Calling Cards

Calling cards are an affordable way to stay in touch with friends and family when you travel, as you can guarantee low rates for international calls.

The best place to buy calling cards is Amazon.com, which has great prices and a wide selection. Find specific cards in the search box below.

Travel calling cards may well be the cheapest and most convenient way to communicate with your family and friends while on traveling domestically or abroad. Especially in areas where cell phone service is not very reliable or not in widespread use, buying prepaid phone cards to stay in touch with loved ones may be the easiest option. With calling cards, you do not need to have a special cell phone plan, SIM card, laptop, or any other paraphernalia. All you need is access to a land line phone or phone booth, which is available almost everywhere in the world. You can call easily from your hotel room or overseas business office.

There are two main types of calling cards. Some prepaid phone cards allow you to call from your home country to international destinations at very low rates, for people who have friends or family living or traveling overseas. On the other hand, if you yourself are traveling abroad, international calling cards allow you to call from your location anywhere in the world, to the destination of your choice. Calling cards that allow you to call from your home country to a specific overseas destination tend to offer lower per-minute rates than international calling cards that allow you to roam over the globe while making calls.

If you are traveling domestically, you may not need to purchase travel calling cards at all, if your cell phone plan offers the same rates wherever you are in the country.

Most prepaid phone cards will come with a certain amount of stored value, and will require you to use a touch-tone phone when calling. There is a wealth of companies that offer prepaid phone cards online, or you may also want to check with your local telecommunications company. Be sure to check how many minutes are rounded off when you make a call - if you make a one-minute call, for example, some companies will round up to the next three-minute block, charging you a three-minute minimum fee.

If it's important to you not to miss calls from your family and friends at home, look for a card that allows you to set up a voice mail box where people can leave you a message for you to retrieve later. Some cards also include access to your email, and the ability to send a fax message (known as Faxmail).

In some cases, especially when you purchase your card online, your international calling card will not be a physical card but rather a "virtual" card—that is, your information is all stored online and you will be given an access number and PIN code. To use the value stored on your card, simply call the toll-free number provided, and put in your access number and PIN code. In most cases, you can recharge your card by telephone by calling the toll-free number provided and purchasing more minutes with your credit card. Often you can also recharge your card online.