Travel Zone

If you make international calls to China from the USA or Canada than this may be of interest to you. Tel3Advantage announced recently that they have lowered their rates for international calls to China from North America from 1.7 to 1.32 cents-per-minute. This rate includes all fees and taxes if the caller uses a local access number when placing the call. A 1 cent-per-minute surcharge is added if the caller uses the Tel3Advantage toll free access number to make the call. It is not hard to avoid the surcharge since Tel3 has a wide network of local access numbers. Calls can be made from any kind of telephone, including mobile phones and hotel or business phones. Tel3Advantage now has the lowest rates on international calls to China from North America.

It is possible to get a lower rate on international calls for the first 30 days if a new customer opens an account using the Tel3Advantage Triple Promo offer. The rate on calls to China for the first 30 days using this offer is only 1 cent-per-minute and the new customer can also get up to 900 free minutes as a sign-up bonus. Visit Tel3Advantage Triple Promo for details or call 800 441 0321.

The 2009 Tel3Advantage Christmas phone card promotion is in progress. During this promotion new customers who sign-up for the Tel3Advantage Flex Plan will get twice the normal sign-up bonus. It is free to open an account and all a new customer needs to do to qualify for the bonus is make an initial deposit. The amount of the bonus depends on the amount deposited but it ranges from $2 to $18. The bonus can be used to make free domestic and international calls to any location in the world. If you plan to make any international calls from North America this holiday season than you should sign-up for Tel3, get their holiday bonus and try one of the best quality prepaid long distance services in North America. Find out why Tel3 has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and more than 100,000 satisfied customers. Visit Tel3Advantage for details or call 800 441 0321 and ask for the Christmas promo.

With the Holiday Season fast approaching, a perfect gift for a friend or loved one who is far away may be the gift of a phone card. A phone card gift card can be delivered to any location in the world instantly via e-mail and there is no tax, duty or delivery fee. A phone card gift card is very easy to purchase and is a useful gift, even for the person who has everything.

A gift card can be purchased in any amount (from $5 to $100) and the recipient can trade it in for any phone card they want. So they can choose the best phone card for their needs from a vast range of phone cards including those with a global reach and a full range of special features.

Purchasing a gift card is easy. Once you complete a gift card purchase you will receive an email containing a PIN number and a link – all that is needed for a phone card to be selected and activated. Just send this information to your friend or loved one and they can choose the phone card they want. It is that easy.

Visit Phone Cards International to review a full range of international phone cards and choose the gift card option if you would like to send a special gift to a friend or loved one this holiday season.

Making international phone calls from France or other European countries to the USA has never been easier or cheaper. As consumer prices continue to climb the cost of making international phone calls continue to drop. This is the result of increased competition and advances in technology. It is now possible to make free international calls using PC-to-Phone service or other INTERNET based technologies like VoIP phone service from nearly any location in the world.

The advent of the INTERNET has no doubt had an impact on international calling rates but, even without competition from the INTERNET, the cost of making international phone calls has been dropping. This has been partially due to improvements in technology but a major factor has been industry deregulation which has dramatically increased competition by allowing new companies to enter the market. There is now a wide variety of international phone cards that can be used to make cheap calls from home, business or cell phones in more than 230 countries. The quality and convenience of these prepaid products have continued to improve as the cost continues to decline.

Another interesting product that can be used to make cheap international calls from nearly any location in the world is international callback. By using international callback phone service, cheap international calls can be made from any country by routing the phone call through a low cost third country. This can save international callers in some countries a lot of money. Especially those countries that keep artificially high international rates by not allowing competition. There are still many countries that route international calls through local, monopoly phone companies and international rates from these countries can be extremely high. International callback is a great way to save money when making calls from these countries.

Making cheap calls from France and the rest of Europe is easy because the market is mostly deregulated and there are many products to choose from. We especially like prepaid phone cards because they offer good value and ultimate convenience. They can be used while traveling to make calls from land-lines or cell phones and can be used to make cheap calls from hotels. Another option is PC-to-Phone service if a high speed INTERNET connection is available. There are many options for making cheap international calls these days, the best and cheapest option typically depends on the technology available to the user and the location where the caller expects to use the products.

