@LyndaMa_2050205 If a sim is inactive (no smarty plan or money spent) for 180 days, then you receive a 'warning' email and the sim is deactivated after a further 40 days.
It therefore stands that, if you arrange to buy a Smarty plan on the account every so often, the sim should remain active and ready to use when you return. You can either set the plan to auto-renew monthly on the minimum plan, or else you can set yourself a reminder to buy a plan via the account every 180 days.
Texts should come through that way, but if you put any credit on the account, be careful not to let the phone use and mobile data or it will eat the credit in the blink of any eye!
