One of my kids is going to be studying abroad in Europe this upcoming semester, and so in anticipation of this, I started researching the best ways to make calls to Europe from the US. I’ve learned that it’s generally cheaper to make a call with a calling card, but then I start looking at calling cards, and see that there are about a bajillion options, all with varying prices. Why all the differences, and how do I know what the best calling card is?
This is a good question, and while I have some sense of the ins and outs of calling cards and why they are often not the bargain you think they are, I am going to ask my friend Jonathan Kraft, who runs a calling card research site. Here’s what he explains:
Well, when it comes to calling cards, there are basically two types of calling cards, but they work on the same principle. There are physical cards (like you may see at the front of a grocery store in the “impulse buys” section, and there are “virtual” cards, which you buy online, and the dial-in number, as well as the PIN Code, are sent to your email inbox.
So which is better? Well, the type of card (physical vs. virtual) doesn’t really matter. I prefer the purchase online and get it sent to my inbox method because it’s easier for me.
However, what you want to watch out for is the fine print (Isn’t that always the case?) So, for example, here is a screen shot from a results page of a calling card retailer’s web site, for rates from the Continental US to Australia.
At first glance, the card on the left is the best deal because it offers the lowest per minute rate. But if you look into the fine print of these individual cards, what you discover is that the card on the left is rounding every one of your phone calls by four minute increments. This is great if you only talk for 3 minutes and 59 seconds. But as soon as you talk for 4 minutes and 1 second, this card will count your call as having been 8 minutes.
And when all your time is suddenly used up, and you wonder how the time on the phone could have gone by so quickly, you suddenly will realize that the 4 minute rounding rate may not have been your best option. For this reason, I generally recommend that people make sure their calling cards are rounding calls to 1 minute increments, or, better yet, 1 second increments. I’ve seen cards that will round up to 8 minute increments! If the card you are thinking of using doesn’t say what rounding method it uses, I wouldn’t recommend it at all.
Whether you are purchasing a physical card or a “virtual” card, read the fine print, and find out what rounding method they use, before finalizing your calling card purchase.
Also, one other quick tip: Generally, when calling Europe (or most other places in the world), calling a cell phone is going to be significantly more expensive than calling a land line phone. There are lots of reasons for this, which I won’t go into now, but be aware of it, and make sure that if the person you are calling is using a cell phone, that you are looking for the cheapest rates for calling cell phones in the country you are calling.
Here’s a simple form that lets you do some research to find typical calling card rates, and perhaps some better prices than you’re used to:
Hope that helps you find a good calling card and have your child stay in touch with you for the least amount possible!
Great article! My son is off to camp for 8 weeks (celebrate!) anyway, I used your guide to make sure I wasn’t signing up for any weird charges. I discovered that most cards have billing increments of around 4 minutes but I wasn’t too concerned since my and I will probably be talking for 30 minutes so no big deal but if you’re making short calls then it’s something worth keeping an eye on.
You also want to make sure that they have a good customer support team because if the quality of the call is bad or it won’t connect you want to make sure that they’re there to actually help you out.
I settled on a good site https://www.phonecardselector.com.au/ where some of their cards have billing increments of 1 minute along with reasonable rates, great customer support team but they don’t delete your remaining credit if your card expires, just top it up and they’ll add it to the remaining balance.
It’s funny how everything has changed since this article posted.
It was posted back in 2007. And then iPhones, androids, voip apps boom which gave us free intra-calling between apps no matter the distance or political satiation for new generation.
We’ve got Wi-Fi in every house. No wonder if tomorrow people will drop cell phone plans and start using voip all together. It will happen the question is a time. So love your international calling card like valuable best prepaid retro phone card because as soon as you discover voip apps for cheap online calls you’ll make a permanent switch and forget about traditional scratching pin code ritual!
Peace, People.
Hi, I am using the direct2nation.com international calling card. It is very cheap and reliable.
Dave,
I totally agree with you. I was fooled by 2 companies previously by the fine prints. one of them is Vonage…. yes its true…
but few days ago i received a call from telemarketer and she informed me about a calling card named Airvoice. i was skeptical but took the service, since then i have simply fallen in love with them. no fine prints at all. no stealing and gr8 voice clarity. u rock airvoice.
We totally understand the struggle to find the best calling card deal out there. There are just too many and too confusing to get. It seems like the only way to get the right one is to actually buy and try it which could lead to more disappointments.
If you have to choose between card then choose one that:
has no connection fees
has no hidden fees
has no weekly maintenance fee
has at least one minute rounding or less
has pin less dial option
virtual card
Don’t be fooled with the total minutes you see on the card it is not necessarily what you get. There are fees and other charges involved and it makes a huge impact on your overall talk time.
hi, 5 minutes ago i sent you a complain, but i forget to write a card numbersthe one i used to call lebanon, and lost minutes without talkin to any person just dialling a num,bers and no one answerd,and i call again i loose minutes, for nothing,
a card numbers is ,7554-2001755
regard
hasan touhaili
my name is hasan touhaili,be honest to you,i have been using callin card long time ago, but i notice recently,that ,wheni call lebanon, and no one answerd i loose minutes,every time i dial a number and rings 4 times no on answerd, and i try again i find out loosing minutes, even so, in the end of bolt card saying there is no connection fees,just i wonder what is going on,please reply;
best regard
sir i need a pin code how i comtct u
Hello!
