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Phone Card FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What are phone cards? Phone cards, also called prepaid phone cards
or prepaid calling cards, are a prepaid method of making long distance
(domestic or international) phone calls. You can save a lot of money on
your long distance phone bill when you use a phone card. With phone cards,
there are no monthly bills. Instead, you pay for a specific amount of calling
time in advance and your balance is reduced as you make calls. Some phone
cards have connection and/or maintenance fees which can also reduce your
balance. (More information on fees is included elsewhere in this FAQ.) Is a phone card the same as a calling card provided by my local or long distance company? No. The calling card issued by a local or long
distance company is essentially a credit card. With a calling card you make
your calls and then receive a statement of the charges later; you pay for the
calls after you make them. With phone cards you pay before you make the
calls. Why would I want to use phone cards? There are a number of reasons for using
phone cards: Can I call anywhere in the world with phone cards? In general, yes. Some cards are restricted to calling certain countries or continents. The rate chart for the phone card should list where you are able to call with the card. Why are there so many
different phone cards? There is no single best phone card. You
choose a phone card primarily based on where you are calling from and to,
and how long you expect your calls to be. Some phone cards are targeted for
particular countries or continents. For example, a card may have great
rates to Japan, but not so great rates to France. Another card may be
the other way around. People who are going to be calling multiple countries
often buy multiple phone cards; for each country they plan to call,
they search out the card that gives them the best rates for that country.
If you expect to be making short phone calls, then a no connection
fee (NCF) phone card would be better. If, on the other hand, you
expect your calls to be longer duration, then a phone card with a connection
fee and lower per-minute rates might end up saving you more money. (See more
about connection fees later in this FAQ section.) We encourage you to use
all the search boxes on our home page to find and
compare the cards that are available for your calling destinations. In what denomination are phone cards available? It depends on the particular phone card.
Commonly available denominations are $5, $10, and $20. Some cards are
available in $2 and other amounts. Some cards are available at a discount;
for example, you may be able to purchase a $20 card for $18. When ordering
online, some companies may add handling or other charges for some
purchases. Can I recharge my phone card once I have used it all up? It depends on the particular phone card.
Some are rechargeable, many are not. Are there any surcharges, taxes, or other fees added to the cards? The selling price of the card is usually
the price you pay, although some companies may add handling or other charges
to some purchases when ordering online. Surcharges, taxes, or other fees
(e.g., Connection Fee, Universal Connection Fee, Disconnect Fee, etc.)
may be added to the calls you make (i.e., they will be deducted
from your balance on the card). Each individual phone card should include
information on applicable charges and fees for using the card. What is a
connection fee? Some long distance carriers impose a connection fee on their phone cards. Some cards have connection fees, others do not. The amount of the connection fee depends on the particular phone card and where you are calling; typical connection fees range from 25 cents to $2.50. The rate chart for the phone card lists the connection fees, if any. The connection fee will be deducted from the remaining balance on your phone card each time you use the card. The connection fee will usually not be deducted if the call does not go through, the call is not answered, or if you get a busy signal. However, sometimes the connection fee will be charged in these instances if you don't hang up within a certain time period. For example, if you listen to a busy signal or let the phone ring for a minute or more, then the fee might be charged. Cards with a connection fee usually have lower per-minute rates and are best used for long phone calls. Cards without a connection fee (called No Connection Fee, or NCF, cards) usually have higher per-minute rates and are better for short calls or if you are uncertain whether or not the party you are calling is available. The number and length of calls you make will determine which type of card is best for you. As an example, consider two $5 cards for calling country X: Card A is a NCF card at 10 cents/minute. Card B is 5 cents/minute but has a 50 cent connection fee. For a single call using the whole card, card B is better with 90 minutes while card A gives only 50 minutes. But suppose you expect to make a series of 5 minute calls. Each 5 minute call would cost 50 cents on card A and 75 cents on card B, so card A would be better in this case. (These examples do not take into account taxes or other fees.) Note that some phone cards have a disconnect
fee. In our opinion a disconnect fee amounts to the same thing
as a connection fee. (After all, a call will both connect and
disconnect, right?) We feel that some companies use disconnect fees in a
eceptive way - they will tout a NCF card but declare in the
fine print that even though there is no connection fee, there is a
disconnect fee. Either way, a certain fee will be deducted from each
call in addition to the per-minute rate of the call. What is a
maintenance fee? Some long distance carriers impose a maintenance fee on their phone cards. Some cards have maintenance fees, others do not. The amount of the maintenance fee depends on the particular phone card. The rate chart for the phone card may specify the maintenance fee, but in many cases it may simply say that maintenance fees may apply. Maintenance fees are usually deducted
periodically from the remaining balance on your phone card. If you use
your phone card for a single call, then there will usually be no
maintenance fee deducted. Otherwise, the maintenance may be deducted
upon completion of your first call or overnight after the first call.
