| How much do you pay to make a long distance call | | | | It's important to know when using a pre-paid calling |
| from your home phone? If it is anything more than a | | | | card that they are primarily designed for domestic, |
| handful of Abraham Lincolns per minute, read on. | | | | state-to-state calls, from one land-based line to |
| Dozens of cost-saving alternatives exist to cut down | | | | another land-based line. Anything other than these |
| your long distance bill but one of the easiest has to be | | | | exact circumstances and you can wind up paying a |
| using a pre-paid phone card. You can find a wide | | | | few more pennies a minute than you expected. |
| selection of pre-paid phone cards at big name stores | | | | Here's a summary of situations where you may |
| like Sam's Club, Costco, Wal-Mart and Target. To get | | | | experience higher rates: |
| your hands on one, just visit one of these stores, grab | | | | - You call from a mobile phone or to a mobile phone |
| a pre-paid card off the shelf and head to the | | | | - You call from a pay phone |
| checkout. The card will be activated as soon as you | | | | - You call to a number outside the United States |
| complete your purchase | | | | - You call to a number in the same state as your own |
| What's the going rate? Here's a sample of pre-paid | | | | (ex: Indiana to Indiana) |
| phone cards and their prices as of August, 2008: | | | | Besides cost, there are several other advantages to |
| - Sam's Club: AT&T PrePaid Phone Card - 1,000 | | | | using pre-paid phone cards including: |
| min., $34.70 or $0.0347 (3.47 cents) per minute | | | | - Minutes never expire. Check the terms of your card |
| - Costco: Verizon 700 Minute Prepaid Phone Card | | | | to verify this before purchase. |
| Plus, $19.99 or $0.0286 (2.86 cents) per minute | | | | - Can be used on any land-based phone line, not just |
| When you are ready to use your card, just follow the | | | | your own. So go ahead and make that long distance |
| instructions on the back of the card. This usually entails | | | | call from your friend's house. |
| dialing a toll-free access number to initiate a call. Next, | | | | - No monthly or recurring fees such as the ones your |
| enter the personal identification number (PIN) assigned | | | | local phone company may charge for unlimited long |
| to your card. Finally, enter the number you want to dial | | | | distance. |
| and your call is connected. With some pre-paid phone | | | | - When you run low on minutes on your card you can |
| cards, you may even be able to eliminate the middle | | | | recharge your card with new minutes right over the |
| step (known as PIN-less calling). | | | | phone. No need to run to the store to buy a new card. |
| If this sounds like a lot of steps, it can be. Especially | | | | To be fair, there are a few disadvantages as well. |
| when after dialing all of these numbers you get a busy | | | | Notably, most calling cards display generic caller IDs |
| signal and have to try again a few minutes later. If you | | | | such as "GEORGIA CALL" which means your best |
| have speed dial or memory dial on your phone you | | | | friend with caller ID may not recognize you and ignore |
| can get around this by programming the toll-free | | | | your call. Also, it can be an inconvenience when you |
| access number to one speed dial or memory dial | | | | unexpectedly run low on minutes and you are in the |
| number and your PIN to another. This should speed up | | | | middle of an important call. |
| the dialing process significantly. | | | | Most would say that these are fair trade-offs for the |
| Extra charges if you're not careful | | | | low per-minute cost of the call. |