I am a resident of United Arab Emirates
I am looking for cheap phone to phone calls from UAE to India
Do you have any calling plans for this country
I would like to work as a wholesale agent for this product
Please send me details if you have any
Thanks
Shaju Skaria
ramsisco@gmail.com.
Hi ,
I have purchased France telecom international calling card while travelling from France to USA.
But I dont whether I can use it from USA or not.
Please help me out.
Jagadeesha
Luanne, first off, good luck to your husband. I hope his deployment is unexciting and that he’s bored (which is far better than the alternative). Now, in terms of what you describe, I would say that Skype would be your best bet: it can do full video chat, audio only conversations, and if the speed and connection is really terrible, text instant messaging style communication. Good luck!
My husband is deploying overseas, and wanted to know the best way to be able to talk to him? We both have cells and laptops. We also have webcams but don’t know how to use them to talk to one another live. We have been told the base he is going to has wireless internet if that helps.
Hi Dave: I am a TTY user and I do not have a long distance service, but occasionaly I would like to phone my long distance friends (who don’t know how to text or use computer) which is the best card for the Calif. Relay Service (CRS Sprint) Thank you Jpp
A phonecard NOT to get is Kertel. I got it from the French Post office(France Telecom), thinking that was a good reference. The first week it did not work at all( tech problems), after that it would cut off calls I made to the US after about 45 seconds!France Telecom refused to take any responsibility, I had to buy a different card to call home.
I have my cousin in New Jersey.The best way to talk to her is by skype.Skype is totally reliable,quick & easy.Its even better than a cell phone where there’s a lot of network problems.So try out skype and enjoy!!!!! If u want to know more about skype visit http://www.skype.com.
This is a bit late but I just found your site this morning! You’ve done a good job explaining some of the common calling card issues here. I’ve got a blog that’s solely about calling cards – it’s got even more info on how to choose a calling card. If anyone has any further questions about calling card features and options, I’m happy to help! http://callingcardsandphonecards.blogspot.com/
Hi Dave,
great review on the calling card space. I’ve heard about you from jim at blogkits a couple of times about your great starbucks donation method. And now i see you answered a question about phone cards which do now work virtually but have on the go ability to pre program to your cell phone like Pingo at http://www.pingo.com/en/mobileusers.do
take care and keep on writing great answers
what is the best currency to pay in when using skype
Hi Dave, great info. I work for Phonecarddepot.com and I wanted to let you know that skype is really great. Here’s a tip…what I do is program a calling card into my cell phone. If you do that, you don’t have to remember anything and you can just speed dial your son/daughter. I wrote an article on hit here: http://www.phonecarddepot.com/blog/2006/12/programming-calling-cards-into-cellular.html
I don’t expect this article to make it into your comments as it may be viewed as spammy, I just wanted to let you know. Oh, at the site I mentioned at the top, you can even get calling cards for your son/daughter that will work from Europe, you can order it and add them as a recipient at purchase. Once added, your son/daughter will get an email copy of the phone card as well. Hope this helps.
Hi WunderMac!
Thanks for going into detail about SkypeIn. It really is an awesome service, and your explanation above is a perfect application of it.
I have a kid in Europe right now. Skype is the way to go – full spectum sound and while not as totally reliable as a land line phone, it is generally better than a cell phone (can you hear me now?).
Any kid at a university in Europe will have access to a university-provided network. No need to use WiFi so no worries about security. Plus the connection will be high-bandwidth so minimal delays etc. The connection will usually be in the dorm room. Student unions also usually have connectivity.
BRIGHT IDEA NUMBER 2
If your kid is used to chatting with friends via cell phone all over the US, another Skype feature may be useful. You can use a service called Skype In to get a phone number in your own local area. When someone calls this phone number, the Skype gateway connects the phone to your Skype account on your computer. So if the friend is calling (say) from college in Boston to your kids home area in Chicago, Skype will forward the call to the kids computer in Europe (you get a voice mail box in case the computer is off and you can also have if forwarded to another phone at what ever rates apply). The kids use their evenings and weekends or free minutes so the only cost is for the phone number which is 30 Euros (45-50 bucks) for the year.
I make my calls to my family and friend in the Netherlands with a cheaper rate compare to others by using one of the phone cards above. They give a clear voice to both me and my receiver. It’s a nice and simple way to take care of my family and share moments, no matter the distance.
Great suggestion, Dempsey, but I fear that most people have very little idea how to find Internet connectivity in a small town overseas, especially when they don’t speak the language. I’d also be a bit concerned about the security of my Skype account in an unknown small Internet cafe…
Dave. Wouldn’t you count this as a perfect situation for Skype? You mentioned that it was buggy in a business situation, but this seems to be ideal (assuming both parties have `puters and broadband connections).