Selecting the Right Calling Card

An easy quick guide to choosing the right prepaid calling card.

Figuring out how to select the right calling card in an over saturated market can be daunting task. It seems like there are so many options. Googleing the keywords "prepaid calling cards" will bring more then 12,000,000 different responses. Many people simply search for the card that will provide them the lowest rates. However, often don’t realize that these cards are actually the most expensive.

In three easy steps learn how to pick the right calling card for your needs. This will save you money and put you on the right track.

1. Identifying your needs.
2. Understanding your options.
3. Making a Selection.

Identifying Your Needs

With so many different cards to choose from its important to identify exactly what your needs are. This will assist when trying to decipher between cards.

Important things to consider when identifying your needs:

• Destination – Where are you calling?
• Duration – How long do you think your calls will be? Under 30 minutes or over an hour?
• Frequency – Is it a one time thing where you need to make an international call, or do you frequently make international calls?
• Connection Quality – do you need high connection quality, or are you simply looking for the cheapest way to place a call?
• Traveling – Do you need a calling card for when you travel, or is it for use in the United States?
• Business Use – Do you plan to use the card for business or personal use?
• Recharge – Are you looking for a phone card that can be recharged?

Understanding Your Options

It is extremely import to never underestimate how much calling time a dollar can by you. Call to places like Europe, Parts of Asia, South America and Australia for 40 minutes on just 1 dollar.

Now that you have identified your needs, it is important to understand your options. Make sure you read all of the details of the calling card before you purchase it. Many companies are very sneaky and add unforeseen fees. Resulting in a one time use from the card, expiring the minutes.

Fees

Many prepaid phone cards have hidden fees. Companies have designed all sorts of creative fees. Such as connection fees, maintenance fees, termination fees, disconnection fees, etc. Almost all wholesale rates to major destinations are the same universally. Calling cards displaying low rates tend to have that have fees associated with them as way to make up for the low rates.

Depending on your needs, fees might not necessarily be bad. If you have identified yourself, as someone who infrequently uses a calling card, however have purchased one to make an international call, you should be solely motivated by rates. This is true especially for people who only plan to use the calling card once or twice then, no longer need it. Purchasing a card with biweekly maintenance fee is beneficial because in two weeks, the user will no longer need the card. However, if you are someone who frequently makes international calls and regularly uses a card, then selecting a card with no fees would provide great benefit. While the rates may be higher, you won’t have to pay a connection fee or almost a dollar in maintenance fees.

Minute rounding is another tactic calling card companies have designed to seek the most amount of money from their customers. Most calling card use 1 minute rounding. However, there is a large selection of cards that use 2, 3 and 4-minute rounding. Minute rounding is how your calls are charged.

For example a call lasting 33 seconds will charge minutes like this:

Obviously 1-minute rounding will save you most amount of money, however, cards with higher minute rounding will provide low rates per minute.

Almost all calling cards intended for use from the United States provide toll free access numbers. Many calling cards also provide local access numbers that will supple lower rates per minute. Generally, if there is a local access number it will behoove you to use it. Even if the number is not local to you many people have nationwide calling plans on their cell phone. Meaning it won’t cost anything extra to call a local access number in a different area code.

If you plan to purchase a prepaid calling card to make calls while traveling, then you must make sure that the calling card you have selected has access numbers in the country your are traveling to. In addition you should check to see if it is a toll free or local access number in that country. Like in the United States, a local access number in a country will provide lower rates then the toll free number.

Calling cards are a great way for small business and home business to reduce their international long distance spending. Many calling cards on the market today also offer advanced features. Often these types of calling cards are referred to as dial around long distance services.

Common advanced dial around features include:

• PIN-less dialing
• Speed Dial
• Call Back
• International Access numbers
• Detailed calling records
• Automatic account recharge
• No fees associated
• Rechargeable

Generally, dial around long distance calling cards can be recharged, however most traditional calling ards do not offer this option. Recharges are great for people frequently using their card. It eliminates the hassle of having purchase a new card. Turn the auto account recharge feature on for your card, never have to bother with adding funds to your account. It can be done automatically.

Searching on the Internet or even in stores you will find there is wide variety of cards to choose from. There are the name brand cards. These are calling cards released from major carriers such as AT&T, MCI, IDT, Verizon, etc. Because they are name brand cards does not mean they the best. Often name brand cards offer more expensive rates per minute because you are paying a premium for the name. Calling cards offered from smaller carriers are often better alternatives to name brand cards. Having a smaller advertising budget allows them lower their rates. Large companies like AT&T must regain several million spent in advertising costs over the year and as a result pass expensive rates to their customers.

Selecting the right calling card for your needs should be a low involvement decision, however should require some thought to make sure you are getting an adequate product. The best way to find out about a good product is from someone that can give a testimony of its service.

Garrett Friedman is a well-known and respected published author of numerous telecom articles. Read about prepaid calling cards, prepaid phone cards, prepaid mobile phones and other telecom products from Long Distance Post, LLC. Your number one telecom provider.