If you're looking to save money on international long-distance phone calls (and who isn't?), you can choose from many pre-paid calling card options.

Many are available at general stores ? but beware. While the rates may seem low at first glance, most cards come with hidden charges and fees. And not all cards provide the good quality and reliability.

So how do you choose the correct pre-paid calling card?

You may forgo the corner store altogether, and search for the service you need online.

An example is Pingo which is a different kind of pre-paid calling card service. For starters, it's only available online, so you'll need a debit card to register. But you'll find fantastic rates on international long-distance calls ? just 7.6 cents per minute to anywhere in India, less than two cents per minute to a number in other countries ? with absolutely no hidden fees or surprises. The rates you see are the rates you pay. Period.

The quality of calls made with a Pingo card is awesome. That is mostly due to the fact that Pingo is a service of iBasis, one of the leading "wholesale" carriers in the world. Which means they handle the worldwide call traffic for major phone companies including AT&T and Verizon, as well as over 400 other telephone companies around the world.

In fact, the iBasis network is so well proven that the company has been awarded the best wholesale international carrier in an independent industry study for the last four years.

Being online, Pingo has many advantages. If your minutes run low, you can recharge any time, anywhere ? at the airport, your hotel room, Internet caf?, you name it. Or choose the Auto-Recharge option for added convenience.