The last thing most people think about when preparing for an international journey is a calling card but it may be one of the most useful things to bring. There are many important items to remember when packing for an international trip, like travel documents and plane tickets, but an international phone card should be high on the list. A good international phone card is useful because it can be used to make cheap international calls from nearly any kind of phone (including airport pay phones or hotel phones). A phone card can also save money. One of the first things most people want to do when they reach a foreign destination is to call friends or loved ones at home. International hotels know this and typically charge exorbitant rates for international calls. A few short international calls from a hotel room can cost as much as the room charge. That is why experienced travelers save time, hassles and money by packing a couple international phone cards before leaving home.

Other than saving money, there are other good reasons for purchasing international phone cards before traveling. Some of these are listed below.

• It is a great way to budget money for phone calls since phone cards are prepaid and can be purchased in small denominations.

• There is a wide variety of virtual phone cards available on-line that can be used to make calls from nearly any country in the world. They can be used to make low cost long distance calls from pay phones in airports, hotels or nearly any major city in the world.

• Virtual phone cards are convenient because users can access their on-line account via the INTERNET from any location. Many virtual phone cards have an on-line call history so users can view a record of the calls and charges made on their phone card or even transfer funds between cards. They can also conveniently refill their phone card from any location.

• Virtual phone cards are safely stored in a customer’s online account so they cannot be lost or stolen.

Remember that phone cards do not have universal coverage so check the rates and accessibility for the countries you plan to use them from before making a purchase. Some merchants, like phone cards international, allow users to transfer funds between phone cards. This can be done conveniently through a customer’s on-line account and is a nice feature for those who plan travel to multiple countries or regions of the world. In any case, purchase high quality phone cards and check to be sure they will work from the countries being visited. This is easy to do if the phone cards are purchased from a reputable on line merchant.

International callback phone service is a good option for people who want to make calls from countries which impose a high tariff on international calls. It saves callers money by routing their international calls through low cost third countries like the USA, Canada or Western Europe. Unlike VoIP, PC-to-Phone and many phone cards, international callback can be used to make cheap international calls from any country.

International callback calls are triggered using different means depending on the product but the results are basically the same. The caller receives an international phone call from a low cost third country. After answering the call the caller can either place a low cost call through the callback service provider’s network by direct dialing the desired phone number or, in some cases, the call is automatically routed to the desired destination phone number. In either case, the caller can save a significant amount of money with international callback because they are receiving an international phone call not placing one from a high cost country.

One innovative type of international callback is e-mail triggered callback. This product is included as a very useful feature with the Continental Phone card. They refer to it as Web Call but we find this name a bit misleading. It implies that calls are made over the INTERNET but, in reality, it is a callback phone service where calls are initiated by sending a pre-formatted e-mail message. The calls are actually made over any standard land-line telephone or cell phone. Those interested in more details should visit the following page, Web Call.

The Continental Card is a very versatile phone card that can, among other things, be used to make cheap international calls from over 60 countries by calling an access number and placing a call. It can also be used to make conference calls, low cost VoIP or PC-to-Phone service and it can be used to set up a personal toll free phone number. The continental card can be used to fill a variety of telecom needs.

The next time you are in a hotel and want to make a long distance phone call you might want to try a prepaid phone card rather than placing a direct-dialed long distance call through the phone in your room. Using a phone card is just as convenient and has far cheaper long distance rates than those charged by hotels (including tax and surcharges). It is easy to shop and compare phone card rates on-line from any location in the world. Phone cards can be securely purchased on-line and they can be instantly used to make cheap domestic or international long distance calls. Rather than paying $0.50, $1.00 or more per-minute to make a direct-dialed call from a hotel room, the same call can be made for as little as 1 cents per-minute with a prepaid phone card.

Phone cards are also easy to use. All a caller needs to do is dial and access number (local or toll free depending on the phone card), enter a PIN code and place a call to any phone in the world. Many on-line phone cards include features such as speed dial or PIN free dialing which makes it very easy to place a call to any location. In many cases, they also include an on-line call history so a user can track the details for every call made with their phone card. Phone cards are also very portable, they can used from any kind of telephone (mobile, home, hotel, pay-phone or business phone). They can also be used to make calls from nearly any country in the world.

One popular virtual phone card that can be used to make cheap long distance calls from the USA or Canada is offered by Tel3. The Tel3Advantage flex plan is a very popular prepaid calling plan with more than 100,000 frequent users in North America. It is a high quality product that can be used from any kind of phone without changing service providers and has very low rates to any location in the world. It is a very good option for people who travel in North America and want the ability to make cheap international calls from any location.

It is easy to save money on long distance calls from any kind of telephone with prepaid phone cards.

