Hello,

I would like to see if anyone knows a cheap way to call to Russia from USA.I just arrived in California and I would like to call my mother in Moscow.AT&T and Sprint have some crazy prices and I can't even afford to pay the big bills that they send me since I am a student.
Do you know a service that can help me call back (but with a decent rate)?

Thanks.

AT&T charges $.23/min, with $2.95/month additional flat fee. If you have a land phone, call AT&T and sign up for this rate.

Are you kiddin'? I'm calling Russia with 7 cents/min with calling cards and with no other monthly fees... AT&T is waaay too expensive. I get my calling cards from here (http://www.callingcardshome.com) and I'm not paying bills to AT&T... The choice is yours...

vincent, thanks for the info. I got all exited after seeing the rates of 3.9 cents per minute and was ready to sign up on the spot... until I read the small print. The cheapest rate had a monthly maintenace fee and a 3-month expiration term. Would not work for me as I am a relatevely light user: about 25-30 minutes a week. The 7 cents/min plan looked better ( no maintenance fees, no expiration ). However, what are all these "local phone surcharges", taxes, various federal surcharges, processing fees, etc ? How much do you pay for all these? What is the true cost of your calls after all this "stuff" has been subtracted?
My average monthly AT&T bill is about $27/month, with all the taxes and surcharges included. Do you think it's worth it to get one of this cards?

If I were you, I'd be very careful with any information provided in the poster's only post. Particularly if it sounds so much like an ad

When assembling my first visit to Russia, I needed to call the hotel in Moscow for visa support. I did a little research and found a pretty good deal on a pre-paid LD card at masterbell.com. I'm not sure if it was the best price I could have found, but it worked out for me. I'm sure there's 100 sites out there offering similar, so please do comparative shop.

Anyhow, I bought a $20 card and it was something like 0.09 per minute when I call their toll free number, but only 0.07 when I called their New York access number. With free LD on my cell phone, that was an easy savings. The card I selected didn't have maintenance fees, and was tons cheaper than trying to do LD over my standard telco LD.

Hope that helps.

Are you kiddin'? I'm calling Russia with 7 cents/min with calling cards and with no other monthly fees... AT&T is waaay too expensive. I get my calling cards from here (http://www.callingcardshome.com) and I'm not paying bills to AT&T... The choice is yours...

Rather than buying a calling card online, go to a local deli or convenience store. They usually have many different cards which have rates for specific areas. I have seen many listing Russia at less than 10 cents/min. and there are oftne ones that are specific to CA or wherever you may be. This way you can check for the best rate and for the best deal in your area and check the fine print.

Also, you might want to look into internet calling if you have a computer at home. I have heard good things about Skype.

Also see www.bestpricedcards.com

I've been buying cards here for a couple of years now. After you get set up, the PIN comes instantly via email.

Hello,

I would like to see if anyone knows a cheap way to call to Russia from USA.I just arrived in California and I would like to call my mother in Moscow.AT&T and Sprint have some crazy prices and I can't even afford to pay the big bills that they send me since I am a student.
Do you know a service that can help me call back (but with a decent rate)?

Thanks.

I travel to the FSU once a month. I went to WWW.telestial.com, and got thier long distance calling service. Ms powerlifter called me four times in Kyrgyzstan in Nov we talked for a total of 10 to 15 min it cost me around four dollars. I was shocked. It goes to your assigned credit card. Just look it over and see what you think. Just my two cents worth. BTW I have no vested interest in the co. I just got my International cell phone and use a global sim card I bought from them, as well as the long distance. BTW this works for domestic as well as international. Have a great day. :)

Hello Digitalwolf

YOu can call to Russia from 2.5 cents to 7 cents depending on the location you are calling. Absolutely no maintenance or any other free.
You can buy prepaid calling time for Russia @ http://www.lotsofminutes.com

I also use it to call within US/Canada, Back home to India and my friends in the Europe.

I hope this helps.

Sachin

Thanks for the info.

I travel to the FSU once a month. I went to WWW.telestial.com, and got thier long distance calling service. Ms powerlifter called me four times in Kyrgyzstan in Nov we talked for a total of 10 to 15 min it cost me around four dollars. I was shocked. It goes to your assigned credit card. Just look it over and see what you think. Just my two cents worth. BTW I have no vested interest in the co. I just got my International cell phone and use a global sim card I bought from them, as well as the long distance. BTW this works for domestic as well as international. Have a great day. :)

Powerlifter, how are the rates on the intl cell phone? We currently use Mobal and their rates are very high and the phones don't work stateside. Most of our use is in FSU.

As said earlier, Masterbell.com is the way to go. Excellent quality, no monthly charges or minimum charges. You'll be hard pressed to find a better choice. However, if you do, please post it here!! We'll all want to know. Good luck!

vincent, thanks for the info. I got all exited after seeing the rates of 3.9 cents per minute and was ready to sign up on the spot... until I read the small print. The cheapest rate had a monthly maintenace fee and a 3-month expiration term. Would not work for me as I am a relatevely light user: about 25-30 minutes a week. The 7 cents/min plan looked better ( no maintenance fees, no expiration ). However, what are all these "local phone surcharges", taxes, various federal surcharges, processing fees, etc ? How much do you pay for all these? What is the true cost of your calls after all this "stuff" has been subtracted?
My average monthly AT&T bill is about $27/month, with all the taxes and surcharges included. Do you think it's worth it to get one of this cards?

