A Review of International Calling Products and Services from the editors of SmartGlobalCall.com. Find Objective Information on Prepaid Products such as Phone Cards as well as Information on VoIP, Prepaid Long Distance, International Callback and More.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Stay Connected When Traveling With A Calling Card
Using your cell phone from another country can get very expensive, very quickly so how do you avoid getting hit by huge bills once you’re back in the country? International calling cards are the answer. You can use your calling card pretty much wherever you are; use it with landline phones, phone booths and even your own mobile phone. Not only are calling cards convenient and easy to use, they are still the cheapest way to make international calls by a long stretch.
Phone cards are easy to pick up with most airports and convenience stores stocking them, so you can pick them up just before you go to jet off. The phone card set up may seem like an old system but it continues to work well so why change it? The phone card works like a credit card and is available in various amounts so you can keep an eye on your spending. You pre-pay for the card and the amount of money you spend correlates with the amount minutes you are given.
When you purchase your phone card you will be given a PIN number which you dial before dialing the phone number of the person you want to call. The card will connect via an access number which is either toll-free or local access. Once you have used up all the minutes on the card you can just dispose of it and buy a new one. Some cards are even refillable and you can top them up over the phone.
Calling cards are great for those traveling abroad. They make it easy to stay in touch with friends and family whilst still moving around. The other option is to apply for a long distance plan or service but this can sometime tie you up to a contract and aren’t as convenient as the simple phone card. You can take the card with you wherever you travel and use it through your cell phone or any landline phone.
When choosing the best calling card for your travel make sure you take into consideration all the various options that are available on the market. Look out for cards with added convenience features and don’t get caught out by any additional carrier fees. Also make sure that customer services will be available for you wherever you are in the world should anything go wrong with your phone card.
For more information on keeping the cost of international calling down whilst traveling, visit the Smart Global Call website.
How To Save Money On Your International Phone Bill
Most phone cards work on a prepaid basis nowadays, as this means that you can keep in touch with people all over the world whilst still enjoying very competitive prices. The prepaid card works on the basis that you pay for the full value of long distance rates or for a certain number of minutes, in advance of using the card. The best place to get a good deal on an international calling card is the internet. Here you will find that the rates are at their most competitive due to low overheads and fierce competition between companies offering the same service.
When it comes to cheap international calling with prepaid phone cards then you need look no further than Smart Global Call. They are committed to finding you the cheapest rates on international calls and their site makes it easier for you to compare rates, phone card features and lots more. Smart Global Call is your one-stop shop for phone cards with a wide range of products that can be used in over 130 countries.
Phone cards are a great for those looking to make cheap domestic and international long distance phone calls. They are simple to use and can be used from any kind of telephone to help keep your international phone bill down. Whether you are a student, off on your travels, military personnel or just someone looking to cut down on costs on international phone calls then you need a phone card.
You’re probably not alone if you think of a phone card as something that is quite old fashioned. But if it has been a while since you’ve actually used one you will see that they have improved drastically. Many of the old cards would have cheap rates but the call quality was terrible. Some also had hidden fees that you had to watch out for. Nowadays, you can get some really high quality phone cards that combine top quality connections with competitive tariffs. These are perfect for those who find themselves traveling a lot and simply have to make important international calls but don’t want to be hit with huge fees.
If you don’t like the idea of using a phone card then another option to keep the cost of international calls down is a prepaid long distance calling plan. There are lots of plans out there to choose from but they all work on the same basis of making international calls cheaper. You can make your call from any phone in the USA or Canada without out even needing to change companies. The calls go through a low cost network by dialing a local or toll free access number. With most networks there is no charge to open and maintain an account.
Most prepaid calling plans have extra features to enjoy as well. This will differ between networks of course, but look out for these add-ons as they will more than likely benefit from having them.
For more information on lowering your international phone bill, why not visit the Smart Global Call website and see if you can save yourself some money!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Special Rates on Calls to India for Diwali Holiday
In addition to the low rate to India. People who sign-up for Rebtel before January 31, 2011 and deposit as little as $10 can get $5 in Free Calls by using Promo Code REBTEL5. Those interested in more information on Rebtel should visit Call to India for only 1.5c
Monday, October 25, 2010
Questions to Ask When Choosing a Prepaid Phone Card
The FTC indicates that "some" calling cards come with hidden fees that will reduce the minutes of talk time purchased. In our opinion, most phone cards come with hidden fees or taxes that will reduce the minutes purchased or increase the advertised rate per-minute to a specific location. Consumers should be aware of this and try to find a phone card with a fee structure that works best for them. A few phone cards have very low fees or, in some cases, no hidden fees but these are relatively rare and usually have higher advertised rates in order to make up for their lack of hidden fees. A couple that come to mind are the AT&T Phone Card and the Tel3Advantage prepaid calling plan. Both of these prepaid products have no hidden fees or taxes but higher advertised rates per-minute. Not all hidden fees are bad, there are other international phone cards with low fees but the fee structure tends to vary between phone cards so consumers should understand how these work so they can find the optimum prepaid phone card for their situation. The FTC advised that consumers should ask the following before making a phone card purchase:
Are fees going to decrease the value of the phone card? Some common fees to look for:
- Post-Call, Disconnect or hang-up fees: these are charged each time a user hangs up the phone after using the card.
