It can get pretty pricey to call other countries. There are international phone cards that can help you keep track of how much you spend on international calls. Phone cards are a great way to call someone in another country, so it's important to know how to choose the best one.
A phone card will help you in more than one way. With a phone card, you can call other countries for a set, pre-paid amount. This keeps you from spending too much and lets you plan your spending. Phone cards are also a very useful thing to have. People often block international calls from their home phones, especially if they have teenagers. This is to stop people from calling by accident. Having a phone card makes sure that only international calls that are meant to be made are made.
There are a lot of things to think about when choosing an international phone card. The goal should be to get as much as possible from the card for as little money as possible. If you look around and compare different cards, you can get a great deal. Try a price search engine. The list below shows some of the things you should look at and compare between the cards before you choose one.
- The price per minute. For each international call, you should always know how much you will be charged per minute. Most likely, the best rates will be on phone cards that are made specifically for international calls. Also, make sure you don't mix up domestic and international rates.
- Any changes in the rate. This means that you should make sure the same rate is charged all day, every day. Some cards may have different rates at different times of the day or depending on whether it is the weekend or a weekday. This also includes any other changes in rates, like the first minute costing more than the rest.
- Fees. When you use a phone card, you might have to pay a lot of fees. If you aren't careful, fees could eat up all of your money. You should find out if you will be charged for calls that don't get answered or end because the line is busy. Another worry is connection or surcharge fees. There is sometimes a fee every time a call is made. Maintenance fees are sometimes charged every time the card is used, even if the card is not being used. It's important to know about fees because fees take money that could have been used for call time.
- How to use the card. You should make sure you know how the card works inside and out. You should know what local access number to call, how to enter your PIN, and the basics of how to use the card, like if you can make more than one call without having to hang up and enter the card information again. You should also ask if you will be notified when your calling time is almost up. This is a useful feature that keeps calls from getting cut off in the middle. You should also know when the card will expire so you can use it before it's no longer good.
- Service to Customers. You should find out what number to call for customer service and when customer service is open.
All of these are things you should think about with each phone card. To find the best phone card, you should also compare them between different cards. If you choose the best international phone card, you can save a lot of money.
