Planning a trip abroad and wondering whether you still need to buy a travel eSIM at the airport? If you are on a Smart Infinity plan, part of the answer may already be sitting in your account. Smart Infinity ROAM+ is an annual roaming wallet: a bank of international data — 6GB to 40GB depending on your plan — credited once at the start of your contract year and spent across every trip you take in the next 365 days. We covered the ROAM+ launch announcement when it was unveiled; this guide covers the practical side — how the wallet works day to day, who qualifies, how to get it running, and an honest look at when a travel eSIM or a pocket WiFi is still the better buy.
What the ROAM+ annual roaming wallet actually is
ROAM+ is not a new plan and not a per-trip promo. It is a data roaming allocation attached to Smart Infinity, the premium postpaid tier of Smart Communications. In Smart's announcement, the company describes it as the first annual roaming wallet in the Philippines: the full allocation is credited at the start of your contract year, and you draw it down trip after trip instead of arranging roaming before every flight.
| Plan | Monthly price | ROAM+ data per year |
|---|
| Infinity Plan 3500 | ₱3,500 | 6GB |
| Infinity Plan 5000 | ₱5,000 | 20GB |
| Infinity Plan 8000 | ₱8,000 | 30GB |
| Infinity Plus Plan 9500 | ₱9,500 | 40GB |
You keep your Philippine number while abroad, everything lands on one bill, and the remaining balance shows in the Smart App. "Connectivity is the one thing you shouldn't have to think about while traveling," Smart Infinity head Tina Montinola said at the launch.
How the data allocation works in practice
The wallet is valid for 365 days and is meant to stretch across multiple trips. Some simple budgeting math: if you plan around 1GB per travel day — enough for maps, ride-hailing, messaging, and social apps in most cases, but not heavy video — the 40GB wallet on the Plus Plan 9500 covers roughly 40 travel days a year. The 6GB wallet on Plan 3500 covers about six. Frequent short-haul travelers get the most out of it; a single month-long trip can drain the smaller wallets.
To put a peso value on it: on Smart's GigaRoam portal, a Japan pack currently sells at ₱1,999 for 10GB valid 10 days — about ₱200 per GB. At that rate, the 40GB wallet is roughly ₱8,000 worth of roaming data a year, and even the 20GB wallet on Plan 5000 is about ₱4,000 worth. Smart has not published what happens to unused data when the new contract year's credit lands, so ask your Relationship Manager about carry-over before you count on it.
Who is eligible and how to get it running
ROAM+ is exclusive to Smart Infinity members — membership starts at Plan 3500 and runs on an application basis. According to ManilaShaker's coverage, existing members can dial *800, the Infinity Concierge line, to ask about ROAM+ on their account, while non-members can inquire about membership at (02) 8848-8806. Members can also course questions through their dedicated Relationship Manager.
One thing worth double-checking: as of this writing, Smart's official Infinity page still lists the older per-trip roaming inclusions — 500MB valid 3 days on Plan 3500, 1GB valid 5 days on Plan 5000, and 2GB valid 7 days on Plan 8000 and the Plus Plan 9500 — rather than the new annual figures. The ROAM+ allocations come from Smart's launch materials, which say the wallet is credited at the start of the contract year. Before you fly, confirm with your Relationship Manager which allocation your account actually carries and when it gets credited.
Where it works — and what to confirm before you fly
Smart has not published a standalone destination list for ROAM+; its materials refer to supported destinations. As a reference point, Smart's GigaRoam roaming portal sells per-trip packs for destinations from Japan, South Korea, and Singapore to the United States, the United Kingdom, and most of Europe. Treat the pre-trip call as part of the routine: confirm your destination is covered and that roaming is active on your line before departure, either through *800 or the Smart App.
Also note that ROAM+ is described only as a data wallet. Smart's materials do not mention voice or text inclusions, so ask about call and SMS roaming rates for your destination — those are billed separately from data.
ROAM+ vs eSIM vs pocket WiFi: an honest comparison
Here is how the wallet stacks up against the usual alternatives for a Japan trip, a common route for Filipino travelers:
| Option | Price | What you get |
|---|
| ROAM+ wallet | Included in Infinity plan | 6GB–40GB per year, across trips, on your own number |
| GigaRoam Japan pack | ₱1,999 | 10GB, 10 days |
| Airalo Japan eSIM | S$15.00–S$88.50 (around ₱730–₱4,280) | Unlimited data, 3 to 30 days |
| Pocket WiFi rental | From ¥712 (around ₱280) per day | Unlimited data, shared with up to 8 devices |
eSIM prices are from Airalo's Japan lineup as of this writing, and the pocket WiFi rate is Japan Wireless' unlimited plan; both change with promos and destination.
When ROAM+ wins. Short or frequent trips are its natural fit: there is nothing to buy, install, or pick up, and your Philippine number stays live — which matters because a data-only travel eSIM cannot receive the SMS one-time passwords your Philippine bank sends to your Smart number. Everything also lands on one bill, and there is no second device to charge.
When it does not. For a heavy-data, month-long trip, an unlimited eSIM beats a fixed wallet — 30 days of unlimited Airalo data at around ₱4,280 will outlast even the 40GB wallet if you stream video daily. Families and groups do better sharing one pocket WiFi at around ₱280 a day than draining one person's wallet. And if you are on Plan 3500, the 6GB wallet is a supplement, not a full solution, for anything longer than a short holiday.
If the wallet runs dry mid-trip, you are not stranded: per 2nd Opinion's report, members can buy roaming top-ups, and the monthly consumables built into Infinity plans — ₱1,500 to ₱4,500 depending on tier — can be charged against roaming add-ons.
FAQ
How do I check my remaining ROAM+ data?
Through the Smart App, which shows the wallet balance alongside your plan details.
What happens if I use up the wallet mid-trip?
Buy a roaming top-up or a per-trip GigaRoam pack. Your Infinity plan's monthly consumables can be used to pay for roaming add-ons, or dial *800 to arrange one through the concierge.
I am not an Infinity member — is there an equivalent?
No. ROAM+ is exclusive to Infinity. Regular Smart postpaid and prepaid users buy per-trip GigaRoam packs instead, which start at ₱150 for a 100MB one-day cross-border pack and run up to ₱4,899 for 15GB valid 90 days worldwide.