Web Call is a superb product for making cheap international calls using any phone in the world that can receive a call. Due to the name, many people confuse Web Call with PC-to-Phone, VoIP or other INTERNET based calling services but it is much different. The main difference is that calls are not placed over the INTERNET with Web Call, they are made using any kind of phone including cell phones, home phones, business phones or any other phone that can receive a call. In this case, the term Web Call refers to the way the calls are placed. With Web Call there is no need to dial an access number or enter an account number or PIN code when making a call. All a caller needs to do is sign-in to their on-line account and enter the country and phone number they want to call from and the country and phone number they wish to call. After they enter the information they push the call button and the computer connects the two phones…..it is that simple.

Some countries charge a high surcharge on out-bound international calls. International callers in these countries can save a lot of money with Web Call since they they will be paying for an in-bound international call from a low cost, third country not an out-bound call from the country where they are located. The following table shows some examples of the potential savings over typical phone card rates for calls to the USA from some high cost countries. Rates are in USA cents per minute.

A comparison of phone card rates versus Web Call rates on international calls to the USA from some selected countries.

Bahrain: Phone Card Rate 21 cents/min, Web Call Rate 9.7 cents/min
China: Phone Card Rate 11 cents/min, Web Call Rate 2 cents/min
India: Phone Card Rate 11 cents/min, Web Call Rate 5.9 cents/min
Jamaica: Phone Card Rate 17.5 cents/min, Web Call Rate 8.5 cents/min
Jordan: Phone Card Rate 28 cents/min, Web Call Rate 8.6 cents/min
Kazakhstan: Phone Card Rate 55 cents/min, Web Call Rate 7.3 cents/min
Nepal: Phone Card Rate 105 cents/min, Web Call Rate 15.1 cents/min
Nigeria: Phone Card Rate 50 cents/min, Web Call Rate 10.5 cents/min
Syria: Phone Card Rate 112 cents/min, Web Call Rate 13.7 cents/min
UAE: Phone Card Rate 95 cents/min, Web Call Rate 14.7 cents/min

As the information above shows, the savings can be significant. The rates shown are for calls to the USA but Web Call can be used to call any country from any other country. It is a high quality product that can also be used as a phone card to make calls from over 60 countries. However, Web Call has better rates than a phone card and is more convenient to use as long as the caller has access to the INTERNET. Visit Web Call for rates to all countries and information on opening an account. Happy calling.

The summer travel season is fast approaching and many Americans will be heading to Europe for vacation despite the weak economy. If fact, there are some good deals to be had on air travel, hotels and rental cars because of the weak economy in most locations around the world. We were recently in Moscow and paid ½ the rate we paid 6 months ago for the same hotel room.

Most people will want to call home a few times during a trip abroad so it is a good idea to carry a phone card. We suggest purchasing a phone card before you leave home because you have more time to shop (on-line) and choose the right phone card for your trip. You will likely find a better quality card at a better price than if you wait and purchase one abroad at a hotel, airport or other location frequented by tourists. Most on-line international phone card merchants provide customers with an on-line account. This is a handy feature for travelers because they can access their account via the internet from any location in the world to find a local access number, add funds or make other changes to their account. Many on-line phone cards also include other handy features like Speed Dial, PIN free dialing and call history that make international calling much easier.

We have a couple of phone card recommendations for people who want to make cheap calls to the USA or other locations from Europe. The first phone card we would recommend is a new card called Solaris. It has high user ratings for quality and has a wide range of local and toll free access numbers in every European country. It can be used to make cheap international calls from over 100 countries so it has very wide coverage and is ideal for people who plan to visit several countries during a trip. It also has no maintenance or connection fee and some of the lowest rates on international calls. Another high quality phone card is Continental. It can be used to make cheap calls from over 60 countries. The continental card comes with several features like speed dial, call history and PIN free dialing which makes it very convenient to use. Smart Global Call Phone Cards International sells these and other high quality calling cards.

People who want to make cheap calls to Europe have a wider range of options. Rates are generally cheaper on international calls from the USA or Canada to Europe than they are from Europe to the USA or Canada. Therefore, it is cheaper to make calls that originate in North America if possible. This is not always possible so a high quality phone card is the next best option.

