What is a Calling Card?

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In this article, we take a look at calling cards for making calls from abroad.

A Calling Card allows you to make cheap international calls from abroad. You don’t need any mobile or computer to make calls.  When you buy a calling card, you are provided with a PIN number and a list of access numbers for the country you are visiting to, lets say the US. When you are in the US and want to make a call to India, you will just need to dial a local access number from a payphone or your hotel phone. You will be connected to an IVR wherein you will be asked to enter your PIN number. Once you have successfully entered your PIN, you will be asked to dial the number you want to call to. On dialing the number, your call will be connected.

There are a few things you need to keep in mind while using a calling card. When you make a call using your calling card, you pay for the international call charges as specified by calling card provider plus the call charges to dial the local access number. Hence, while buying, do make your calculations as to how much will you actually end up paying per minute. Also, there might be some connection charges per call which is worth looking into.

Some of the calling cards charge a weekly maintenance fee which is automatically deducted from your balance. Check if there are any such fees. There is almost always a surcharge in many countries if you use a payphone.  Check the surcharges in detail.

Another important feature to check is how exactly you would be billed. Some of the calling card providers bill you in multiples of 3 minutes so even if you called for lets say, 1 minute and 20 seconds, you would actually be billed for full 3 minutes. Better to buy a calling card that bills you in multiple of one minute so that you have better control over your costs.

Check the validity of talk time you are purchasing. How long is it going to be valid? Also, good to know if the calling card can be recharged.

Finally, check if the PIN-less feature is provided. Many calling card providers give you a facility to store your phone number. So, for example, if you are staying in a hotel and you have a phone in your room. You can get the number registered against your calling card. Henceforth, every time you call, the system will automatically identify your number and straight way ask you to dial the number you want to call to instead of asking for PIN. A convenience feature that saves you from remembering and entering the long PIN codes every time you want to call.

While calling cards do provide some great features, the biggest drawback is that you can not receive calls at the moment somebody is trying to reach you. Also, in case you are in an urgent situation, not always will you find a payphone next to you.  It however remains a good option for people who do not want to take their mobile phones or are occasional callers.

If you are taking your mobile phone with you, try using an international sim card which is just like using your mobile phone in day today life. Simply insert the sim card in your phone and you are ready to make and receive calls in your country of travel. Check out some of the great features of our world sim for your travel abroad.

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