Airalo doesn't care about customers

I was very excited about using Airalo's eSIM for a trip overseas. However, I only realized after purchasing an eSIM that in my country eSIM wasn't available on my phone (in fact, since I'm from a 3rd world country, it's only available on phones that cost 5x what mine does).

As with any other purchase online (such as from Amazon), I expected a refund to be hassle free and to make use of Airalo again in a couple years when eSIM was more affordable in my country. However, at first Airalo flat out refused to do any sort of refund. After lots of back-and-forth they finally agreed to refund me in NON-EXPIRING Airmoney, which I could use to purchase an eSIM from them again in future.

This wasn't exactly ideal, but better than nothing, my plan was to use the Airmoney in a couple years when an affordable phone with eSIM was available and based on that experience I might use Airalo again. However, this week I received an email informing me that Airmoney now expires a year from obtaining it. This is like buying something that has a lifetime guarantee, and after having it for 5 months the seller tells you not only have they changed their guarantee, but purchases will implode a year after purchase...

I contacted Airalo again to see if we could make a plan, since an affordable eSIM compatible phone isn't going to magically appear before June this year, nor will I be going overseas. They were completely unwilling to help.

Bottom line: I've effectively lost the money I spent at Airalo. I'll definitely not be using them for eSIMs in the future when I'm able to use eSIM. And I would encourage you to avoid them, I'm sure there are providers out there with better service.