Purchasing a phone card without being tricked can be difficult since phone card sellers often advertise low rates to attract shoppers than charge cleverly disguised “hidden fees” which can more than double the cost of making a call. In many cases, the phone card with the lowest advertised rate also has low quality and is not the cheapest to use since it can be loaded with a variety of hidden charges. It is generally best to make a purchase from a reputable phone card website that discloses all of the details for each card listed. These details should include all charges for making a call (including taxes, fees and surcharges), a customer service phone number, customer ratings on quality and service and a money back guarantee.

In addition, we offer the following 5 important tips to phone card shoppers.

1. Purchase a Minimum Denomination. Unless you are familiar with a particular phone card it is usually best to purchase a minimum denomination and make some trial calls with the card to the locations you wish to call before purchasing a large denomination. We suggest purchasing a phone card with a face value of $10 or less before making a large purchase.

2. Check and Compare Rates between Phone Cards. Most phone card websites include a rate finder which shows the cost per minute for making calls from one location to another. The rates listed in these rate finders are generally just the base rate. They do not show all of the added fees and taxes that can vary significantly between phone cards. Therefore, it is important to read the fine print before purchasing a phone card and be sure to include all fees and taxes when comparing rates between phone cards. There are a few companies that charge a connection fee for each call. These can significantly increase the cost of each call so we feel that calling cards that charge a connection fee should be avoided. Some other common fees are maintenance fees, pay phone fees, toll free access number fees, taxes, service fees and surcharges. Other less obvious hidden fees include rounding interval (the increment used in rounding off the duration of a call for billing purposes) and a long call fee. A card with a larger rounding interval is generally more expensive since the length of a call is rounded up to the next rounding interval for billing purposes.

3. Customer Reviews. Websites like Smart Global Call International Phone Cards include customer reviews for the phone cards they sell. We have found that these reviews are useful since they provide a good indication of calling card quality based on the experience of other users.

4. Access Numbers. Check for the availability of access numbers in the locations where you plan to use the card before making a purchase. Toll free access numbers are convenient but some phone cards charge a relatively high fee (more than one cent per-minute) for using them. In some cases toll free access is free or the charge is relatively small (less than one cent per-minute). There is typically no additional charge for using a local access number but some phone cards do not have local access numbers or they only have a few.

5. Phone Card Coverage. Phone cards typically have limited coverage so check the rates for making calls to the locations you wish to call before making a purchase. Also check rates to the type of phone (land line or cell phone) you plan to call. Some phone cards offer great rates to land lines but very high rates to cell phones in the same country.

There are honest phone cards that offer high quality and good rates for making cheap international calls to almost any location in the world. However, there are others that advertise super cheap rates but load the product with so many hidden fees that the cost for making calls is actually much higher than normal. The purpose of this article is to help shoppers avoid some common pitfalls and make informed choices.

International call-back phone service, sometimes called International Callback or simply call-back, is a service for making low cost international calls from virtually any country where a telephone is available. Callback can be used form any phone that can receive an incoming call including VoIP or Cell Phones. International calls using call-back are cheaper in most international locations since the calls are initiated in a third country, usually the United States, where call charges are considerably lower. The local high cost monopoly phone company is therefore by-passed and the caller pays the lower United States rate for the call.

How Does International Callback Work?

As the name implies, callback phone service works by initiating a call from the United States or another third country where international calling rates are cheap. There are at least three methods for initiating a call using International Callback. The method of callback initiation depends on the type of callback service the subscriber is using. The following is a short description of three types of call-back services.

· The first type of callback service is what we call traditional Callback. Using this type of service a caller opens an account with a Callback Service provider, registers their phone number and is assigned a callback number in the United States or another third country. When the subscriber wants to place a call they call their assigned number from their registered phone and let the phone ring once and hang up before the call is answered. The computer recognizes them by their registered phone number and calls them back. When the subscriber answers the phone they are on the callback service provider’s phone system and place their call as if they are in the United States. A subscriber typically has access to their callback account on-line so they can change or add registered phone numbers as needed. They can also review their call history and other account details.

· A second type of callback is often referred to as SMS callback or SMS call. This is similar to traditional callback except the subscriber initiates or triggers a call by sending an SMS message from their cell phone. The message contains the subscriber’s phone number and the number they wish to call. The callback system recognizes the SMS message and calls the subscriber and connects them with the number they wish to call.

· A third type of callback is referred to as Web Call or INTERNET Callback. To initiate a callback using Web Call a subscriber simple logs into their account on a website and enter the phone number they are calling from and the phone number they want to call. The computer recognizes them and calls their phone number and connects them with the phone number they want to call.

