The phone card has been a tremendous boon for international travellers but did you know more and more people are discovering their cost effectiveness in making long distance calls within their own country. That's right, the phone card has become a regular part of the communication landscape for many phone users.
For those who haven't used a phone card before there are several steps you should be familiar with but the bottomlime is, they are simple to use and will save you plenty in call costs.
Purchasing A Phone Card
There are dozens of different cards available. Once upon a time you had to visit an outlet physically to purchase one but today, the convenience of the internet has allowed purchasers to simply go online and complete the signup process without leaving there homes. Doing a search for phone cards will bring you thousands of results and I have found that you generally don't need to look past the first page. Sticking with high page rank sites will generally guarantee you that the site has been established for a long period of time and that they have been doing business successfully and can be trusted.
Once you have gone through the signup process and make your payment: you'll generally be given a variety of plans at varying costs, your pin is delivered quickly, usually no longer than a minute. Be aware that for security reasons, often manual verification of the credit card details may be performed to protect you against fraudulent credit card practice but don't worry, this can only be to your advantage. This is usually the case if it is your first purchase.
How Much Will You Spend?
As a rule, for first time phone card users I'd suggest start small. You are given a number of options but a $10 purchase should be sufficient to get you up and running. Depending on the company you sign up with, this amount should get you a minimum of 300 minutes international talk time. Once you have established a relationship with the company, and trust is established, then you should consider "upping the ante." You'll find when you login to re-charge your card, quite often you'll be offered an incentive to go to a higher amount by way of extra talk time for added minimal cost. I often ignore these offers but it is up to you; if you are a regular user then they may be worthwhile accepting.
Your pin number should be memorized and while they are usually made up of up to ten numerals, it's amazing how quickly you'll learn them without referring to them. Online, you are usually safe guarded from either losing or forgetting your number because it is just a simple matter of logging into your account and retrieving it. This is another important consideration with online signups; a quality service should have an area where your pin numbers are stored safely and if they don't you may want to consider joining a service that does.
So, if you have been considering joining the phone card landscape, it's well worth it because of the cheaper calling rates. However, don't rush into any contracts too hastily and do a little due diligence on the provider. Once you have established a good relationship, you'll be wondering why you didn't "cross to the phone card side" sooner.
Are you having a hard time looking for the right phone card to use when calling your loved one abroad? Or are you spending too much buying phone cards but you do not get your money's worth? First of all, before you go and buy another phone card you must first know the terms used in phone cards like Connection Fee, charges made by phone card companies, etc. and factors in buying a phone card.
Terms and Charges:
Prepaid Phone Card ? This is what you buy with a certain amount to enable you to call abroad. Users are allowed to make calls up to the amount of the card purchased. Calls are made by calling a local access number or toll free number and by entering a PIN. But not all cards require you to enter the PIN.
Card Value ? Cards have different denominations which are $2, $3, $5, $20 and $50. The most purchased cards are $5 and $10, make sure that you buy a card that suits your need. Some prefer buying $5 and $10 cards which make them complete their calls without thinking about the maintenance fees, rounding fees and connection fees. Even though a $50 card provides a better rate than $10 card, it can also be pricier comparing it with five $10 cards. Cards also have expiration dates so make sure that you use up all the minutes in your phone cards.
Rate per minute ? Every minute you spend on a call corresponds to an amount which is deducted from the value of the card and also the minutes. Other cards may have lower rates per minute but can have expensive connection fees and other charges.
Connection Fee ? This fee is charged when your call is answered even if it is an answering machine, voice mail, pager or fax. Cards have different connection fees but most do not charge this fee especially cards that have higher rates per minute.
Maintenance Fee - This fee is charged before or after the call was made. Almost all phone card companies charges this fee. It is scheduled weekly, semi-weekly or monthly.
Minutes Rounding ? The length of the call is computed by rounding off the minutes spent in the call. Like for an example a 30 seconds call is rounded off to a 2 minutes call, and a 3 minutes call will become a 4 minutes call.
Expiration Date ? Most cards have expiration date ranging from 2 months to 6 months. It is commonly counted after the first use of the card.
Communication Fee ? The minutes may be attractive but some cards charge this fee and it is usually charged after the call is made. Check before buying to see if the card charges this fee.
Pay-Phone Surcharge ? Using a public pay phone applies a surcharge.
Cell phone calls ? Some phone cards have different calling rates when calls are made to cell or mobile phones.
Tax ? Some cards charge you with monthly or onetime fee which is uncommon. Always remember to check before buying whether your card charges tax, to avoid being unnecessarily charged.
Both Dean Caporella & Krish Puri are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Dean Caporella has sinced written about articles on various topics from Parenting, Golf Guide and Surveys. Dean Caporella is a professional broadcaster.Get the latest news and reviews onplus related information at:. Dean Caporella's top article generates over 74000 views. to your Favourites.
Krish Puri has sinced written about articles on various topics from Your Online Business, Phones and Make Money Online. To learn more about phone card terms and to get your cheap international calling cards, make sure of visiting You will also be able to buy the b. Krish Puri's top article generates over 1300 views. to your Favourites.