Calling Cards

A very convenient feature for phone cards is the speed-dial. This allows you to remember the phone numbers you call most often, and then you don’t have to dial them again. BUT mind you, if you’re familiar to the procedure (from storing numbers on speed dial on you mobile), learn that this is different.  You store your preferred numbers on your calling card account.

Let’s say you’ve stored the phone number 555-7733, and you associate it with the number 7. Ook. So: when you will use your calling card to call that number, you will dial: access number + PIN number + 7. Instead of dialing access number + PIN number + 555-7733.

And here’s the catch: this setup will work from any phone you place your international calls! I honestly consider this feature to be a useful one, and I use it A LOT (I can register up to 9 numbers. Yepee!).

With this new feature you can speed dial, and talk for as long as you want – given the low rates you get by using a phone card for your international calls. And with more and more attention being paid to usability, there’s a great chance that more and more people will start using prepaid calling cards for international calls. And for good reason too! They will cut the costs of making calls abroad in half or so!

Weather if you’re Brazilian and have moved away from your country, or if someone dear to you has moved to Brazil, I want to present you with a great way of keeping in touch with your loved ones! Introducing… calling cards!

Calling cards are a great way of saving money when calling Brazil from… anywhere! If you’re calling from the US for example, you get as low a rate as 1.9 cents a minute to landlines, and an astonishing 10.9 cents per minute, calling mobile phones. These rates are for using Local Access Numbers (but you can easily find these on the websites of your calling cards providers, like www.nobelcom.com, for example, or www.bananacall.com.

Ok… so, here’s how this works: you visit a calling card provider site. You register for an account. Then you’re given a PIN number and an Access Number (however, this is a toll-free access number, which, as a bottom line cost, will be more than if you use a Local Access Number). As soon as you have the PIN number of your account and an access number, you can start making calls to any phone in Brazil using your calling cards (mobiles included).

So there’s no need to ever again worry about spending too much when calling friends and family in Brazil. No need to cut short all your phone conversations, now you can finally stay on the phone and tell all your stories! Brazil calling cards will truly help you cut costs on your bill! Check them out, and here’s another tip: some providers will even give you free calling cards trials!

Cell phone calling cards offer their users a huge convenience. You are not only free to go wherever you want with your cell phone, but there is no need to worry about an outrageous phone bill at the end of the month. Prepaid phone cards, also referred to as “pay as you go” plans, are ideal for individuals on a strict budget. You can purchase a prepaid cell phone calling card for the value that best fits your needs and your finances. Prepaid cell phone calling card minutes are also great for teenagers. You can provide them with a calling card each month and once the time has expired, there are no overage charges to worry about. Cell phone calling card providers offer convenient pay as you go services, many offer free mobile phones or special reduced prices on new cell phones. There are also no long-term contracts and few termination fees. People who would enjoy the accessibility of a cell phone for emergencies or to keep in touch with family find the prepaid minutes along with a free mobile phone the perfect choice. Cell phone prepaid calling cards can be easily purchased at a number of common places. Many gas stations, newsstands, and even some grocery stores offer great values on discounted calling card rates.

Cell phone prepaid calling cards which ones better?

Selecting the best calling card provider and cell phone calling card plan to meet your needs can be a difficult decision. There are hundreds of phone card choices. How do you decide which one is right for you? Do you know what you should look for when choosing a phone card provider? Many cell phone prepaid calling cards offer low rates or special calling plans with no monthly fee. Always read the fine print on the card and check for any restrictions that may apply to the calling card. Some calling cards include hidden charges, the most common being that each call is rounded up to the next whole minute. You should also ask about possible connection fees as well as extra charges for long phone calls. You will want to choose a calling card company that offers quality customer service to quickly resolve any problems you may have. Most cell phone calling card providers usually activate the card at the time of purchase and most prepaid calling cards have a short life before they expire. If you will not use your cell phone prepaid calling card very often, you should look for the card with the longest time before expiration.

As you shop for a cell phone prepaid calling card, consider these questions:

· What plans are available?
· Are there global roaming rates?
· What are the service and warranty agreements?
· What are the contract terms and what are the penalties for breaking the contract?
· Will the provider allow you to transfer an existing cell phone number?
· Are there any talk and text packages available?
· Are calls within the network free?
· Do they offer any times when calls are free?
· What kind of coverage is available?

Will a cell phone calling card benefit you?

