The Top 5 Calling Card Purchase Mistakes

Many users buy calling cards on-line and regret it. Their card may not connect or it may disconnect earlier than expected. There's nothing worse than talking to a loved one overseas and hearing, "there is one minute remaining for this call".

Below are the mistakes that many purchasers make and how to avoid them.

1. Hidden fee analysis
2. Incentive programs
3. Testing the customer service number
4. Buying a Brand-Name
5. Start Slow

1. Examine all hidden fees: Users typically do not read the fine print. Please see Hidden Phone Card Fees for a summary of all fees associated with calling cards.

Example: one card that we know of charges a 30% administrative fee after the first 3 minutes of the call. That sounds okay if the per minute rate is really low and you just want to leave a message less than a minute long. Here's the catch, this card uses 3 minute rounding, so even if you call for 30 seconds, you will be billed for 3 minutes + the 30% admin fee.


2. Incentive Programs: a) search for coupons, b) participate in incentive programs. If you are buying your long distance cards online, always get on your search engine and search for a promo-code for the calling card company you are buying from. Even if the company does not have a "Promo code" field, you may be lucky and find a link that when clicked will automatically apply a discount to your shopping cart. Incentive programs may give you a percentage discount on your online pin numbers if you buy in bulk or if you refer friends.

Example: Phonecarddepot.com has a program whereby you can enter your friend's e-mail addresses after check-out, if these friends buy cards, your account gets credited 5% of their purchase.


3. Testing the customer service number: Before you buy a calling card, whether on-line or in-store, take out your cell phone and call the customer service number. This is the number you will be calling if you have problems with your calls, make sure that it works.

Example: When calling the customer service number of Best Rate Calling Card in Toronto, I was directed to voicemail, the voicemail stated "This Mailbox is Full". Be careful.


4. Buy Brand Name: Brand name calling cards are the ones that you will find both in-store and on-line (Private Label vs. Brand Name Calling Cards). Buying brand name reduces your risk of the calling card provider's system crashing or being 'shut down' for solvency reasons.


5. Start Slow: Do not buy in bulk before you have tried the card. Many people buy calling cards in packs of 10 or even 20. It is sometimes tough to travel to your local variety and purchase cards individually, but do it for the first purchase. Call quality may be poor, the network may be fickle or the card may have hidden fees that you were not aware of. Once you find a card that you are comfortable with, stick with it.a

Follow the tips provided and you will save a lot of money on long distance and also have the flexibility of calling cards that do not tie you into long long distance contracts. For more information on overseas cards please visit the Phone Card Depot Blog.

Tavis McKenzie
GM, Phonecarddepot.com
http://www.phonecarddepot.com/blog

Tags: hidden fees, calling card purchase mistakes

Hidden Phone Card Fees

Phonecarddepot.com does not support phone card manufacturers that do not clearly outline all fees in their card disclaimers and Phone Card Depot displays all fees associated with each card. Calling card fees are not necessarily disadvantageous because cards with these fees typically have a lower per-minute rate.

Surcharge: usually a percentage that is added onto the per-minute rate. i.e. The Good Card contains a 10% surcharge. ie. if calling from USA to Poland at 4.5 cents per minute using The Good Card the charge would effectively be 4.95 cents per minute.

Connection Fee: a flat rate deducted from your calling card's prepaid balance once you connect with the party you are calling.

Maintenance Fee: a fee charged when the calling card is not in use. i.e. a calling card maintenance fee of 25 cents per week will deduct 25 cents per week from your total pre-paid balance regardless of whether you use the card or not. At this time, none of Phone Card Depot's calling cards have maintenance fees.

Toll-free Access Fee: a fee charged added to your per-minute rate if you use the toll free number to call your destination. Most cards have a local access number, using the local access number avoids
this fee.

Service Charge: although this term is general, it usually refers to a flat fee deducted from your pre-paid balance after a certain call duration. Almost like a delayed connection fee. For example if calling from Toronto to China at 2.9 cents per minute using Jia, a "service charge of 25%

No Fee "Clean" Calling Cards

Clean cards: these cards contain no extra fees except for a toll-free access fee. This toll-free access fee can be avoided if you use a local access number to make your call. Phone Card Depot carries 2 clean cards: Bita calling card (for Americans) and CiCi calling card (For Canadians). Both Bita and Cici are great for you if your calling patterns vary between long and short call durations.

So if you call from the continental USA to Austria at 3.9 cents per minute from a local access number using Bita, you will pay just 3.9 cents per minute.

I hope that this post helps demystify some of these fees, please send comments
or questions.

Regards,

Tavis McKenzie
GM, Phonecarddepot.com
http://www.phonecarddepot.com/blog

Technorati Tag: Calling Card Fees