminal, but I will go over the options now, starting with the international terminal.

If you are looking to buy an Australian SIM card for your trip to the country, you will most likely have an international arrival to Brisbane, meaning you will arrive at the international terminal.

After picking up your luggage, you will find the Optus booth on the right side after walking through the door (which you will recognize by seeing the bright yellow Yes sign).

The booth is open from the first international arrival (5:00) until 1:30 hours past the last international arrival (1:00), so you should have the opportunity to get your SIM card there (unless your arrival is delayed until between 1:00 and 5:00 when the booth is closed).

Here, you can actually only get one SIM card: Optus Flex 4G Traveler Plan.

It costs 30 AUD and gives you 60 GB of data, unlimited local minutes and to 15 select international destinations ¹, 300 minutes to 35 international destinations ² & unlimited local SMS and to 15 other international destinations ¹ for 30 days.

¹ to Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom & the United States
² to Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela & Vietnam

If you have a phone that supports eSIM, you can get the Optus Flex 5G Traveler Plan.

For 60 AUD, you also get 60 GB of data (with 5G NR access), unlimited local minutes and to 15 select international destinations ¹, 300 minutes to 35 international destinations ² & unlimited local SMS and to 15 other international destinations ¹ for 30 days.

So why would you pay double for the Optus Flex 5G Traveler Plan? Only because of 5G NR access?

If you stay in Australia for over a month, you will continue getting 60 GB every 30 days, whereas you will only get 30 GB with the Optus Flex 4G Traveler Plan.

Moreover, you normally get 30 GB for the Optus Flex 4G Traveler Plan from the get-go, but Optus seems to have a permanent promotion for 60 GB instead.

Now, the airport staff (at any Australian airport) will tell you that you cannot get the 30 AUD SIM card as an eSIM and need to get the 60 AUD eSIM instead.

You can get the 30 AUD SIM card as an eSIM on the Optus website (but you need to be in Australia before registering your eSIM because your status needs to be set to onshore for the Australian Document Verification Service (DVS)).

So you could sit in the arrivals hall, go to the Optus website, and get the 30 AUD plan as an eSIM.

Besides these two tourist SIM cards, the Optus booth sells no regular SIM cards.

I have to say its tourist offering is generous, especially compared to many airports around the world, but better options are available if you are willing to go to the domestic terminal or arrive there already.

Tip: do not take the AirTrain from the international terminal to the domestic terminal. It will cost you 5 AUD for a two-minute ride, while the terminal shuttle with the same frequency is free without claiming any escalators

No matter how you arrive at the domestic terminal, you want to go to the Central Terminal Area, where you will find the information desk.

You can see the flying kangaroos and wombats from a distance (they are toys – imagine if roos could fly 😳).

The information desk itself does not sell Optus SIM cards.

However, if you go to the right side of the desk, you will see this Optus SIM card vending machine.

Here, you can get Optus starter packs of 10 AUD, 30 AUD, 40 AUD & 60 AUD with the following perks:

Price	Data	Local/International Minutes 1	Local SMS	Validity
10 AUD	5 GB	100 minutes 2	Shared with call allowance 2	5 days
30 AUD	30 GB	Unlimited	Unlimited	28 days
40 AUD	40 GB	Unlimited	Unlimited	28 days
50 AUD	60 GB	Unlimited	Unlimited	28 days

¹ for local use and to 15 countries: Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom & the United States
² for local use only

If you walk between the Central Terminal Area to the Virgin Terminal Area, you will find another vending machine with Optus SIM cards and other electronics (on the left of a Coca-Cola vending machine with drinks).

As you can see, the allowances with the regular Optus SIM cards are not as generous as the Optus Flex Traveler Plans sold at the international terminal.

But if you do need a lot of data and want to save some money, you can get SIM cards from the vending at the domestic terminal.

And I can tell you the prices at the vending machines are not jacked up – you would pay the same in Optus stores or from resellers like grocery stores.

Although the latter two may have more starter packs available (180 AUD and 300 AUD) than the vending machines.

You should know that the regular Optus starter packs from the vending machines will not give you 5G NR access with.

The SIM cards available from the vending machine are from the Optus Prepaid Epic Data line, while 5G NR is available to those on the Flex line (preferably the 5G Flex line).

