by: Emma Lee
Finding ways to make cheap long distance phone calls became very easy the day cell phone companies began offering free long distance. In fact many people have even taken it a step further by eliminating their home phone altogether! But what about if you make international long distance calls? You certainly are not going to use your cell phone provider for this and pay the $1 or $2 a minute charge. So what do you do?
The answer is simple... use an International Phone Card! Most phone cards can save you hundreds of dollars a month, especially if you are a frequent international caller and tend to talk for hours each time. Let's face it most of us have relatives or friends living in another country and we need a cheap way to call them.
How much can you save? To best give you an answer I will share with you my recent cost savings experience: I used to use one of the "big" phone companies to call my cousin in London and the best rate I could get from any of the companies was 13 cents a minute with a month plan fee of $4.95. On the calling card I use today I get calls to London with a very cheap rate of 1 cent a minute with a $0.99 connection fee (not a big del as I talk for over an hour and it is still well over 50% less than $0.13 a minute).
Buyer beware!!! Most phone cards have fees and it is important to note the fine print before buying one of these cards. Some have connection fees, some have 6 minute rounding, some have disconnection fees and some have taxes which can greatly affect the number of minutes you get. But don't despair, there are many cards out there that have good rates and are fairly reliable, you just have to know where to look!
The best place to find good cheap phone cards is on the internet as there are many good sites that carry International Phone Cards. Or if you are not a fan of purchasing online you can always head to your local convenience store or discount club and ask the cashier if you could see their phone cards in stock.
Good luck and remember, PICK CAREFULY!