On e& (Etisalat), dial *121# to check your prepaid balance and *100*number*amount# to transfer credit. On du, dial *135# for your balance and *121*number*amount# to transfer credit. The two networks differ on cost: e& deducts a 5.25% transaction fee (VAT included) from the sender on every local credit transfer, while du’s balance transfer is free of charge.

This guide lists the balance, recharge, credit transfer, data transfer and borrow-credit codes for e&, du and Virgin Mobile. Each one was checked against the operator’s own website in October 2026. It also covers the transfer limits and fees, and the inactivity rules that can cost you a prepaid number.

If you are still choosing a network, start with our comparison of the best mobile plans in the UAE.

Key Takeaways

  • e& balance: *121#. du balance: *135#. Virgin Mobile balance: *145#.
  • e& credit transfers cost the sender 5.25% on top of the amount sent, with a minimum of AED 2, a daily cap of AED 150 and a monthly cap of AED 1,500.
  • du credit transfers (One2One) are free but only move credit between du prepaid lines, from the More Time balance.
  • Virgin Mobile credit sharing is free, runs only through its app, and is capped at AED 500 per month.
  • An e& prepaid line that shows no recharge, call or SMS for 90 consecutive days is suspended. After a further year with no use, the number is permanently disconnected and can go to someone else.
  • Codes change. Everything below was correct on the operators’ sites in October 2026, and each table links to the page it came from.

e& (Etisalat) and du Codes at a Glance

The table below puts the everyday codes for both networks side by side. Dial each code from the SIM it applies to and press call.

What you want to do e& (Etisalat) du
Check credit balance *121# (or call 121) *135# (or call 135)
Check data balance *170*1#, or SMS DATA to 1010 (AED 0.30 per SMS plus VAT) *135#, or SMS balance to 1355
Transfer credit to another number *100*05XXXXXXXX*amount# *121*05XXXXXXXX*amount#
Ask someone to send you credit *107*05XXXXXXXX*amount# (free) No request code published
Transfer data #100*05XXXXXXXX*MB# (AED 3 per 100MB) No data transfer code published
Recharge with a scratch card or voucher *120*card number# *135*recharge number# (credit) or *131*recharge number# (data)
Borrow credit when you run out No borrow code published *108# (AED 5 advance, AED 1 fee plus VAT)
Offers and deals *101# offers, *050# Deal of the Day *055# deals, *102# deals balance
Send credit to a phone abroad SMS the foreign number to 1700 SMS SEND to 1700
Customer care 101 155

Sources: e&’s Wasel prepaid line page, its prepaid data plan support page, and du’s Important Prepaid Codes help article. The rows marked “no code published” mean the operator’s site does not list one. Third-party lists sometimes do, but we could not confirm those codes, so they are left out.

How to Check Your Balance on e&, du and Virgin Mobile

Dial *121# on e&, *135# on du, or *145# on Virgin Mobile. The balance appears on screen within seconds and the check is free.

Each operator’s app also shows your remaining credit and data on its home screen. That is the easier option if you want to see when a plan renews.

e& (Etisalat) prepaid and Wasel

e&’s prepaid terms list three ways to check your credit: calling 121, dialing *121#, or using the e& app. Data allowances sit in a separate menu. Dial *170*1#, or text DATA to 1010 for an SMS reply, which costs AED 0.30 plus VAT.

The same *170# menu is how you stop an auto-renewing data plan. One-time packs simply expire, so there is nothing to cancel on those.

du prepaid and Flexi

du’s help center lists the du app, *135#, or a call to 135 for checking credit and data. du’s own code list adds two SMS options, both sent to 1355. Text “bal” for your prepaid plan balance or “balance” for your data plan balance.

The *135# menu is free to use. When du launched it, du said prepaid customers could check their balance, recharge and buy bundles through *135# free of charge, so you do not need to memorize separate codes for each service.

Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile runs on du’s network but is managed almost entirely in its app. The one code it publishes is *145# for a balance check.

How to Transfer Credit on e&

Dial *100*05XXXXXXXX*amount# from any e& prepaid or postpaid line to send credit to an e& prepaid number. The transfer happens instantly, but e& charges the sender a 5.25% fee on the amount sent (5% VAT included).

e& gives its own worked example of the fee. A transfer of AED 100 costs the sender AED 105.25, and the recipient receives exactly AED 100. The limits are the same whether you send from a prepaid or a postpaid line.

e& local credit transfer Rule
Code *100*05XXXXXXXX*amount#, or the e& app
Who can send e& prepaid and postpaid customers
Who can receive e& prepaid numbers only
Minimum per transfer AED 2
Daily maximum AED 150
Monthly maximum AED 1,500
Fee 5.25% of the amount sent (VAT included), paid by the sender

All figures are from e&’s Data and Credit Transfer page. In practice, the daily cap is the one people hit. A AED 200 top-up for a family member has to be split across two days.

Asking for credit on e&

An e& prepaid customer who has run out can dial *107*05XXXXXXXX*amount# with the number of the person they are asking. That person receives an SMS with the request and the exact *100# command to send it. The service is free, but it is limited to two requests a day and only prepaid customers can use it.

