How do long distance calling cards work?

Long distance phone cards explained

Long distance calling cards operate like general local area phone cards with a few technical differences because of the nature of domestic long distance and international phone calls. The basic attributes of most phone cards:

• You purchase prepaid calling cards with the number of minutes of your choice (e.g., 60, 100, 200, 300, etc.)
• You can “recharge” your calling cards at the merchant from whom you purchased it, at another merchant who is authorized to reload the card you have, or, for most online calling cards, just visit your company’s Web site and add more minutes online.
• You can use your minutes to make local and long distance calls within the U.S.
• International calls will normally result in a “surcharge”, resulting in a deduction of some minutes because of the extra cost to connect to overseas phone systems.
• You are able to check on your remaining minutes using an 800 number or online at the long distance service Web site.

If you make regular international phone calls, you should consider one of the prepaid international phone cards. Instead of having minutes (which is money) deducted from your phone card, you will have already factored in any international rate differences. This saves you from any unpleasant surprises with mysterious minute reductions.

Don’t be afraid to shop around as calling card rates will differ from company to company. Here is a simple example that illustrates this fact. Example Company calling cards can be purchased online: a 60 minute phone card costs $5.49, while a 100 minute calling card is priced at $8.49.

Therefore, your cost, using a 60 minute prepaid calling card, is $0.0915 per state-to-state minute. But, if you use a 100 minute phone card, your cost is only $0.0849 per state-to-state minute for that same long distance phone call! In this example, we are not even comparing competing companies.

Shop around to get the best deal. The information is all there for you to determine the best option. Be sure to set aside a small amount of time to sort through the information and make the best choice.