International calling cards are a great way of staying in touch whether you are traveling for business or pleasure. Everyone wants to call home when they are away, for students this can be costly and a card makes the process easier and cheaper. Whether you're staying in a hotel or a hostel, long distance, overseas call rates are extremely high - this is where the prepaid international calling card will come in handy. Most stores who sell calling cards to the public, deal with International calling cards. You pay a fixed amount of money, based on what you think your call rate and length of call will be. Each call is logged by the phone service who then deduct the appropriate amount from your card. The rates on international calls differ and what you pay is dependent on where and when you want to call and the way you plan your calls. Long-distance calls are charged by the minute as a general rule, and what it costs you will depend largely on the rates that the telephone company has on offer.

There are a number of services you can opt for when it comes to paying for your international long distance calls. There is a variety of international calling card plans and each one may have different services on offer. These might include callback services and dial around. There are also some prepaid phone cards on offer that may charge at a lower rate than other companies generally offer. A lot depends on the type of prepaid international calling card that you choose; with some of the telephone companies will have basic rates. The features on these cards may vary but usually includes the following:

· The connection fees
· Minimum phone call times
· Different rates for the day time/ nighttime
· Different fees for weekend and weekday Times

The benefits of obtaining an international calling card

You might ask just exactly why should you need an international long-distance calling card, and what might suit you? The following information is designed to help you make wise choices so that you get the international calling card that is best suited to your needs. Unfortunately whichever card you choose they each have their own call plans and drawbacks. Some companies will charge you a high connection fee whereas some phone cards have no connection fees but will charge you for using a pay phone or may add extra charges if any call you make is longer than ten minutes. When you are doing your research, trying to find the right calling cards for you then you want one that will allow you to talk for as long as you want to without extra phone charges. If you plan on calling someone who is only contactable by cell phone, then you need to find a card that allows you to call mobile phones and which doesn't make additional charges. Finally, it is a good idea to check that you will be entitled to the minutes that it says you will without incurring any extra charges. You should also check whether the company will apply connection charges for calling other countries.

Prepaid international calling cards will keep you connected

A major disadvantage of the prepaid phone cards for international use is the requirement that you dial a 1- 800-number and then have to enter a long pin number. If the rates on the international calling card are decent then you might want to see this as only a minor inconvenience. If you obtain your prepaid calling card on the Internet rather than at a store then you may find that you reduce any inconveniences you may have to deal with. There are additional benefits to getting your card this way because you can recharge the card online or over a phone line whenever you need it. You should be able to do this with most prepaid phone cards providing you use the online service. Your card number is automatically linked to your cell phone so when you can just call stored numbers without having to enter them every time.

 When looking for an international calling card you obviously want to get the most competitive and the cheapest rates possible - but sometimes this may not always be the best option. Why? Well its like anything that you purchase, cheap is sometimes good, but remember the age old saying "you get what you pay for" this can be said for international calling cards and phone card.

To give you an example, if you are calling the UK from the USA the rate you will expect to pay should be around then 3 to 5 cents region (depending on the service) however the lower end of that scale may use VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology which will not be as clear or as reliable. If you are paying something near 5 cent, generally this higher rate will be because a more dependable tier 1 carrier is being used so calls will not be dropped as often and the quality should be better.

If you see a rate lower than 3 cents to the UK, for example, I would be wary of hidden charges and rates - or they are using VOIP and the quality might not be that good.

So, in summary, lower rates are good - but when it comes to calling your family you might want to pay that bit extra to get a service that works, is clear and reliable!

Prepaid phone cards or calling cards are telephone minutes purchased in advance. Each phone card lists a toll-free number and is imprinted with an access code or PIN number. The dialer will call the toll-free number and enter the access number before making the intended phone call. After the number is dialed, the prepaid countdown begins. Since calls are directed from the toll-free phone number listed on the phone card, the long distance provider of the phone in use is bypassed.

The majority of people who purchase prepaid phone cards do so because they want to lower their home phone bill or avoid collect calls or high cell phone charges. Most pre-paid phone cards come in increments of five, ten or twenty five dollars. This can buy anywhere from thirty minutes to ten hours depending on the company.

Pre-paid phone cards can be purchased almost anywhere. Post offices, supermarkets, electronic stores and discount marts are just a few of the places where pre-paid phone cards can be found for sale. Phone cards can also be purchased over the Internet or through mail order catalogs, television commercials and even the local newspaper. Be careful though; just because the minutes on phone cards are pre-paid doesn't mean they're a bargain. Shop around before purchasing to see which phone card gives you the most minutes for your money.

Just because you bought a ten dollar calling card doesn't mean you have ten dollars worth of minutes. Be aware of phone card surcharges and maintenance fees. As soon as your phone card is activated, it might be subjected to service fees, taxes and connection charges. If you use a pay phone, you can expect an additional surcharge. Always check the packaging on your phone card and make note of any fees and surcharges. You'll also want to check to make sure there's no expiration date. If there is, you'll have to use the phone card before that date or lose your money.

Calling cards are convenient for college students and those who do a lot of traveling. Thanks to phone cards, collect calls can now be a thing of the past. A call made with a phone card won't appear on your phone bill, so you can make discreet phone calls from your home or office without the number appearing on the bill. You'll also be able to avoid the high rates that come with making phone calls from a hotel room.

In most cases, you can't go wrong with prepaid phone cards. Having a couple in case of emergency is never a bad thing.