Is Optus' 5G worth the cost? In my opinion, yes – but I care about speeds.

And Optus has fast 5G NR speeds, even in Brisbane.

I tell you all about it in my Optus review (where I used my Optus SIM card and eSIM in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Shepparton (regional Victoria – same state as Melbourne) & Sydney).

Note that SIM card registration is mandatory in Australia (that is why I mentioned the onshore status for DVS earlier).

If you do not want to deal with Australia's SIM card registration requirements but still want to be connected here, consider a travel eSIM that can be used in the country.

I write about the best travel eSIMs for Australia in my Best Australia eSIM buying guide.

I even tried many of them extensively for my Australian eSIM review series.

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What SIM Cards & Plans does Vodafone Australia Sell at Brisbane Airport (+Prices)?

Vodafone Australia sells regular SIM cards at Brisbane Airport, costing between 10 AUD and 250 AUD.

I will list all the prices in AUD (Australian Dollar).

To convert AUD to your currency (let's say NZD – New Zealand Dollar) with up-to-date exchange rates, use the Wise Currency Converter tool.

Vodafone Australia is the third and smallest mobile operator in Australia.

If you are from Europe or other Pacific nations, you have probably heard of or used Vodafone before.

And if you are from Africa, you may know Vodafone as Vodacom instead.

Perhaps you used Vodafone back home.

In Australia, Vodafone is not the best option.

In fact, it is the worst, as I mention in my Vodafone Australia review.

However, it does offer cheap plans – and if you stay in urban areas, like metro Brisbane, you will be fine with Vodafone Australia.

Moving on, Vodafone Australia SIM cards are only available in the international arrival hall of Brisbane Airport – not at the domestic terminal (unlike Optus).

After picking up your luggage, you will find the Vodafone booth on the left side after walking through the door (which you will recognize by seeing the bright red Vodafone sign).

The booth is open from around the first international arrival (5:30) until 21:00.

Flights to Brisbane Airport can arrive between 0:00 and 1:00 if you are unlucky, so the Vodafone booth may be closed if you arrive later.

Luckily, you can still get an Optus SIM card from the Optus booth if necessary, as it is open until the last international arrival (1:00 – if you are not delayed).

Here, you can get any of Vodafone Australia's regular starter packs without surcharges.

At many airports, the stores or booths may charge you service fees or inflate the prices, but that is not the case with Vodafone Australia.

And I can respect that!

Anyway, Vodafone Australia has seven starter packs you can choose from:

Price	Data	Local Minutes	International Zone 1 Minutes 1	International Zone 2 Minutes 2	Local SMS	International SMS 3	Validity
10 AUD	4 GB	Unlimited	N/A	N/A	Unlimited	N/A	7 days
20 AUD	8 GB	Unlimited	N/A	N/A	Unlimited	N/A	14 days
30 AUD	15 GB	Unlimited	500 minutes	N/A	Unlimited	50 SMS	28 days
40 AUD	30 GB	Unlimited	1000 minutes	100 minutes	Unlimited	50 SMS	28 days
50 AUD	45 GB	Unlimited	1500 minutes	200 minutes	Unlimited	50 SMS	28 days
60 AUD	70 GB	Unlimited	2000 minutes	250 minutes	Unlimited	50 SMS	28 days
150 AUD	80 GB	Unlimited	N/A	N/A	Unlimited	50 SMS	185 days
250 AUD	150 GB	Unlimited	N/A	N/A	Unlimited	50 SMS	365 days

¹ to Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States & Vatican City
² to Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brunei, Cambodia, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, the Faroe Islands, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, the Northern Mariana Islands, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Réunion, Russia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela & Vietnam
³ to any country – not restricted to zone 1 and countries

It is not uncommon to pay slightly less for the 30 AUD, 40 AUD, 50 AUD & 250 AUD starter packs.

I have seen the 250 AUD starter back being discounted to 188 AUD instead (aka 62 AUD/24.8% less).

Previously, only the 50 AUD starter pack gave you 5G NR access.

Nowadays, all Vodafone Australia plans allow for free 5G NR access, including the 10 AUD starter pack.

This makes Vodafone Australia more generous than its competitors that still restrict 5G NR access to their higher-tier plans.

Plus, Vodafone Australia's 5G NR speeds are not worth any surcharge, as they are not blazing-fast (most of the time) – even in Brisbane.

