Phone Calls from Europe to USA
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Florida
Posts: 151
Phone Calls from Europe to USA
I would like some advice from those of you who travel often to and from Europe.
I will be in Switzerland this summer. I usually go to the telecom store there and buy a phone card to use in their public phones whether for calls within the country or to the USA. Sometimes I have used the phones within the Post Office where there are booths and an attendant that you pay. These two methods Have worked for me in the past as the most reasonable. But I haven't been there for a few years. Perhaps things have changed.
What do you recommend as the least expensive method of calling home from Europe?
I will be in Switzerland this summer. I usually go to the telecom store there and buy a phone card to use in their public phones whether for calls within the country or to the USA. Sometimes I have used the phones within the Post Office where there are booths and an attendant that you pay. These two methods Have worked for me in the past as the most reasonable. But I haven't been there for a few years. Perhaps things have changed.
What do you recommend as the least expensive method of calling home from Europe?
#2
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Greenville, SC USA
Posts: 859
For calling back to the USA, I think the cheapest and most convenient way is to use the toll-free number in the country you are calling from to access your long distance carrier at home (ATT,MCI,Sprint,etc.) and then dial direct with credit card or with the help of a US operator, very convenient and no language dificulties,etc. also a way to get mileage for the calls if you are signed up for that program. The toll free access numbers from each country are listed almost daily in the Int.Herald Tribune in ads for AT&T, MCI, etc.
You, however, cannot use this for calling within Europe so you may need to get a calling card anyway, just not in such large such a large denomination.
You, however, cannot use this for calling within Europe so you may need to get a calling card anyway, just not in such large such a large denomination.
#3
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Tucson Az
Posts: 20
I use a call back service when I im europe. When you get there you call them on a 800 number from the Country and hangup. they call back and ask you for your code and the number that you are calling England was 8 cents and Italy was 14 cents. The name of the Company is enlinea Communiications 1 800-797-2797 . It works Great and they bill on the Credsit Card. John Rahn 520-746-1122
#4
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: Alaska 100K - MM, defender of shoes on the carpeted bulkhead 4ever, AA LT PLT, Hyatt Glob, HH Dia
Posts: 7,446
Definitely go with the local calling card. Its way cheaper and less of a hassle than using ATT or MCI. Shop around though, tabaccis or newstands often carry several different brands that market to different countries. Some phone cards are rechargeable too.
lala
lala
#5
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Miami/Ft. Lauderdale
Programs: AA 2MM Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,349
AT&T, MCI and Sprint may be the most convenient but are also very expensive. The miles hardly make up for the cost.
Callback services are great if you are staying in a home or apartment. But it's very difficult to use in a hotel unless perhaps it is very small. In that case they may be more likely (and more able) to cooperate. They need to know what to do when the "callback call" rings at their switchboard.
Up until now, I always used the Voicenet calling card. But now that they went belly up I'll have to find another discount calling card. I've never used a prepaid card from Europe but I imagine it's a good alternative.
Callback services are great if you are staying in a home or apartment. But it's very difficult to use in a hotel unless perhaps it is very small. In that case they may be more likely (and more able) to cooperate. They need to know what to do when the "callback call" rings at their switchboard.
Up until now, I always used the Voicenet calling card. But now that they went belly up I'll have to find another discount calling card. I've never used a prepaid card from Europe but I imagine it's a good alternative.
#6
In Memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Easton, CT, USA
Programs: ua prem exec, Former hilton diamond
Posts: 31,801
Nobelcom.com offers a prepaid for 18 cents per minute, they use the AT&T network, so I'll assume it's via the local AT&T access numbers. I have never used them, I too was a voicenet user and will very sincerely miss them. These prices are a couple of pennies more then Voicenet was, but certainly less then the big three will charge. Site96.net offers many prepaid cards too.
If you use AT&T, MCI, or your sprint calling card you will pay rates considerably higher then you should be paying.
[This message has been edited by cordelli (edited 05-29-2001).]
If you use AT&T, MCI, or your sprint calling card you will pay rates considerably higher then you should be paying.
[This message has been edited by cordelli (edited 05-29-2001).]
#7
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 518
This past March I visited Switzerland and needed to call back home to the US on several occasions.
Believe it or not, the calls averaged 15 cents per minute from my hotel room using the hotel's phone system. I know better than to use a hotel's phone line for long distance calls . . . but did it anyway and was pleasantly surprised by the inexpensiveness of the calls. Did this in at least three Swiss cities and the costs were about the same.
Believe it or not, the calls averaged 15 cents per minute from my hotel room using the hotel's phone system. I know better than to use a hotel's phone line for long distance calls . . . but did it anyway and was pleasantly surprised by the inexpensiveness of the calls. Did this in at least three Swiss cities and the costs were about the same.
#9
Join Date: May 2001
Location: ATL
Programs: FL, AA, DL
Posts: 663
Originally posted by hackensacknj:
This past March I visited Switzerland and needed to call back home to the US on several occasions.
Believe it or not, the calls averaged 15 cents per minute from my hotel room using the hotel's phone system. I know better than to use a hotel's phone line for long distance calls . . .
This past March I visited Switzerland and needed to call back home to the US on several occasions.
Believe it or not, the calls averaged 15 cents per minute from my hotel room using the hotel's phone system. I know better than to use a hotel's phone line for long distance calls . . .
#10
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: USA
Posts: 8,031
Check out this story: http://www.thedigest.com/more/128/128-108.html
#11
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: USA
Posts: 8,031
Check out this story: http://www.thedigest.com/more/128/128-108.html
#12
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: PHL, PA, USA
Posts: 839
I use www.ekit.com. Their rates are the best. Their rates are better than AT&T, MCI etc. Check out all the info on the web. I have used them from more than a dozen countries in Europe, Asia and and the USA. I am completely satisfied.
[This message has been edited by MSP2000 (edited 05-29-2001).]
[This message has been edited by MSP2000 (edited 05-29-2001).]
#13
Join Date: May 2000
Location: WAS
Posts: 1,069
I recently spent ten weeks in Switzerland. The post office there (at least the one in Bern where I was staying) sells a bunch of discount prepaid phone cards that you access through an 800# and pin code. At Bern, they even had a neat chart comparing the prices of the cards for different countries. Keep in mind that when using any prepaid card from a pay phone you get charged a .50 sFr connection fee (you also get charged this fee when using a regular phone card). You can of course also buy a regular phone card, but I didnīt really see a need to since every pay phone I saw in Bern took credit cards which seemed to get charged the same rates.
I donīt know if this is the case everywhere there, but where I was staying, there was a charge of something like 1 or 2 cents every few minutes for using the toll-free access numbers.
Yonatan
P.S. Having used an MCI calling card in Europe and gotten charged something like $3/minute, I wouldnīt recommend going that route.
I donīt know if this is the case everywhere there, but where I was staying, there was a charge of something like 1 or 2 cents every few minutes for using the toll-free access numbers.
Yonatan
P.S. Having used an MCI calling card in Europe and gotten charged something like $3/minute, I wouldnīt recommend going that route.