Basically there are 4 ways that you can get airtime:

1. Buy Airtime
   The most obvious way to get airtime is to buy it from your corner cafe, online banking or dedicated website such as vtime.co.za
2. Win Airtime
   Otherwise you could enter airtime competitions where you can win free airtime
3. Borrow Airtime
   Ask a friend to help you out and transfer some airtime to your number. Vodacom has an airtime advance service that will loan you R10 airtime when you run out (R11 will be deducted from your next recharge).
4. Airtime Rewards
Find out if your provider runs any loyalty programs where they will reward you with airtime and then work the system. 8ta gives away 1 minute of free airtime for every 3 minutes that you spend on incoming calls. Check out Vodacom color on Vodacom and Virgin's double your airtime on your first recharge.