Hi and sorry for the late reply... I don't know where you saw that expiration date... i didn't see anything like that. I guess the cards are designed exactly for each person's talk time or something like that - if you get a card with a maintenance fee you have a low rate, but you probably are a heavy user... I myself checked out the details and I chose the 1 Second card because I talk once a week. As for the fees and stuff, I think those are put there just for the legal part or something, I didn't notice any fees while I was using the cards, and I also looked up some of the other services suggested on this thread and ALL have such Terms and Conditions... So it's a general thing. Anyway, it's your choice. That is the service I am using and I was just trying to referr it because I like it. I'm not forcing anyone to buy. Hope this clears up any misunderstandings.

Oh, and to answer your last question... how much do you talk for those $27 with AT&T? I buy a $20 card and I use it up in about 2 months... For me it's a good deal.

WWW.CALLINGFORCHEAP.COM IS THE BEST!!
1.9 cents domestic USA/CANADA
I LOVE the online account management, SPEED DIALING and NO PINS EVER!
No connection fees/maintenance fees and nearest minute rounding!
I used to go to the local convenience store to buy prepaids, but all the extra fees drove almost drove me crazy.. a 2 hour card was really worth an hour…what a scam.
I also got 368 minutes free on sign up! I think you can get up to 450 or so depending on the plan. The call quality has been great too. I suggest everyone check them out..
This is the best international calling card ever!
Absolutely no fees and the lowest rates means you're callingforcheap!
www.callingforcheap.com

You can also use skype out for voice over ip - only had calls to moscow and they were good - www.skype.com

With Skype you need to be near computer.My card is much better. No PIN,tax,fee, very low rates. Bonus on sign up. Local numbers all over USA and Canada. Tel3Advantage (http://www.TelThreeAdvantage.com/)

As mentioned by someone earlier...Masterbell is a great way to go...My wife has been using masterbell for years now to call her family back in Russia...MasterBell (http://www.masterbell.com)...There might be better rates out there, but it has always worked well for us and if you register your number you can call without having to enter your pin# every time and they have 800# and local # access...Just our experiences...wouldn't hesitate to recommend...Not affiliated with masterbell in anyway just a satisfied customer.

We have used masterbell and others in the 2 cent range. I recently saw a website that allows you to put on 2 phone numbers and the call will be connected for free. You just type them into the website and the phones at both ends ring and the call is connected. It included Moscow.

Here Tel3Advantage (http://www.telthreeadvantage.com) is same 2 cents a minute and you have ability to connect home,cell,office phone and dial without PIN. I using it for a past 4 years.^

Here Tel3Advantage (http://www.telthreeadvantage.com) is same 2 cents a minute and you have ability to connect home,cell,office phone and dial without PIN. I using it for a past 4 years.^

I have been using net2phone, but this sounds much better. Are you able to call from other countries to USA?

Do you get a referral bonus for signing up new people? If yes, PM me your referral link. Thanks (Spasibo)

You right. It Tel3Advantage (http://www.telthreeadvantage.com) much better than net2phone. I use them long time ago and moved to Tel3Advantage (http://www.telthreeadvantage.com) when they start to trick me with fee,tax. Here no taxes,fee. You can call anywhere from USA and Canada.

You right. It Tel3Advantage (http://www.telthreeadvantage.com) much better than net2phone. I use them long time ago and moved to Tel3Advantage (http://www.telthreeadvantage.com) when they start to trick me with fee,tax. Here no taxes,fee. You can call anywhere from USA and Canada.

Attempted to sign up on several occasions. My account is always going into pending status. Then they asked you for last four of your ss#. Then they state they are pulling out public data base info and will ask me questions. The questions are about 3 people that I have no clue who they are and then they decline my account. I was declined 4 times already. Unable to get to a supervisor or get a call back from one.

I think this company is a scam. Any body else tried them?

I use the Bizon card from Masterbell, which has worked out fine (4.485c/min including surcharge for Moscow/St. Petersburg, no weekly fee).

Masterbell offers cheaper per-minute rates, but with unfavorable terms -- higher surcharges, multiple minute rounding, weekly fees, etc.

The 2.6c card rounds up to 3 minute intervals (4 minute call gets charged 6), and has a 25% surcharge for calls up to 10 minutes and 35% over 10 minutes and 99c/week fee.

No taxes,fee,surcharge Tel3Advantage (http://www.telthreeadvantage.com) You only pay for your calls.

Well I looked at all of the cards mentioned. Masterbel is under another name now BTW. The telephony industry has always been a shell game, and it continues to this day. Buyer beware is definitely the rule. We use VOIP and cell phones from home which is perfect. On the road in the US -- cell phones (or with the laptop, VOIP again). Internationally, I google it to find the best deal. The rates on all of these say that they are the lowest but they definitely are not in all cases. It's the fine print that will kill you!