The most attractive feature of prepaid cell phone cards is the ability to regulate your monthly mobile phone bill. At any given time, you can check your usage and know exactly how many minutes remain on your phone. Cell phone calling cards are becoming more and more popular, especially as card rates continue to decrease, but many cell phone users are still not well informed of the benefits of prepaid calling cards.

Source: phonecard.terapad.com

If it’s true we’re all accustomed to see “made in China” in a lot of cheap products, it’s also true that the same can apply to china calling card phone charges when you’re placing a call from the US to China. In fact, this happens not only from the US but nearly from every other Western country too. So, how can you keep in touch with your Chinese friends, suppliers, or customers, without spending a fortune on phone bills?

The answer is quite simple and has been available for a while now: a china calling card! Just like the international phone cards from MCI and AT&T, it will greet you with the best phone rates every time you make use of a china calling card. You can now spend all the time you want over the phone, without worrying about how many minutes have elapsed since you began the call.

The important part of any phone conversation is what you have to say (and listen) – so, why should you be worrying about how much you’re paying for each minute, or how much it will affect your next phone bill? Using a “china calling card” is your best option, to keep your phone costs under control, and be able to have some relaxed conversation over the phone, just like it was any other local call.

If you want to purchase a prepaid calling card online or over the counter, you will quickly see that there are thousands of cards available. So, how do you choose the right phone card for your individual needs?

Begin by asking yourself the following questions, or go directly to the Basic Usage & Suggestions portion of this page. You may also want to consult the Glossary of Terms.
Questions to Ask Prior to Purchasing a Prepaid Phone Card

1) What rate does the card offer to my calling destination
(typically shown as ¢/min)?
Confirm rates before you call and remember that some rates may fluctuate. Also, calls made to international cell phones are generally billed at a higher rate.

2) Do the rates vary depending on the hour of the day?
Be sure that the rate you receive remains constant throughout the entire day. Unless otherwise stated, the advertised rate should be constant no matter what time of day.

3) What is the Minute Billing or Minute Rounding schedule for the card?
Rounding (mintue billing) refers to the increments in which phone calls are billed. For example, with 3 minute rounding, a 4 minute phone call would be billed as a 6 minute phone call. With 1 minute rounding, the same 4 minute call would be billed as a 4 minute call.

4) Will I be charged for calls that do not connect?
Know in advance if you will be charged for attempting a call that does not connect. Please confirm this with the carrier by contacting their customer service department.

5) Are there any additional fees or taxes?
Some phone card s include additional fees and/or taxes. Adding these fees allows carriers and retailers to to keep their advertised rates extra low. You can avoid many types of additional fees and taxes by using all of your minutes in one call. Remember… fees and taxes effectively reduce the number of minutes you’ll receive.

Further, not all calling cards retailers are created equal. Many will not disclose all fees and taxes, so be sure to ask before you buy. A retailer using best business practices will reveal all known taxes and fees to you up front.

6) Can I reach a customer service operator 24 hours a day?
Being able to get a hold of your phone card ’s customer service department is important because they will be able to help you with any unforeseen issues that may arise at any time during the day.

7) Does the phone card have an expiration date?
If yes, any remaining minutes on the card past this date will be lost.

Does the merchant/retailer offer any form of guarantee?
Most prepaid phone card companies do not offer any guarantee on their products. There are , however, a handful of companies that do. A guarantee will further ensure that you get the minutes you pay for.

9) Does the company I am researching appear to be trustworthy?
Look for signs of generating trust: Visible phone numbers, privacy policy, BBB membership, secure transactions, warranties and guarantees.

10) How will I receive my prepaid phone card after purchase?
Typically, if purchasing over the Internet, your phone card will be presented to via email or right on screen pending a successful transaction and acceptance by your bank. Some companies may send you a physical card, but in most cases the delivery occurs by email or right on your screen.

Every month, millions of people buy thousands of different calling cards from over-the-counter retailers such as convenience stores, gas stations, liquor/beer stores, and large retailers like Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and Costco. With such a wide variety of options available (locations to buy from and number of cards), trying to find the right calling card for your needs can be a daunting task. Fortunately, a small number of savvy online calling card retailers have made buying a calling card easier than ever before.
It’s also a good idea to find out if a guarantee is offered. Do not settle for anything less.

Here are three reasons to consider buying your next calling card online vs. over the counter.

