Calling Card Tips

Calling cards are blue, while, green, and purple. Calling cards allow you to make both domestic and international calls.

Calling cards can be real physical cards, or they can be "virtual" calling cards, without a real physical card. Dial-arounds also provide an identical service and can be considered "virtual calling cards".

But, what should you look for in a calling card?

Calling Cards Should Make Calling Cheap

Of course, the calling card you want should make calling as cheap as possible. Everyone agrees with that.

But, what factors should you consider when determining the cost of using your calling cards?

You need to read the details about the card. That's the "fine print" many people ignore. These details affect the usefulness of the card and the actual price of your calls.

Calling Cards Fine Print

Watch out for these factors when purchasing your calling cards:

Expiration Dates: Cheap calling cards often come with expiration dates. Often this means that 90 days after their first use, the cheap calling card expires. When it expires, it takes any value remaining with it. That is, you loose any remaining value and the calling card company keeps that value.
Solution: Look for calling cards with no expiration date.
Not Rechargable: Cheap calling cards are often purchased for a set fee. This is the total value of the card and you cannot add any money to the card. When the card has only a small amount of value left, you can no long effectively make calls with the card and just throw it away. Any remaining money on the card is retained by the calling card company.
Solution: Purchase only rechargable calling cards.
Maintenance Fees: Cheap calling cards often come with maintenance fees. This means that a "maintenance fee" of 49¢ to a dollar is deducted from the remaining value of the calling card every month, or in some cases, every week. This rapidly depleats the value of the card.
Solution: Purchase a calling card with no maintenance fees.
Surcharges: Cheap calling cards often have a "connection charge" or other calling charge every time you use the card. These surcharges add to the profits of the calling card companies.
Solution: Purchase a calling card with no surcharges.
NOTE: Every calling card must charge you a "pay phone fee" when you make a toll free call from a pay phone to the calling card company to initiate your call.

So, how do these factors affect the rate of your calls?

Cheap Calling Card Example

Consider a calling card with a 49¢ per week maintenance fee.

Suppose you purchase a non-rechargable calling card for $20 with a 49¢ per week maintenance fee. The calling card allows you to call Germany for 20 minutes each week to talk with your family. The "cheap calling card" charges 3.8¢ per minute for your call to Germany. That's a great rate.

So, how much is your call? 3.8¢ per minute times 20 minutes is 76¢.

But wait! There is also a 49¢ maintenance fee. So the total cost is 76¢ plus 49¢ or $1.25. That raises the effective price per minute to 6.25¢ per minute.

That's quite a jump from 3.8¢ per minute to 6.25¢ per minute. Now wait a minute. That rate is not quite so good.

Plus, this card expires 3 months after the first use. You'll lose the remaining value This raises the price per minute even more.

Cheap Calling Card Options

Consider the following calling cards / dial-around services. Their cheap rates are not augmented by maintenance fees, surcharges, or expiration dates. And, they are rechargable.

Calling Cards
You will find a large selection of calling cards for calling within the US as well as making international calls.
Tel3 Dial Around
Tel3 is a dial-around company. You can consider this a "virtual calling card" that can be used from any phone. There are several rate plans: Premium, Standard, and International. The Standard plan has no monthly fees with very good rates.
The Tel3 standard rate plan charges 2.9¢ per minute for domestic calls. To Germany, its rate is 7¢ per minute from a local phone number.

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