Domestic Calling card(s) for cheap.

[SuepaFly]

ONESUITE all the way I've been using them for years. Cheap local, cheap international. $10 bucks lasts me several months.

 

[dchakrab]

Update: bigzoo is phasing out phone services

Rossman, where are you?

-D.

 

[dchakrab]

Originally posted by: Hsam
dchakrab, cheapest rate to India (Calcutta) was 7.41 cents per min with no connection fee from starphonecard.com. The Silver Star which I use mostly now days have 11cent per min charge but you might get quite a bit more minutes if you live in an area where they have local access number. If I were you I would buy 4 different card with $5 limit and try them out yourself and sticking with one card that has best connection quality and best "current" rate.

I just tried them, with a fast lane or something card...was rated 4/5 stars for quality. I could make out what my mother was saying, more or less, with a few repeats, but it was more or less useable.

I also suspected their timings, so I timed the second call...the prompt said I had 18 minutes for the call. The prompt cut in exactly 10 minutes later to say I had a minute left, and cut out. That, plus the $1 fee for an under $20 order, makes that company decidedly not hot.

I suppose I could try a different card...why do phone cards have to be so shady? I think it's going to be Vonage time as soon as I can get out of my SBC DSL contract next month, switch to Comcast cable, and drop my home phone plan totally. I'm a college kid with no insurance, so 911 coverage isn't as important as having a bandaid and a black belt, if it means saving money and being able to call my mom.

-D.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: INXSible

Originally posted by: ironk
Onesuite looks good, but they don't seem to say their fees for cards up front. I think one has to sign up to see them. Bigzoo looks like is only international...

BigZoo.com Domestic rate is 3.9¢ when connecting w/Toll-Free and 2.9¢ when connecting w/Local Number. 75¢ monthly fee will be deducted automatically from your account.

INDIA : 13.9¢ average
VIETNAM: 40.9¢ average

OneSuite.com Domestic rate is 2.9¢ when connecting w/Toll-Free Number and 2.5¢ when connecting w/Local Number. NO Monthly fee, NO connection charges.

INDIA : 20¢ average
VIETNAM: 38¢ average

you get charged to connect to a 1 800 number?

 

[Lionstl]

Important Message:
BigZoo.com (Prepaid Calling Service) Phasing Out of Service

We deeply regret having to inform you that BigZoo will phase out our Prepaid Calling services on January 31, 2005 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Standard Time).

This is a difficult decision, but we hope you will understand. We wish to thank you for using BigZoo Prepaid Calling Service. We have tried to provide you with great value and reliable customer service. Over time, with increasing alternative technologies and providers of telecommunication service, we have found it difficult to provide a competitive service under these conditions.

We recommend that BigZoo Prepaid Calling customers use up your remaining balance before January 31, 2005. Please login to your account to learn more about being able to continue using Bigzoo's service and details for a refund. To login to your Prepaid Calling account, please click here.

Please note the following:

* You can continue placing your long distance calls with BigZoo until January 31st, 2005
* You will have access to your BigZoo account until January 31st, 2005.


We have really appreciated serving you. Thank you for your understanding.

 

[dchakrab]

Yep, just tried another one. This one was the "Golden Dream" ...got the voice prompt at 7:02 saying I had 1 hour and 15 minutes for my call. Call cut at 7:55.

So that's 53 minutes of calling for a $5 card, plus the $1 fee, so $6. Works out to 11.32 cents per minute.

Not too bad, since call quality was slightly better this time, but a very far cry from their 6.x cent advertised rates for this card. Very, very shady...I'm sure if I call in they'll say there were taxes and other various "maintenance" and hidden fees. I'm not sure I trust a company that does business this way. The card listed no connection fee, and no, I wasn't calling from a payphone.

Cheapest rates with VOIP services look like about 20 cents a minute to India...since I make both long and short calls, i think i'll do phone cards for my super-long calls (an hour or more) and use regular calling for shorter calls once I switch. Hope the call quality's better than these cards, though.

Anyone got any other recommended calling cards?

-D.

 

[vfrjim]

of course, to all you New England folks, www.rnktel.com for 1/2 cent/min and www.discount.rnktel.com for a .25 cent discount per 1000 minutes, all my LD costs $5 per 6 months