Maintenance fees may be deducted once a week, bi-weekly, once a month,
or even daily in some cases. Maintenance feel typically range from 50
to 99 cents. If your first call using the phone card does not use
the entire card and you don't make any more calls for several days or
weeks, then you may see your remaining balance vanish as a result of
maintenance fees. Are there any extra charges if I use a phone card from a pay phone? Most phone cards do charge extra when you
use it from a pay phone. This extra charge is typically 50-75 cents
and is deducted from the remaining balance on the phone card. Each
individual phone card should include information regarding any fees for
using a pay phone. Are there any extra charges if I use a phone card from a hotel? Maybe, but usually not because it is a
phone card that you are using. When you use a phone card, you start out
by dialing a local or toll-free access number. (See later in this
FAQ section for more details on placing calls with a phone card.) Some
hotels will charge you for dialing local and/or toll-free phone numbers.
The hotel may or may not post notification of these charges in the room
or by the phone. It is best to check with the hotel personnel to find
out about any charges they assess for making calls from their phones. Do the per-minute rates on phone cards change depending on the time of day used? In most cases, no. Most cards have the same
rates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, including holidays.
However, there are some cards that may have different rates during
peak periods, e.g., Monday through Friday from 8 AM through
5 PM. The rate chart for the phone card should list the applicable
rates. Note that rates are always subject to change without notice. In what increments are calls charged when using phone cards? It depends on the phone card. Usually you
will find that phone cards charge in 1 minute, 3 minute, or
6 minute increments. Each individual phone card should include
information indicating the billing increment. Will calls I make with a phone card show up on my regular long distance phone bill? No. Do I have to change the long distance carrier assigned to my phone line in order to use a phone card? No. They are totally separate. How do I use a phone card when making a call? Each phone card comes with an access number. Some phone cards are targeted for use from certain cities and may have an access number that is local to that city. Otherwise, the access number may be a toll-free number. Many cards have two or more access numbers to accommodate different languages. Phone cards must be used from a touch-tone
phone. Dial the access number and follow the dialing instructions as
prompted. You will be asked to enter your PIN and then dial the desired phone
number. In most cases, dialing is as follows: Some phone cards allow you to make additional
calls without having to hang up and redial the access code and PIN by dialing
a special sequence, such as #, *, ###, or ***, when you have finished your
call. Dialing instructions should be included with the phone card that would
describe how you would use this feature if it is available. Do I have to use the card all at once or can I use it for multiple calls? Either way. Note that many phone cards have
connection fees, disconnect fees, and/or maintenance fees that can reduce
the total number of minutes you have available if you make multiple calls.
Each individual phone card should include information on applicable charges
and fees for using the card. Can I use the same phone card for calls to different countries as well as within the USA? Yes, unless your card is restricted to
calling only one country. For example, some phone cards allow calls only
within the US. But most cards allow you to call to countries all over the
world so call wherever you want, to as many different countries as you want,
as long as you have sufficient money remaining on the card. Can I call from other countries, other than the US, with phone cards? Some companies offer phone cards that can
be used from a number of different countries. The search boxes on our
home page will help you find such cards. Note that
the per-minute rate depends on the countries you are calling from and to.
Also note that calls from Alaska and Hawaii may be higher than calls from the
Continental US. Can I call from or to cellphones with phone cards? Yes, but the per-minute rate is usually
higher with cellphones. Note that if you call from a cellphone,
you may be subject to airtime charges from your cellphone service provider.
These airtime charges are separate from and in addition to the phone card
charges. Do phone cards expire? Most phone cards have an expiration date. In some cases, it is an actual date such as "Expires on 12/31/2004." In many cases, cards will expire a certain number of months (often 3 or 6 months) after activation or first use. Activation could mean when the card is activated by the carrier or distributor making it available for sale. If this is the case and the distributor or dealer has the card on the shelf for a couple of months before you buy it, then this takes away from the amount of time you have to use the card. Activation could also mean essentially the same thing as first use, i.e., the first time you actually use the card. Note that if you use a phone card that has
maintenance fees, then the remaining balance on the card may be consumed by
the maintenance fees before reaching the expiration date. For rechargeable
phone cards, the expiration date is usually extended when you recharge the
card. How do I know how much value remains on my phone card? On most phone cards, you are told the
remaining balance after you dial your PIN. In addition, after you dial the
number you are calling, you are usually told how many minutes are remaining
on the card. Most cards will sound a tone or give an announcement when there
is one minute remaining. When your time is all used up, you will be
disconnected from your call. Can I get a refund for an unused balance on a phone card or transfer the unused amount to another card? For all phone cards that we are familiar with,
the answer is No. Any unused balance is forfeited. Be aware that many
phone cards have periodic maintenance fees and expiration dates, so you can
lose an unused balanced if you are not careful. What if I have a problem with my phone card? Each phone card should have a Customer
Service;number you can call if you encounter any problems with the card. |
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