Do a search on one of the major search engines like Google or yahoo for international calling cards and you will find more than a million pages offering them to you. Many state that they're the best, but how do you really know? It is important for you to educate yourself on many different things before making a purchase. Rates per minute can be attractive sometimes, but other things like maintenance fees can really screw up your investment. For example, sometimes you'll have pin-free access to a card, but the voice quality will suffer.
You want to ask yourself, "How am I going to be using the international calling cards that I purchase?" You may be a person who is going to talk a lot. If that is the case, you'll probably lean more towards a product with a low price per minute. Beware though, because these cards can have maintenance fees. If you don't use the cards that often, you can go with a non-fee card that has a higher cost per minute. Whatever you decide, my desire is for this article to help you in your decision.
International calling cards and their rates.
Rates on international calling cards can vary greatly. There are many factors that come into play when purchasing international calling cards. The country that you are calling from, and the country that you are calling to are some of the most important things to consider because many times international calling card companies purchase their own time from companies like Verizon and AT&T. You will actually often find their rates on the calling cards are cheaper than long-distance.
Is quality important to you?
The world we live in today is much different than the world that we lived in even just five years ago. Today, we have technologies like VOIP and others allowing calling card companies that offer international calling cards, to have extremely high quality phone lines. Typically, AT&T, Sprint and other companies simply resell their phone lines to international calling card operators. On many sites, such as zcallingcards.com, you'll actually find quality ratings from users who have previously purchased the cards you are looking at online. This can be extremely helpful to you in making our decision.
Will my card be rechargeable?
If you are going to be using your card often, and purchasing a lower dollar amount, you want to make sure that you are purchasing a card that is easy to recharge. Some cards don't allow you the ability to recharge them quickly. In these cases, you actually have to go online and purchase a brand-new card, get a brand-new pin, and have a whole new card number. My personal recommendation is to look for international calling cards that are easy to recharge. These cards can be charged by simply logging on to the Internet or calling a certain phone number. Quickly, efficiently, and easily.
"Holy connection fee, Batman!"
Often overlooked, connection fees can really add up with international calling cards. The way that connection fees work is this. Once you make your call, if your card has a connection fee, you will be charged the fee upon hitting a certain number of minutes in the call. In other words, if you are connection fee is one dollar, and it comes into play after three minutes into your conversation your card will be deducted one dollar after three minutes of your call. Not all international calling cards have connection fees. Typically, it's the ones that have extremely low rates per minute.
Fees for maintaining your international calling card.
Once again, many cards that are on the lower per minute side will often have a weekly or monthly maintenance fee. This can be as little as a penny per week, or as much as five dollars per week. if you are going to be talking a lot, it's a good idea to have a maintenance fee because you're getting such a low cost per minute that it makes up for it. However, if you are not going to be talking that much on the phone, it is important to not have a maintenance fee.
Where do my minutes round.
Get this... international calling cards have many different rounding intervals. Some cards may round at three minutes and others may round at one minute. Your goal should be to find international calling cards that have the lowest minute rounding possible. That way, when you speak for 45 seconds, you will be charged for one minute... not for five. Sure, a four second per minute rate sounds great on many international calling cards! But it's not so great when your minutes are depleting like crazy on your card because you have a five minute rounding point.
Pay phone charges.
While payphones are not that popular anymore, international calling card companies understand that they are still a part of life. One of the things to look at in the fine print is whether or not the international calling cards you're looking in to have a payphone fee. This fee, while often hidden, will actually charge your card as much as a dollar every single time you use a pay phone with your international calling cards.
So, in summary, take a look in your lifestyle and the way that you're going to be using your international calling cards. Then do some research on the Internet and find the one that fits your needs the best. Remember, think about how often the card is going to be used, how long your conversations are going to be, whether or not you are going to be using payphones with your international calling cards and other things. It does seem kind of confusing at first, but after you get the hang of it, there's nothing to it.
You want to ask yourself, "How am I going to be using the international calling cards that I purchase?" You may be a person who is going to talk a lot. If that is the case, you'll probably lean more towards a product with a low price per minute. Beware though, because these cards can have maintenance fees. If you don't use the cards that often, you can go with a non-fee card that has a higher cost per minute. Whatever you decide, my desire is for this article to help you in your decision.
International calling cards and their rates.
Rates on international calling cards can vary greatly. There are many factors that come into play when purchasing international calling cards. The country that you are calling from, and the country that you are calling to are some of the most important things to consider because many times international calling card companies purchase their own time from companies like Verizon and AT&T. You will actually often find their rates on the calling cards are cheaper than long-distance.
Is quality important to you?
The world we live in today is much different than the world that we lived in even just five years ago. Today, we have technologies like VOIP and others allowing calling card companies that offer international calling cards, to have extremely high quality phone lines. Typically, AT&T, Sprint and other companies simply resell their phone lines to international calling card operators. On many sites, such as zcallingcards.com, you'll actually find quality ratings from users who have previously purchased the cards you are looking at online. This can be extremely helpful to you in making our decision.
Will my card be rechargeable?
If you are going to be using your card often, and purchasing a lower dollar amount, you want to make sure that you are purchasing a card that is easy to recharge. Some cards don't allow you the ability to recharge them quickly. In these cases, you actually have to go online and purchase a brand-new card, get a brand-new pin, and have a whole new card number. My personal recommendation is to look for international calling cards that are easy to recharge. These cards can be charged by simply logging on to the Internet or calling a certain phone number. Quickly, efficiently, and easily.
"Holy connection fee, Batman!"
Often overlooked, connection fees can really add up with international calling cards. The way that connection fees work is this. Once you make your call, if your card has a connection fee, you will be charged the fee upon hitting a certain number of minutes in the call. In other words, if you are connection fee is one dollar, and it comes into play after three minutes into your conversation your card will be deducted one dollar after three minutes of your call. Not all international calling cards have connection fees. Typically, it's the ones that have extremely low rates per minute.
Fees for maintaining your international calling card.
Once again, many cards that are on the lower per minute side will often have a weekly or monthly maintenance fee. This can be as little as a penny per week, or as much as five dollars per week. if you are going to be talking a lot, it's a good idea to have a maintenance fee because you're getting such a low cost per minute that it makes up for it. However, if you are not going to be talking that much on the phone, it is important to not have a maintenance fee.
Where do my minutes round.
Get this... international calling cards have many different rounding intervals. Some cards may round at three minutes and others may round at one minute. Your goal should be to find international calling cards that have the lowest minute rounding possible. That way, when you speak for 45 seconds, you will be charged for one minute... not for five. Sure, a four second per minute rate sounds great on many international calling cards! But it's not so great when your minutes are depleting like crazy on your card because you have a five minute rounding point.
Pay phone charges.
While payphones are not that popular anymore, international calling card companies understand that they are still a part of life. One of the things to look at in the fine print is whether or not the international calling cards you're looking in to have a payphone fee. This fee, while often hidden, will actually charge your card as much as a dollar every single time you use a pay phone with your international calling cards.
So, in summary, take a look in your lifestyle and the way that you're going to be using your international calling cards. Then do some research on the Internet and find the one that fits your needs the best. Remember, think about how often the card is going to be used, how long your conversations are going to be, whether or not you are going to be using payphones with your international calling cards and other things. It does seem kind of confusing at first, but after you get the hang of it, there's nothing to it.
About the Author:
Industry expert and Calling Card Guru Rodger Strouden is available to help you seek international calling cards quickly at no charge by searching his international phone cards on thousands of calling cards. This and other unique content 'international calling cards' articles are available with free reprint rights.
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