Prepaid
Long DistanceTips for Making International Phone Calls
Use these tips when making international phone calls and you'll be sure to save on all your international calls. Not shopping around for the lowest rate can cost you a lot of extra money. Even if you only make one or two international calls per month, you'll find it worthwhile to investigate rates from different carriers.
Know the rate before you dial. If you have a long distance plan with a low domestic rate, don't assume it will also have cheap international rates. You might want to look into adding an international calling plan to your existing plan, but be aware that this will likely cost you an extra $3 - $5 per month.
- Several of our long distance providers offer excellent international long distance rates with their regular packages. Use one of our rate computers to find the plans with the best long distance rates to the countries you call most often.
Know what the Universal Service Fee (USF) rate is on your plan. This is a FCC mandated fee that all long distance carriers charge on state-to-state and international calls. These fees vary from 7.5% up to 11%. Read the fine print. A high USF fee can dramatically increase the cost of your international phone calls.
- Our rate computers will tell you exactly what the USF fee is for any of the discount long distance plans your are interested in.
Prepaid Long Distance is a great way to may international long distance calls. You can use this service on your land line or your cell phone. It works like a calling card, but better, because you don't have to enter your PIN number for each call if you have registered your phone.
- Check our Prepaid ong distance plans for great rates.
Prepaid Phone Cards probably offer the lowest rates for international calls. Be sure to check the details on the cards you buy. Some have weekly or monthly maintenance fees that can eat up your card balance. Some bill in 3-5 minute increments.
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Look into dial around plans and calling cards for your international calls. In many cases the small inconvenience of dialing a few extra numbers can save you up to 70% over what your long distance carrier is charging. If you have speed dial on your phone, program the dial around number or access numbers into it to simplify dialing.
- See our Dial-around page for a complete list of dial-around products - both prepaid and post-paid.
Know the billing increments for your calling plan. Some carriers charge in 6 second increments and that is great. Even full minute billing is not too bad, but with some services you might be surprised to find they bill in 3, 10 or even 20 minute increments. For example, many cheap calling cards have 3 minute billing increments so that a 1 minute call will actually cost you the equivalent of 3 minutes. These higher billing increments are not so bad if you're planning on talking a long time. But for short calls, they can be quite expensive.
Choose an international calling plan that has the same rates 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Afterall, you don't want to wait until 7:00 at night to get the best rate. The person you're reaching may not be available to take your call then. You want to be able to call anytime it's most convenient for you and the called party, so get a plan with a flat rate 24/7. And be sure you know what time it is in the location you're calling - don't call someone in the middle of the night!
- All the long distance plans and calling cards you'll find on the EasyCall web site have the same rates 24/7. No need to worry about higher rates during peak hours.
Country
and City Code Look-up Tool:
- When making an international call from the US dial 011 + country code + area code + the number. Remove that extra '0' from the area code. For example you are calling the UK (country code 44) and the number is 01483-555-1212. You would remove the '0' from the start of the area code and dial 011+44+1483-555-1212.
Occassionaly when you make a call and nobody answers you might be charged anyway. This happens most often when placing international calls and is usually is due to old telephone equipment. Examine your phone bill carefully and if you see charges for calls that were never connected, call your carrier and ask to have them removed.
Calling from a cell phone? Use a calling card or dial around service. Wireless companies have yet to introduce decent international rates. And if you're calling to a cell phone, be aware that the international rate may be higher than the rate to call a land line overseas.
International Directory Assistance is available from your long distance carrier, but the price will shock you. You might pay up to $6 for one international directory assistance call.
Bad connections happen; especially to third world countries. Should you get a bad connection when calling an international number, make a note of the time of the call and the number you called and report it to the long distance carrier. In some cases you may get a credit for the call.
Check our International Best Rate Search Engine for the countries you'll be calling. It will give comparisons for several long distance services including dial around and calling card options.
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