Transferring data on e&

e& also lets you send part of your data allowance. Dial #100*05XXXXXXXX*data in MB#; for example, #100*05XXXXXXXX*1000# sends 1GB. Transfers go in multiples of 100MB and cost AED 3 per 100MB, so sending 1GB costs AED 30.

The rules on e&’s transfer page are stricter than most guides suggest:

  • Monthly plans of 1GB or more can make a maximum of five data transfers a month.
  • Postpaid lines can send up to 5GB per transfer. Prepaid has no per-transfer limit.
  • The sender must keep at least 100MB after the transfer.
  • Transferred data expires after 10 days and is used before the recipient’s own allowance.
  • The recipient can track it with *121*170#. Once it is used up there is no out-of-bundle data, so access simply stops.
  • The service works on select plans only, so the code can fail on an older plan.

How to Transfer Credit on du

Dial *121*05XXXXXXXX*amount# from a du prepaid line to send credit to another du prepaid line, free of charge. du’s help center lists two other routes. You can dial *121# and follow the prompts, or dial *135#, choose option 2 (One2One), then enter the number and amount.

du calls the service Mobile Credit Transfer, or One2One. Its help article says it moves credit from your More Time balance to another du prepaid customer, and the recipient always receives it in their More Time wallet. Both lines must be du prepaid (Prepaid, Elite or Emirati), so you cannot send credit to a du postpaid line or to another network.

du’s current pages do not publish a minimum, maximum or daily limit for One2One. Several third-party guides quote AED 2 to AED 200 per transaction, a figure that traces back to du’s original One2One launch announcement. We could not confirm that limit still applies.

If a transfer is rejected, the *135# menu shows the amount the network will accept.

The wallet trap on du

du prepaid credit sits in separate wallets, such as More Time and More Credit. du states plainly that balances cannot be moved between wallets if you recharge the wrong one. Check which wallet a voucher or online recharge loads before you pay, especially if you plan to transfer the credit afterwards.

How to Share Credit and Data on Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile has no USSD transfer code, so credit sharing runs through the app’s “Share with friends” option. It is free, the recipient must have an active Virgin Mobile number, and you can send up to AED 500 per month or renewal cycle.

The amounts are fixed steps: AED 20, AED 50, then every AED 50 up to AED 500. Data sharing is tighter. Both sender and receiver need an active plan of AED 79 or more, and you can send up to 10GB in at most 10 transactions a month.

How to Recharge e& and du Prepaid

Both operators accept online card payments, app top-ups and scratch-card vouchers. The fastest route is the operator’s app or its quick-pay web page, and neither requires you to log in.

Recharge method e& (Etisalat) du
App e& UAE app du app (Recharge on the home screen)
Online without logging in Quick Pay: enter the number and amount, pay by card Quick Recharge at du.ae/qr
Scratch card or eVoucher *120*card number# *135*recharge number# for credit, *131*recharge number# for data
Other channels e& payment machines, bank ATMs and online banking “Pay or recharge for a friend” in the app
If the credit does not arrive Call 101 Usually instant, but can take up to 24 hours

Sources: e&’s Recharge Methods page and du’s Balance and Recharge help articles. In October 2026, e&’s recharge page was also advertising a 25% bonus credit on online recharges of AED 10 or more. That is a promotion, so check it is still running before you pick a channel for it.

e&’s recharge page gives *120*card number# for vouchers, while its Wasel prepaid terms say *121*card number#. Try *120 first, since that is the current customer-facing page. If it fails, the voucher can also be loaded by calling 120.

Borrowing Credit When You Run Out (du)

du’s Out of Credit service lends AED 5 to prepaid customers whose line is at least three months old and who use at least AED 10 a month. Dial *108#, or text 5 to 1080, or borrow from the du app. The AED 5 and a fee of AED 1 plus VAT are taken from your next recharge.

If your balance falls below 0.5 fils, du also allows one Zero Credit Call of up to three minutes, to a local or international number. It costs AED 1.50 plus VAT, recovered from the next recharge, and nothing is charged if the call is not answered.

du’s code list writes the borrow code as *108*1#, while the Out of Credit page says to dial *108# and press 2. Both reach the same menu.

e&’s website does not list an equivalent borrow service. Its closest option is the free *107# credit request described above.

Sending Mobile Credit to a Phone Abroad

Both networks can top up a prepaid number in another country, which suits small amounts sent to family. On e&, text the foreign number with its country code (for example 9198XXXXXXXX) to 1700. On du, text SEND to 1700 and follow the prompts.

Both operators show the available amounts and the AED price before you confirm, and say there is no extra service charge. du’s FAQ adds that the transfer can take up to 10 minutes and draws only on the More Time or Unlimited balance. du also says the service is run by a third-party provider.

For anything above airtime amounts, our guide to money transfer apps that send from the UAE compares the cheaper routes.

What Happens If You Stop Using a Prepaid Line

This is the rule most balance guides leave out, and it is how people lose numbers linked to their bank accounts. e&’s prepaid terms say that if you do not recharge, make or receive a call, or send or receive an SMS for 90 consecutive days, the line is temporarily suspended. Promotional SMS from e& do not count as use.

