Not sure what phone card would
be the most economical for your family, business or travel? This article
gives you some great tips!
How do you choose your calling card?
Do you purchase prepaid cards? monthly
billed cards? Here are some excellant tips collected that might help you
choose the right card for your needs.
Research the phonecard of
interest to you. Before purchasing, it is a good idea to check out the
"more info" link next to the card of your choice. You should find that
the dialing instructions are already listed along with rates, information,
and highlights of the card.
Connection Fees or No Connection Fees. Do you know the difference?
A connection fee is the additional fee imposed the telephone company every
time you use your phonecard to make a call. You will not get charged for
a connection fee if the call does not connect, the other party does not
pick up, or you get a busy signal. The amount of the connection fee varies
with each phonecard company. To
check to see if a phonecard has
a connection fee refer to the card's information page or the fine print.
Check our phone cards home page
for some great phone cards.
Depending on your call durations and frequency, cards
with no connection fees can save you more money if you have frequent and
short conversations. If you tend to talk on the phone for an extended
period of time, a card with connection fees may be more suited for your
needs. In general phone cards that
have NO connection fees usually have a higher per minute rate then phone
cards that have connection fees with lower rates. It usually balances
out in the long run.
Speed Dial. Today practically all phones have speed dial. A phonecard
is the perfect opportunity to use your Speed Dial. You can program the
1-800 number, PIN number, and destination numbers on separate speed dialing
keys and press each speed dialing key when appropriate or prompted.
Trouble Connecting. After dialing your destination number there
may be silence. Telecommunications companies in general will experience
temporary difficulties or "blackouts" every now and then. It isn't permanent!
Just hang up if you do not hear anything after 40 seconds and try again
at a later time. You may also call the phonecard
customer service number if the problem persists and inquire as to what
is causing the problem and what they are doing to resolve the problem.
Busy! Busy! Busy! During the major holidays you may get a busy signal. Even though this rately happens, it is due to the high volume of calls made on the phonecard communications center. A good idea might be to make your call during non-peak hours to insure easier access.
Good for one country, good for all...or not. Some phonecards
boast great rates for one country or region, but may not be good for the
rest of the population at all. If a phonecard is good for one specific
country, it is a good idea to use that phonecard for that particular country.
(see our Phone
Cards by Country or you may view all our phone
cards). Some phonecards do not list rates for other countries
because the rates to call these countries are very high. On the other
hand, some cards have good rates for a wide range of countries.
The choice of phonecard and purpose
is entirely up to you but you should put some thought into the card you
purchase.
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