All About Telephone Rates
 

This big complete site is all about talk, that is, telephone talk rate plans and charges, call times, fees etc. Very, very complete except for info in regards to miles. Of course, with all the $$$$ savings you get by changing your phone company rate plan, you can buy you own miles separately:

http://www.abelltolls.com

Another site that is somewhat similar, covering the "dial-around" long distance providers:
http://www.10-10phonerates.com/

And yet another site!
http://easycall.net/ld/#3

[This message has been edited by MRLIMO (edited 07-25-1999).]

MisterNice- You have done a great service by starting this thread. I'm surprised more people haven't posted here.

I've reviewed all 3 sites http://abletolls.com, http://10-10phonerates.com, http://easycall.net/ld#3
and have found a really good deal on 10-10phonerates.com state-to-state rates & call-time comparison charts, especially Clear Choice Comm 10-10-636, provided by VarTec, which provides 5c/minute 24/7, 15c/call minimum and no monthly fee in all but 15 states, clearly indicated on their link. I called the listed info# 1-800-760-1787 to verify the listed data. Basically, if you don't mind dialing the 1010636 code, it's like having the MCIWorldcom 5c Sat & Sun rate 24/7, on STATE to STATE calls.

I guess it depends on how much your phone bill is. My strategy is to maximize on the airline mile signup bonuses, and then stick with that carrier for the duration of the bonuses, so I do not use the dial-around services.

This is the best of both worlds. You can sign up with any carrier and get the bonus miles and still use the 10-10 services! No problem . . . big savings!

[This message has been edited by Here-I-Go (edited 08-02-1999).]

Yes, I know its possible, just that I'd rather not do it.

knowitall, Here-I-Go: Thanks for the reminder on using 10-10's as work-arounds while doing the bonus mile thing.

I had been slightly frustrated on seeing my per minute rate jump from .10 to .15 when I switched to Sprint to get 25K Northwest miles. This solution is "obvious"; it just needs to be pointed out! http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Great idea Knowitall. Thank You


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MilesNut

Per my posting 8/2/99 on this thread, I just got my first billing for ClearChoice calls made 7/99 and all were billed at 5c/minute 24/7 and NO FEES! So far, so good. Thanks again, MR NICE.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Little-known telephone service provider IDT Corp. is escalating the long-distance rate price war, undercutting the industry's giants with charges as low as 3.5 cents per minute.
The Hackensack-based company on Wednesday announced its new rate for domestic long-distance calls: 5 cents per minute any time, plus a $3.95 monthly fee. For customers who also sign up for IDT's dial-up Internet service, the 10-year-old company plans to offer rates as low as 3.5 cents per minute.
The move comes two days after AT&T Corp., which has about 55 percent of the $41 billion annual market for consumer long-distance calls, slashed its rates to 7 cents a minute for calls made any time; customers also must pay a monthly $5.95 fee.
Sprint charges the same monthly fee, for rates of 5 cents a minute at night and 10 cents other times. MCI WorldCom offers weekend and weekday nighttime rates of 5 cents a minute, with daytime fees as high as 10 cents a minute, plus a monthly fee of $4.95.
Howard Jonas, IDT's chairman and chief executive officer, said the company intends ``to make it clear to consumers that they can do better with us.''
``Seven cents a minute is yesterday's news. Limiting 5 cents to evenings and weekends is also yesterday's news,'' Jonas said.
Whether IDT will significantly increase its base of 50,000 long-distance customers was unclear.
Telecommunications analyst Mel Marten, of Edward Jones in St. Louis, said that while the carriers are competing strictly on price, ``someone looking at basically a no-name company'' should consider whether it provides good customer service and gets bills right, information hard to get without some research.
``Not many customers are going to go to the trouble of switching long-distance carriers to save a few pennies,'' Marten predicted.
But IDT spokeswoman Judy Fishof said that by midday Wednesday the company was ``getting overwhelmed with calls to get this rate.''
``It seems like we don't even need to advertise,'' Fishof said.
IDT, formerly called International Discount Telecommunications, derives much of its revenue from routing calls overseas for other carriers. It is the No. 1 carrier of telephone calls via the Internet, with about 250,000 customers, and also sells prepaid calling cards.

OK, by using the many suggestions above all my phones now are 5 cents/min, with no monthly charges, and the nice people at Prodigy sent a $25 check to switch. Did so and enjoyed the $$ at a quiet bar last night.

Latest major charge card deal is one by MCI and sold by Costco. Cost is $20 for 240 minutes (ie 8.3 cents/min). One further nicety is the cost to use it at a pay phone is only 2 addl minutes (17 cents).

You might want to check out www.bigzoo.com
They have what is the equivalent of a prepaid calling card. The rate is 3.9 cents a minute in the continental US state to state or within your state. Great international rates as well. You can sign up for as little as $5.00. Works just like a calling card - toll free number, then your pin which is your phone number plus a 4 number assigned to it. Then when prompted, you punch in the phone number you want. Neat thing is that it tells you how much money you have left on your card, how many minutes you have left based on the rate of the number you are calling, and a list of your calls are IMMEDIATELY available at the web-site. The only drawback is sometimes the circuits are busy. I think I have told too many people about it. So..you always need a back up method of calling in case that happens - go back to the 5 cents a minute deals. Also the prices are tax included! When it works it's great!


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DtG

Thanks dgordon http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Signed up just now with Bigzoo and it was easy, quick and painless. It will get my daytime dime rate cut 60%. Plus easy to re-charge for more time. The 3 month expiration date is yucky, but if that is the only negative, it's a deal.

Thanks, everyone, for posting this info. I, too, didn't realize the differences in the calling plans/rates. I hated MCI so much when I was with them, no amount of miles would make me switch back (well, maybe 50,000 miles), so I've just stuck with AT&T. I recently attached my AT&T account to earn Hilton Honors points on "qualifying long distance rates". They promised me the rates wouldn't be any more than I'm paying now. Great info on these websites. It's also good to know that there are no hidden charges on many of these 10-10 numbers.