All three types of callback have positive and negative points. Traditional callback will work in almost any location where telephone service is available. However, some countries try to block traditional callback so they can continue to charge high rates for international calls made through their monopoly phone companies. SMS Call will work from cell phones in many countries but it is not available in every country. Web Call can be used in any country where the caller has access to the INTERNET. Web Call cannot be blocked since the call is triggered over the INTERNET and the caller is just receiving a phone call from the United States.

The calling card market can be confusing because calling card carriers have been creative in devising hidden fees and other tricks so they can advertise extremely low per minute rates and still make money. We have tried to list, define and explain the technical terms here so a calling card shopper can at least make an informed purchase and have a basic understanding of the market.

First, we would suggest purchasing calling cards from websites where all of the fees are fully disclosed in an easy to read format and where calling cards are rated by users. These sites do exist because there are still honest calling card vendors, carriers and marketers (web sites like Smart Global Call International Calling Cards display customer ratings for all of the cards they sell).

• Check the rate (usually cents/min) to the destination you want to call. Remember that the rates listed or advertised are normally to house phones (land lines). Calls made to cell phones often have higher rates. Also, the advertised rates do not include calling card fees or taxes that can significantly increase the cost of a call.
• Look for added fees, taxes and hidden costs. These should be listed in an easy to read format but can also be buried in the fine print. Remember you will likely pay more than the advertised rate when using a calling card so the trick is to minimize the added fees. Added fees will be called things like connection fee, disconnection fee, taxes, maintenance fee, pay phone fee and long call fee. These fees will vary between calling cards. Some calling cards will have all or most of these added fees and others will not have any of them.
• Calling cards will also have different rounding or billing increments. These are often in 1, 3 or 6 minute increments. The billing increment can have a significant impact on the calling cost depending on how the calling card is used. A calling card with a one minute billing increment will charge a customer 4 minutes for a 3.5 minute call while a calling card with a 3 minute billing increment will charge a customer 6 minutes for the same call. The cost of a call is rounded up to the next billing increment so; in general, a lower billing increment is better.
• Calling card fees are typically minimized if calling cards are purchased in smaller denominations and used for one call or over a short period of time. In general, calling card fees do not start until the calling card is used the first time. Many companies offer calling cards in denominations of $5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. We recommend trying a small denomination card ($5 to $10) before making a large purchase. Also, it is generally better to buy several small denomination cards than to purchase one with a big denomination.
• Calling card call quality depends on the international carrier used and is not always equal between vendors to a given location. There are many international telecom carriers and call quality will vary between carriers. There are generally three levels of call quality (referred to as Tier 1, 2 and 3) with regard to telecom carriers. Tier 1 carriers offer the best quality but they also charge the highest rates. Therefore, in general, calling cards with the lowest advertised rates also tend to have the lowest call quality because they use lower Tier carriers.
• Check for local access number availability. Many cheap calling cards have low per minute rates but have few local access numbers and charge 1 or 2 cents per minute for using a toll free access number.
• All calling cards carry an FCC imposed fee for using a pay phone. However, the rate will vary between calling cards (it ranges from around $0.49 to $1) so check this rate if you plan to use a pay phone.
• Calling cards typically have an expiration date so be sure and use the card before it expires.
• Purchase calling cards from vendors that have 24/7 customer service. If nothing else you may have a question.

So, how to use this information? There are a few things to consider. First, try to compare calling cards on the same basis. When calling card rates are adjusted for the above mentioned fees, taxes and billing tricks, many calling cards with very cheap advertised rates actually cost as much or more to use than a moderately priced card with higher call quality. Remember, a calling card that cannot be used or has extremely poor quality is really worthless to the user. Any money spent on a purchase is lost.

Consumers have become wise to many of the hidden fees and tricks discussed above and, as a result, there are several newer calling cards on the market that have high call quality at reasonable rates. They also tend to have minimal added fees so the advertised rate per minute is closer to the actual rate charged when the card is used. Many of these are hybrid calling cards that are really a virtual calling plan with features like PIN-less dialing, online call history, speed dial and a large network of local access numbers. They are also re-chargeable for customer convenience but also because calling card vendors are trying to build brand loyalty. By offering low cost, quality and convenience they hope to retain customers. It seems that some calling card carriers have rightly concluded that it is better to make a little money off a large number of satisfied users over the long haul than to make some quick money ripping off a few customers one time. Alas, the free market even works with respect to calling cards.