Look for a calling card that doesn't
charge a connection fee or monthly fee, or tax. Fees take away minutes from your
calling card. You can still take advantage of the low rates on these cards by using
them up in "one lick" to avoid loosing minutes.
Try to use your phone card up in one or two long calls. Why? Because minutes are
rounded off, so too many calls on one card adds up quickly or should I say takes
away from your balance. Also, some cards do not charge an initial connection fee,
but some cards will after you use the card after two or more times.
What is rounding? Some calling cards round to the nearest second, minute, others
3 minutes etc. Rounding means they measure your talk time in increments. For example
if a card is advertising 3 min rounding and you talk for 1 minute the
telecom company will round up to 3 minutes and charge your card for 3 minutes
of talk time. If you talk for 5 minutes the company will round up to 6 minutes and
take away 6 minutes from your card, if you talk for 20 min the Telecom company will
take away 21 minutes from your card and if you talk for 12 minutes they wont take
away any additional minutes because 12 minutes is an exact increment of 3. The lower
the rounded minutes or seconds the better the value of the pre-paid calling card.
Do you want to keep your calling card for longer without loosing minutes in the
form of fees? People who love to chat for endless hours (and that is now possible
with calling card rates getting cheaper every day) with their folks usually buy
the cards with the cheapest rate and use up their cards in one long call, so they
don't have to pay a weekly or maintenance fee. However, you want to keep your card
longer and not pay any additional fees while you keep your card. For your situation,
you need to buy a card not with the cheapest rate/minute but one with a higher rate/minute
but one that doesn't have any maintenance, weekly, or other fees. You will pay a
higher rate/min but in the long run you still save because minutes (in the form
of fees) aren't being taken away from your card while you sleep. Do remember that
most cards expire in 90 days.
Don't use your calling card at a pay phone. If you can, call from home instead because
payphones have a surcharge (about 50 cents). Of course this doesn't apply if you
are at the airport trying to reach someone.
When you buy your card online choose delivery method by email vs. postal mail. Why?
Because there will be a shipping charge added for postal mail (about $2). Email
delivery is free.
Most people will want to use up their phone cards down to the last minute and you
are no exception. Let your party on the other end know that you are using a phone
card, therefore, "just in case" you run out of minutes before you can say goodbye,
then tell them 'bye ahead of time and "just in case" you do get disconnected then
let them know ahead of time, that you will call again some other time. I mention
this because while some cards will let you know ahead of time when there's only
one minute left on your card, but some other cards won't.
Don't use your international phone cards for domestic long distance. Why? Because
your international card is optimized for international need and may not have the
best rate for domestic long distance. Instead, use a pre-paid long distance card
with the best rate for your particular situation.
Related topics: How to get the best deals for your flight,
Select the right travel insurance for your trip
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