The terms then set out a sequence:

  • While suspended, e& debits AED 10 from your remaining credit for each further 90-day period to keep the line alive.
  • If less than AED 10 remains, e& takes whatever is left and the line stays suspended.
  • A recharge, call or SMS within one year of the suspension reactivates the line automatically.
  • After a full year with no use, the line is permanently disconnected and cannot be reactivated. The number can then be given to another customer.

Plan-based prepaid lines have a shorter clock.

On e& Wasel Flexi, if you do not renew within 21 days of the plan’s expiry, outgoing services are barred and incoming calls still work.

du’s Prepaid Flexi works the same way: the plan runs for 28 days, and after 21 days without a renewal recharge, outgoing services stop.

Virgin Mobile freezes an account after 90 days without chargeable activity, and any remaining wallet credit is lost.

du does not publish a permanent-disconnection timeline for an unused prepaid number on its consumer pages, so we cannot say when du reassigns one. If you have just arrived, setting up a line is one of the first tasks in our 90-day checklist for moving to Dubai.

If you are leaving the UAE but want to keep your number for bank and UAE Pass OTPs, a small recharge every couple of months is the safe default on any network. Our checklist for leaving the UAE permanently covers which accounts need a working UAE number.

Which Network Is Cheaper for Topping Up Family

If you regularly send small amounts of credit to family on the same network, du’s free One2One beats e&’s 5.25% fee. On e&, sending AED 50 a week costs about AED 136.50 a year in fees. The same transfers on du cost nothing, though du only lets you send from the More Time balance.

e& is more flexible on who can send. Postpaid customers can top up a prepaid line, and e& is the only network with a published data-transfer code.

Virgin Mobile has the highest monthly sharing cap (AED 500 free) but only works app-to-app. If you are setting up a new line, our guide to eSIM providers and plans in the UAE compares activation options.

FAQ

How do I check my Etisalat balance?

Dial *121# from your e& (Etisalat) prepaid line, or call 121, and your credit balance appears on screen. For data, dial *170*1# or text DATA to 1010, which costs AED 0.30 plus VAT. The e& UAE app shows both on its home screen.

How do I check my du balance?

Dial *135# from your du line, call 135, or open the du app. You can also text “bal” to 1355 for your prepaid plan balance or “balance” to 1355 for your data plan. The *135# menu is free to use.

How do I transfer balance from du to du?

Dial *121*05XXXXXXXX*amount# and press call, replacing the number with the recipient’s du number. You can also dial *135# and choose option 2 for One2One. The transfer is free, comes from your More Time balance, and only works between du prepaid lines.

How much does Etisalat charge to transfer credit?

e& deducts 5.25% of the amount sent from the sender, with 5% VAT included. Sending AED 100 costs AED 105.25, and the recipient receives AED 100. Transfers range from AED 2 up to AED 150 a day and AED 1,500 a month.

Can I transfer credit from e& to du?

No. Local credit transfer only works within the same network: e& to e& prepaid, du prepaid to du prepaid, and Virgin Mobile to Virgin Mobile. To top up someone on another network, pay for their recharge online using that network’s quick-pay page or app.

How do I transfer data on Etisalat?

Dial #100*05XXXXXXXX*data in MB#; for example, #100*05XXXXXXXX*1000# sends 1GB. It costs AED 3 per 100MB, the data lasts 10 days, and monthly plans of 1GB or more are limited to five transfers a month. The service is only available on select plans.

How do I borrow credit on du?

Dial *108# or text 5 to 1080 to borrow AED 5, if your line is at least three months old and you use at least AED 10 a month. du takes the AED 5 plus a AED 1 fee (plus VAT) from your next recharge. e& does not list an equivalent service, but its free *107# code lets you ask another e& customer to send you credit.

What is the code to recharge Etisalat with a card?

Dial *120*card number# using the number on your scratch card or eVoucher. e&’s prepaid terms also mention *121*card number#, so try that if the first code fails, or call 120 to load the voucher.

Will I lose my number if I don’t recharge?

On e&, a prepaid line with no recharge, call or SMS for 90 consecutive days is suspended and charged AED 10 per 90 days from any remaining credit. After a year with no use it is permanently disconnected and the number can be reassigned. du does not publish an equivalent timeline. Virgin Mobile freezes accounts after 90 days without chargeable activity and the wallet credit is lost.

Why did my du recharge not show up?

du says credit is usually added immediately but can take up to 24 hours. If you recharged the wrong wallet, du cannot move the balance between wallets. If the credit still has not appeared after 24 hours, call du on 155 with the payment reference. If the operator does not resolve it, the TDRA dispute route in our guide to complaining about a telecom provider applies.

Official Sources

Codes, limits and fees checked on the operators’ websites in October 2026. USSD codes and promotions change without notice, so confirm in the operator’s app before relying on a code for a large transfer.

This guide is for informational purposes only. UAE regulations and fees are subject to change. Always verify current requirements with the relevant official authority before proceeding with any application or transaction.