International Calling

Can you really get a free prepaid cell calling card? A friend of mine asked me this question just a few days ago. My first reaction was to say no you can't. Why would a company want to do that?

Then I thought about it some and came to the conclusion that I would research this question and find out. So naturally I went to Google. I typed "free prepaid cell phone card" in the search box and clicked on Go. Was I ever surprised when the answer screen appeared with hundreds of search results.

Maybe my first impression was wrong!

So I clicked on a couple of the search results but didn't find any mention of free prepaid cell phone cards. There was plenty of mention about cell phone cards but I had to buy these. Nothing for free here.

I finally found one that looked promising but after filling out a screen with a lot of personal information they then asked for my credit card information. Okay, that's it; I'm out of here.

I found another one that wanted me to fill out one of those endless surveys. You know the kind where you aren't getting out of here with anything free until you buy something

Then I found a website that would give me a free one if I bought one. I could get a free $5 card if I bought a $50 card. That might have been a good deal if I was actually looking to buy a prepaid phone card.

After an hour or so I finally gave up!

My conclusion is this. You might actually find a free prepaid cell calling card if you look really hard. But is it really worth it if you have to spend hours to get a free $5 prepaid phone card?

It's a common question for many consumers, but just why not use a regular telephone service?

And what's so different and nice about prepaid phone cards that so many want to use them these days? The answer is quite simple. Because standard telephone services use a different technology, which is far more expensive and incur higher costs, which reflects in your monthly bills. And that doesn't mean that they couldn't lower their costs, however because the profits are pouring in, this is not an option for them. It's a good thing you have another option.

Better Advances In communication Make Phone Cards More Convenient To Use

Prepaid call cards have been a growing business for the past decade, and from the very early days, these cards were filled with many errors and other technical glitches, that is until the industry stabilized today.

At present, consumers can find a lot of suppliers of call cards, which offer relatively similar rates. As the technology will get even better in the coming years, and with innovations like better VOIP services, clearer digital signals and stuff like that,it is expected for this to play a major role in the communications industry worldwide.

Why Do Some Cards Have Maintenance Fees Or Rounding Charges?

Consumers need to ensure that they get a card which suits their specific calling requirements. It need not have the lowest, or the highest rates, to be the best. If you generally make long calls or if you make calls very often, you can get a card with a maintenance fee or even one with a connection fee, as these types of phone cards offer the lowest rates.

Even if a phone card has a maintenance fee, given that you'll make a lot of long calls and use up the balance quickly, these maintenance fees will be only deducted once or maybe twice, however you get a larger amount of talk time. If you make short or seldom calls, cards that have a 1-second rounding and no maintenance fee would be the best choice. You also won't have to worry about your balance being deducted if you don't use it.

You could also use the card whenever you need it, and your money would still be there even for 1 year or more perhaps. Phone cards can also be used from any active phone line, and even from standard pay phones. However, you need to ensure you are dialing your numbers from a tone-based phone system, as these cards use tones to properly identify the numbers you are dialing, such as the PIN or destination number, so these could not be used from rotary phones.

Call Overseas Or Domestic At Affordable Rates

If you find it hard to get a good long distance phone service at an affordable cost, then prepaid phone cards can truly help. These call cards can be the answer to your needs for a lot of reasons. With prepaid phone cards, you pay as you go so there will never be a chance that you have to pay for huge monthly long-distance phone bills.

As long as you charge your long distance calls on your phone card, expect that you only have to pay for basic service. However, you have to first go through the motions of dialing the card number before you can actually make a call.

Pre-paid phone cards offer services that allow users to save money if they don't regularly use they're phone or if you want to control they're budgets.

Instead of paying monthly charges, you pay as you go for minutes of phone card usage for both incoming and outgoing calls. Prepaid phone card offers calling plans start at $10 and up, and usuall sell at stores in denominations ranging from 10 to 100 dollars.

If you have limited income,have a teenager, or do not use your phone except for emergency purposes, the pre-paid phone service would definitely save you a lot of money. The customer could also reload prepaid phone card call minutes, thru either purchasing time at a convenience store, paying on the internet with a credit-card or pay by calling a toll-free hotline.

Check Your Phone Card's Features

Prepaid phone cards usually have toll-free access phone numbers and personal identification numbers (PIN). When calling, the user first dials the access number and then enters the PIN.

After entering the PIN, an automated voice prompt will ask the user to enter the phone number they are calling, and indicate how much time is left on the card. Phone card merchants keep tab of how much of a card's calling time is used by verifying the card's PIN number. Card owners can add time to the pre-paid phone cards, which they could do by debiting the amount to a credit card. However, if you cannot add time to your card, you will need to purchase a new one when the available time has been consumed.

The major aspect why prepaid phone cards could afford to offer low rates for domestic or overseas calls is that they use a unique technology, either through a tandem of VoIP (Voice over IP) and standard telephone lines to maintain a balance between call quality and low costs.

Tips On Using Prepaid Phone Cards Properly

- Check The Card's Per-Minute Rates

The per-minute rate and amount of time are dependent on the card's denomination and these are usually determined by the merchant. Connection fees may apply depending on where the card was purchased. Domestic rates per minute apply for long distance calls placed anywhere within the U.S mainland.

24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week. Overseas rates are higher than domestic and vary with the call destination. The amount of time available for a particular overseas destination will be provided with use of the card. When the international number is dialed, but before the call is connected, a voice prompt tells the user how many minutes are left.

- Verify If You Could Use Prepaid Cards On Payphones

By following the standard, yet simple instructions on the back of each card, the caller can enjoy the benefits of using prepaid phone cards on a pay phone without the need for using a lot of coins. The high costs that are aligned with using a pay telephone are also avoided. On calls originating from a pay phone, an Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandated surcharge will be included.

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