What to consider when buying prepaid calling cards

There are many different rates for international and national calling cards. Why are they so different? Why wouldn't everyone buy the cheapest calling card? The reason is that they all have different hidden ways to make more money off you. You usually have to read the fine print, but what are you looking for? This page outlines the main things you need to look out for, suggests some cheap calling cards and offers other alternatives to calling long distance.

Details you need to check on your calling cards

• Rate - This is how much you are doing to pay per minute for the call. This rate will usually be different if you are calling a international mobile phone. Your calling card rate is an important number, but calling card companies with very low rates usually have other hidden charges. See below.

• Connection Fee - The connection fee (sometimes called the first minute charge) is what you get charged when the call goes through. Some calling cards have connection fees that are as high as $2.00. That means you would pay $2.00 even if you only spoke for a minute.

• Rounding - Most cards will round to the nearest minute, but some cards round to the nearest 3 minutes. If you connect for a minute you will be charged for three. This is not a big deal, if know most of your calls are long.

• Taxes & Misc Fees - Most calling cards will include all taxes and extra fees in the price of the calling rate. Again some calling cards will try and slip extra charges, so check to make sure that these things are included in the rate.

• Maintanance Fees - This is a weekly or monthly amount that will be deducted from your prepaid card. Some calling cards have no maintanance fees, but some will charge you 50 cents or more per week. If you think you are going to use the phone card over several weeks, it might be worth getting one with no maintanance fee.

• Pay Phone Charge - If you are not going to use your calling card on a pay phone, then don't worry about it. Most calling cards will charge you something for using a pay phone. It is normal to see fees of 50 cents.

• Expiration - Many prepaid long distrance cards have different expirations from as short as 45 days to as long as 360 days. Some calling card companies hope that you will not use it all up before the expiration and that's how they make their money. Check to make sure it last for as long as you think you will need it.

• Access Numbers - Some calling cards will have 800 access numbers, but many have local calling numbers. Local access numbers aren't bad, if you live in an area where they have local calling numbers. The 800 numbers might cost a little more, but you can use it from anywhere. For example, if you are at a hotel or motel, you can call anywhere using your calling card and not worry about finding a local number.