   1. Total Shopping Convenience
   2. Accurately Advertised Rates
   3. Dedicated Customer Support

1. Total Shopping Convenience

From the comfort of your home via your personal computer, quickly and easily compare prepaid calling cards that are ideal for calling to any country worldwide. Most calling card retailers offer multiple cards for you to compare by displaying them in an easy to read top-down format, which aligns card details, rates, and available denominations.

After finding the right calling card for your needs you can buy it within a few clicks. Leading retailers make your purchase secure and easy by offering trusted payment options like PayPal or Google Checkout, in addition to credit cards or debit cards. Some even allow you to purchase with a money order or personal check. Upon approval, your calling card PIN and dialing instructions will be sent to you via email and posted to your online account for future access.

    TIP: Before purchasing a calling card from any online retailer, look for trust symbols and seals related to safe shopping (i.e. Verisign), business associations (i.e. Better Business Bureau), guarantees and even third party security partners (i.e. McAfee Secure).

2. Accurately Advertised Rates
The Internet makes it very easy for online calling card retailers to publish rate updates for any of their products in real-time or near real-time. As a result, you will see much more accurate advertised rate schedules for any of the calling cards you are interested in comparing or purchasing. Some retailers even publish a time stamp to let you know when a card’s rates last changed.

    TIP: Research indicates that most advertised rates are based upon exhausting all available minutes on a calling card in a single call. If there are not any minutes left, on a calling card then the carrier cannot assess any additional fees; fees directly reduce the number of available minutes on a calling card. As such, customers should consider purchasing the lowest available denomination, which will allow them to enjoy their conversation and exhaust all available minutes in one phone call. If you plan to leave minutes remaining on your calling card, consider purchasing one with no fees beyond the advertised per minute rate. These are known as “clean calling cards.”

3. Dedicated Customer Support
Buy a calling card online and get the benefit of having access to two customer support teams (Retailer and Carrier). The carrier is your primary contact for card performance inquiries and the retailer can help you with any purchase related questions.

    TIP: Consider buying a calling card from a retailer that clearly publishes customer support and contact information for the carrier and themselves. It’s also a good idea to find out if a guarantee is offered. Do not settle for anything less.

Choosing a least cost routing (LCR) solution is a complicated process that requires the company to know how the phone is used, by whom, calling where and what the cost is. LCR is a process whereby a phone call is diverted from a major carrier to go on the pipes of another provider, be in a cellular provider or Voice over Internet Protocol provider, to cut costs. This process is mostly used in the international telecommunications space. The company that wishes to use LCR needs to learn which call destinations are the most popular within the company and why. Is it because the company has operations there? And where there is telephone abuse by an employee, the company needs to deal with the situation, as an LCR solution does not necessarily address that problem. That said, here some of the key issues to take into consideration when shopping for an LCR solution: 1. Service level agreement The first and foremost considerations in any LCR solution should be the service levels and guarantees offered by the provider. Service level agreements should include how effectively the LCR provider will capture the company’s outgoing calls and reroute them more cheaply. As the savings depends on captured calls, this leg of the service level agreement is very critical. It is also important to find out the guarantees time it will take for the LCR provider to respond f and when the settings are off. The service level agreement also should ensure that regular LCR audits take place, to ensure that ported numbers are identified, provider rates are verified and promised discounts / guaranteed savings are in effect. The audits should not take place just before the contract ends. The company may choose to have one internal audit and one external audit annually. 2. Savings strategies Keep the carrier destination in mind. Your company can extract maximum value from using VoIP by keeping the destination where the carrier lands calls in mind. For example, if your selected carrier lands calls in Germany, VoIP calls to that region would be very cheap. That’s very useful if you make a large number of calls to Germany, but useless if your international calls land in the UK and Japan. The cost conscious client will want assurance that data management comes at a cost to the LCR provider The way you are billed is also important. The LCR provider must be transparent about how he bills your calls, to how calls are billed, whether it’s per minute or per second. This is especially important because rates may be cheaper initially, but a per minute basis may remove the advantage, making the option more expensive over the length of the call. 3. The quality of speech The actual equipment and methodologies used to reroute the calls are secondary considerations to quality of speech, call completion rates, overflow guarantees and cost guarantees. If, for example, the calls are rerouted to a Voice over Internet Protocol network, what is the quality of the call? What proportion of phone calls are completed and what percentage of calls are dropped, so the caller has to initiate the call again?