Best Phone Cards
May 15, 2001 | 2:25 pm
#16
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 2,978
What did happen to Voice Net? Are they really out of business? I tried using them last night and the 800 number was not working.
May 15, 2001 | 4:03 pm
#17
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: BKK when I'm not in Princeton
Programs: UA MP:1P for life, TG:Gold, CO:Gold
Posts: 2,017
Echelon, are local, non-surcharged, access numbers provided for overseas use of the TTI National Card? Overseas, can the card be used country-to-country, or just back to US? Also, the website is a bit light on details. For example, I didn't see what the pricing structure was for overseas use.
May 16, 2001 | 7:50 am
#18
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 5
e-mail me and I will tell you about a phone card that is 3.9cents 24hrs/day.
May 16, 2001 | 8:03 am
#19
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: 3A - most likey <> BKK <--> EZE; TACA 3A nobody, but GP million miler; Hilton Gold sometimes. Successfully divorced from CO PLAT.
Posts: 3,079
Costco and Sam's have really cheap rates, but everytime I turn around they're raising the per unit charge for accessing their lines via a public phone. Presently, I think it's at six units just to connect.
May 16, 2001 | 8:16 am
#20
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC, USA
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AA Exec Plat, Marriott Lifetime Plat, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,017
Originally posted by tvl4free:
Costco and Sam's have really cheap rates, but everytime I turn around they're raising the per unit charge for accessing their lines via a public phone. Presently, I think it's at six units just to connect.
Costco and Sam's have really cheap rates, but everytime I turn around they're raising the per unit charge for accessing their lines via a public phone. Presently, I think it's at six units just to connect.
May 16, 2001 | 8:45 am
#21
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: 3A - most likey <> BKK <--> EZE; TACA 3A nobody, but GP million miler; Hilton Gold sometimes. Successfully divorced from CO PLAT.
Posts: 3,079
Yes. If you use a pay phone alot, the connect charges (units) eat up the card really, really quickly.
Check out this charge for your particular card, as its not just the per minute rate that is important!
Check out this charge for your particular card, as its not just the per minute rate that is important!
May 16, 2001 | 10:53 am
#22
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Bartlett, TN (MEM)
Programs: Hilton Diamond Starwood Gold Radisson Elite
Posts: 124
The reason the units required is going up is that the price per unit is going down. When I bought my Sam's Card a year ago the price per minute was 5.9 cents it is now much lower. AT&T has to pay the owner of the payphone 50 cents for your use of the payphone. Even with this high charge the profitability of pay phones is decreasing and some people say the pay phone is becoming extinct due to cell phones. I don't have a cell phone, and hopefully won't ever.
Secondly, You can have a friend buy the card for you at Sam's and then anyone can renew a card with a credit card. The best news is you can re-charge your AT&T card with Diner's!!
Secondly, You can have a friend buy the card for you at Sam's and then anyone can renew a card with a credit card. The best news is you can re-charge your AT&T card with Diner's!!
May 16, 2001 | 5:34 pm
#23
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: East Orange, NJ
Posts: 326
Originally posted by pactab:
e-mail me and I will tell you about a phone card that is 3.9cents 24hrs/day.
e-mail me and I will tell you about a phone card that is 3.9cents 24hrs/day.
No need to e-mail this person. The 3.9 cents per minute card is from http://www.bigzoo.com and the montly fee is 75 cents.
There is a better deal though. As stated above, the card from http://www.onesuite.com is an even better 2.9 cents per minute and has NO fee. Plus, the onesuite card works better, you never get busy signals like BigZoo. I love it, it's a great card!
The those who don't like pre-paid, echelon is right, the ITT card is the best. Get it through the American Travel Network for the best deal.
For a comprehensive phone card comparison, go to http://www.clarkhoward.com
Mac
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Viaja con Dios!
May 16, 2001 | 5:36 pm
#24
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: East Orange, NJ
Posts: 326
Originally posted by pactab:
e-mail me and I will tell you about a phone card that is 3.9cents 24hrs/day.
e-mail me and I will tell you about a phone card that is 3.9cents 24hrs/day.
No need to e-mail this person. The 3.9 cents per minute card is from http://www.bigzoo.com and the montly fee is 75 cents.
There is a better deal though. As stated above, the card from http://www.onesuite.com is an even better 2.9 cents per minute and has NO fee. Plus, the onesuite card works better, you never get busy signals like BigZoo. I love it, it's a great card!
The those who don't like pre-paid, echelon is right, the ITT card is the best. Get it through the American Travel Network for the best deal.
For a comprehensive phone card comparison, go to http://www.clarkhoward.com
Mac
------------------
Viaja con Dios!
May 16, 2001 | 5:45 pm
#25
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: East Orange, NJ
Posts: 326
And with that accidental duplicate posting, I am now officially a FT Evangelist.
Hallelujah!
Mac
------------------
Viaja con Dios!
Hallelujah!
Mac
------------------
Viaja con Dios!
May 16, 2001 | 7:51 pm
#26
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Silicon Valley
Programs: AA:PLT&3MM, HGP:DIA, SPG:GOLD
Posts: 1,896
Originally posted by macbravery:
...
There is a better deal though. As stated above, the card from http://www.onesuite.com is an even better 2.9 cents per minute and has NO fee. Plus, the onesuite card works better, you never get busy signals like BigZoo. I love it, it's a great card!
...