- Maintenance fees: charges deducted from the value of the card shortly after using the card and at regular intervals thereafter.
- Pay Phone Surcharges: charges deducted if you use the card at a pay phone.
We would like to add a few common hidden fees that the FTC failed to mention.
- Many cards charge a connection fee: This is a charge made each time a call is connected using the card. In our opinion, this is one of the worst hidden charges because the same charge is made for short or long calls and for calls made to a mis-dialed number.
- Phone Cards use a rounding interval for billing purposes: This hidden charge is hard for most individuals to understand. Phone cards use a rounding interval for billing purposes. These range from a few seconds to 6 or even 10 minutes. What this means is that the length of the call will be increased to the next rounding interval and the customer will be charged for that many minutes. An example will help explain the process; Assume a person makes a 30 second phone call using 3 phone cards with different rounding intervals. These are cards with 1, 3 and 6 minute rounding intervals for billing purposes. The caller would be billed for a one minute call using the first phone card (rounded to the next 1 minute), a 3 minute call using the second phone card and a 6 minute call using the third card. It is easy to see how this can make a big difference in the cost of a call and is a well disguised hidden fee that even the FTC did not mention.
- A long call fee: Some phone cards will charge an extra fee for calls that last over a certain number of minutes.
- A user fee: Some cards simply charge a user fee. This is applied like a sales tax that will be charged as a percentage of the charge for the call. These fees typically range between 15 and 30% so they can significantly increase the cost of a call.
We agree with most of the comments made by the FTC in their consumer alert. We especially believe that consumers should look for a phone card merchant that has a toll-free customer service phone number and that consumers should purchase phone cards they are not familiar with in small denominations. We would like to add one more piece of advice. Be especially suspicious of phone cards that advertise extremely low rates relative to the competition. These may offer very poor quality connections or have some well disguised hidden charges, in any case, the old adage even works with phone cards "if it seems too good to be true than it probably is not true".
Sunday, October 17, 2010
How to make Cheap International Calls to Asia
Rates on calls to some countries is Asia are still relatively high. For example, a good rate on an international call from North America to the Philippines is still around 9 cents per-minute and calls to countries like Afghanistan, Myanmar and Nepal can be much higher. We did find a great rate on calls to the Maldives from the USA and Canada. Tel3Advantage offers a rate of only 8.9 cents per minute (plus up to 101 free minutes) through their Triple Promotion for new customer's. This rate includes all fees and taxes and is far better than anything else on the market. It is only good for the first 30 days but it may be all that some people need. Those interested in the Triple Promo rate to the Maldives and any other location should visit Tel3Advantage or call 800 441 0321 for details. They have some of the best rates on international calls to Asia and other locations from the USA and Canada. Tel3Advantage is also very easy to use. It can be used from any phone with any existing phone service (land-line or mobile) and does not require monthly fees or a contract. A customer simply deposits some money and uses the service whenever they like and any unused money will simply stay in the account. High quality service, convenience and flexibility has made Tel3Advantage on of the most popular prepaid calling service providers in North America.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Prepaid Phone Cards for Mobile Phones
Mobile phone service providers typically charge $1 or more per minute for international calls while the same call can be made for a few cents per minute with a prepaid phone card. A very popular prepaid calling plan used by mobile phone users in the USA and Canada is the Tel3Advantage Flex Plan. It can be used to make cheap international calls from any cell phone without changing companies and with no long term contract or other commitment. It is a simple to use prepaid service that can be used on a short or long term basis. Tel3Advantage does not charge any service fees, taxes or other hidden charges so the rate per minute advertised on their website to a destination is the actual rate charged (rounded up to the next minute). They even provide customers with an on-line account where they can view the details for each call made from their account so their billing is completely transparent. Tel3 also offers an application (TEL3Apps) so SMART phone users can make international calls from their phones without calling an access number or dialing any extra numbers. That is one reason why Tel3Advantage is one of the most popular prepaid calling plans for making international calls from mobile phones.
Prepaid phone cards are also a popular means of making international calls from mobile phones. A wide selection of international phone cards can be conveniently purchased on-line and can be used to make low cost international phone calls from almost any location in the world. They offer convenience, flexibility, low cost and a wide range of features. On-line phone cards are also stored in a users account and several premium cards also have features like call history, PIN free dialing and auto-recharge which makes them a convenient alternative for international calling. Rates and hidden fees vary widely between phone cards so care should be taken when shopping for phone cards. In most cases the advertised or listed rates per-minute for calls do not include all fees and taxes so read the fine print before making a purchase. In any case, the rate charged for international calls using prepaid phone cards will be than that charged by a mobile phone service provider.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Global Calling using a Single Phone Card
