An airtime request is a free message asking someone to buy you airtime. Like a Please Call Me, you send it with a short code from your dialler, and you don't need airtime or data to do it. Vodacom, MTN and Cell C offer it. Telkom doesn't.
Airtime request codes by network
Use the code for the network your SIM is on. On MTN and Cell C, the person you ask must be on the same network.
So a Vodacom user asking 082 555 0142 for airtime dials *140*02*0825550142#. On Cell C you also name the amount: 5, 10, 20 or 30 rand, so *147*01*0745550142*10# asks for R10. MTN allows one free request a day.
Step by step
- Open your phone's dialler.
- Type your network's airtime request code from the list above.
- Type their number in full, starting with 0, with no spaces. On Cell C, add * and the amount after it.
- Finish with # and press call. They get a message asking them to send you airtime.
Don't mix it up with a Please Call Me. A Please Call Me asks them to phone you. An airtime request asks them to top you up. The codes are different.
If you're on Telkom
Telkom has no airtime request code. The simplest way round it is a free Telkom Please Call Me (*140*number#): when they phone back, ask them to send airtime.
Sending airtime to someone else
If someone asked you for airtime, you can buy it on your own network's menu, your banking app, or in the Please Call Me SA app, which sends airtime and data to any SA number and shows every fee before you pay. Check which network their number is on first with the which network tool, so you buy the right one. The guide to sending airtime or data has the transfer code for each network.
Or let the app do it
In Please Call Me SA, pick a contact and tap Request airtime. The app uses your network's code, fills in their number and dials it, with up to three airtime requests a day.