But I discuss more about that in my Vodafone Australia review (I also used the SIM card in Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne, Shepparton (regional Victoria – same state as Melbourne) & Sydney).

Moreover, you can get any Vodafone Australia plan as an eSIM, but you have to ask for it.

Because you first have to still buy an actual SIM card before it can be exchanged for an eSIM.

According to the Vodafone booth staff, it sounds like too much hassle for many international arrivers (understandably), so they simply get a SIM card instead – but it is an option if you have time.

Note that SIM card registration is mandatory in Australia.

Registration will not take much time, luckily, but it may be something you do not want to deal with.

Optus had a large-scale hack where the identities of more than 10 million people were stolen in October 2022, including mine 🤯.

Luckily for me, only basic (and outdated) info was leaked.

In my boyfriend's case, his passport document number was also stolen… so that was nice 🫠.

If you do not want to deal with potential identity theft but still want to be connected in Australia, consider a travel eSIM that can be used in the country.

I write about the best travel eSIMs for Australia in my Best Australia eSIM buying guide.

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Should You Get a SIM Card (or eSIM) at Brisbane Airport?

I recommend getting a SIM card at Brisbane Airport because regular and tourist SIM cards are available at normal prices from Optus and Vodafone Australia.

In the arrivals hall of the international terminal, Optus only sells its Flex 4G and 5G Traveler Plans, which are very well priced for the benefits they give, 30 AUD and 60 AUD, respectively.

Moreover, the airport does not overcharge you for these plans.

Instead, Optus often has promotions where the Flex 4G Traveler plan is sold for 25 AUD instead, or you get an extra plan for free.

If you want cheaper starter packs, you will have to go to the domestic terminal and get an Optus SIM card from one of the two vending machines selling them.

There, 10 AUD, 30 AUD, 40 AUD & 50 AUD Optus starter packs can be purchased.

Remember that SIM cards bought from the vending machine will not be instant because you have to deal with Australia's SIM card registration requirements.

The process takes a few minutes, even at the Optus booth at the international terminal, so you will be fine.

In the case of Vodafone Australia, you have more options.

While its SIM cards are only available at the international arrival hall, regular starter packs are available, ranging from 10 AUD (4 GB for 7 days) up to 250 AUD (150 GB for 365 days).

Vodafone Australia does not charge any services or nonsense like that, so you will pay the same for a starter pack as you would outside the airport.

And paying a bit less for the 30 AUD, 40 AUD, 50 AUD & 250 AUD starter packs is not uncommon.

Unlike Optus, 5G NR is enabled on all Vodafone Australia prepaid plans, including the 10 AUD one.

But remember, Vodafone Australia is the worst outside of urban areas… or in general, honestly (it used to be known as VodaFail for a reason).

In fact, it can be spotty in certain suburbs within metro areas already, so be warned.

Officially, Newstravel Express sells Telstra SIM cards – the best in the country.

Unfortunately, it closed since the beginning of COVID-19, was not open when I was in Brisbane recently (November 2022), and STILL was not open in February 2023, according to a friendly Phone Travel Wiz reader who wanted to let us know (hey – this site is not just all about me!).

Overall, both Optus and Vodafone Australia have attractive starter packs at Brisbane Airport, and I recommend getting a SIM card here as you will not pay the tourist/convenience tax.

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Australian SIM Card Reviews

I tried out the best Australian SIM cards that you can easily buy as a tourist in Australia.

You should read those reviews.

>>> Telstra Review | Optus Review | Vodafone Australia Review | ALDImobile Australia Review | Amaysim Review | Boost Mobile Australia Review | Lebara Australia Review <<<

But you can still make an educated purchased after reading the Australian SIM card reviews.

I also tried out various travel eSIMs + a travel SIM card that works in Australia: Airalo (Yes! Go! & Discover Global), Holafly, Nomad & SimOptions.

You should also read those reviews.

>>> Airalo Yes! Go! Australia eSIM Review | Airalo Discover Global eSIM Review | Holafly Australia eSIM Review | Nomad Australia eSIM Review | SimOptions 3 HK eSIM in Australia Review <<<

Check out my reviews page if you want to read all the other reviews I have written, including other Oceanian SIM cards.