There is a better deal though. As stated above, the card from http://www.onesuite.com is an even better 2.9 cents per minute and has NO fee. Plus, the onesuite card works better, you never get busy signals like BigZoo. I love it, it's a great card!
May 16, 2001 | 11:23 pm
#27
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Spring Lake,NJ
Posts: 1,219
true...but I just read in the FAQ that there is a .55 access charge from hotel phones....no good for me...
May 17, 2001 | 3:44 am
#28
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Upcountry Maui, HI
Posts: 13,718
I've been using a card (not prepaid, an account) from TTI National for several years, though I noticed that the rate I pay is about 1 cent more per minute than the link, so my rates are a little different than the one for the ttinational link posted above.
What's really funny is that they will literally send me a 6 page paper phone bill for 31 cents. The best thing about this card .. there are no monthly fees and no ridiculous surcharges. There are taxes and there's a small surcharge for using a pay phone. There's certainly no charge for using a hotel phone, because I do that all the time.
TTI National is actually owned by Worldcom now. Last time I lost a card, they sent me a new one, and it's lost its TTI logo, but the rate and bills are identical. (Customer service now answers as "Worldcom" and the toll free number for making calls answers as "Worldcom", but the bills still say TTI National .. I checked with them and the rates are identical to my old card.)
Here's what they said the rates were for a few international cities. (Caveat .. my card is not the same one as the tti national card in the link above, so that one may be different.) Are these rates any good?
Each direct dial international call has a 95 cent per call surcharge. There's no surcharge on domestic calls. These are per minute rates to the US. They also provided country-wide toll free numbers when I asked for them:
Thailand: $1.30 per minute
Hong Kong: $1.57 per minute
Singapore: $1.61 per minute
London: $0.96 per minute
I'm pretty sure the billing is in 6 second increments.
The customer service number for the card is 800-741-9200. The card is labeled Worldcom/Worldphone.
UAL Traveler: I'm pretty sure you can call non-US to non-US also. When I asked for the rates, the rep asked me if I wanted the rate from country X to the US.
-David
[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited 05-17-2001).]
What's really funny is that they will literally send me a 6 page paper phone bill for 31 cents. The best thing about this card .. there are no monthly fees and no ridiculous surcharges. There are taxes and there's a small surcharge for using a pay phone. There's certainly no charge for using a hotel phone, because I do that all the time.
TTI National is actually owned by Worldcom now. Last time I lost a card, they sent me a new one, and it's lost its TTI logo, but the rate and bills are identical. (Customer service now answers as "Worldcom" and the toll free number for making calls answers as "Worldcom", but the bills still say TTI National .. I checked with them and the rates are identical to my old card.)
Here's what they said the rates were for a few international cities. (Caveat .. my card is not the same one as the tti national card in the link above, so that one may be different.) Are these rates any good?
Each direct dial international call has a 95 cent per call surcharge. There's no surcharge on domestic calls. These are per minute rates to the US. They also provided country-wide toll free numbers when I asked for them:
Thailand: $1.30 per minute
Hong Kong: $1.57 per minute
Singapore: $1.61 per minute
London: $0.96 per minute
I'm pretty sure the billing is in 6 second increments.
The customer service number for the card is 800-741-9200. The card is labeled Worldcom/Worldphone.
UAL Traveler: I'm pretty sure you can call non-US to non-US also. When I asked for the rates, the rep asked me if I wanted the rate from country X to the US.
-David
[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited 05-17-2001).]
May 17, 2001 | 4:23 am
#29
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1P; HHonors Silver
Posts: 2,686
47CFR64.1300
That's where your six-unit "surcharge" comes from.
Sec. 64.1300 Payphone compensation obligation.
(a) Except as provided herein, every carrier to whom a completed call from a payphone is routed shall compensate the payphone service provider for the call at a rate agreed upon by the parties by contract.
(b) The compensation obligation set forth herein shall not apply to calls to emergency numbers, calls by hearing disabled persons to a telecommunications relay service or local calls for which the caller has made the required coin deposit.
(c) In the absence of an agreement as required by paragraph (a) of this section, the carrier is obligated to compensate the payphone service provider at a per-call rate of $.24.
[61 FR 52324, Oct. 7, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 58686, Oct. 30, 1997; 64
FR 13719, Mar. 22, 1999]
(a) Except as provided herein, every carrier to whom a completed call from a payphone is routed shall compensate the payphone service provider for the call at a rate agreed upon by the parties by contract.
(b) The compensation obligation set forth herein shall not apply to calls to emergency numbers, calls by hearing disabled persons to a telecommunications relay service or local calls for which the caller has made the required coin deposit.
(c) In the absence of an agreement as required by paragraph (a) of this section, the carrier is obligated to compensate the payphone service provider at a per-call rate of $.24.
[61 FR 52324, Oct. 7, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 58686, Oct. 30, 1997; 64
FR 13719, Mar. 22, 1999]
May 17, 2001 | 4:53 am
#30
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Upcountry Maui, HI
Posts: 13,718
Sthokie: Thanks for posting the link for noblecom.com
After looking at the prepaid Global Call card from noblecom.com, it really looks like the best bet for international to US calls. On the downside, the cards are one time use prepaid only .. no recharging, so you have to plan ahead .. they are good for a year from first use.
The per-minute rates are really cheap and there are no surcharges, and it's the AT&T network. It doesn't say on the web site if there are countrywide toll-free access numbers or not. Does anybody know if they use the AT&T countrywide toll free numbers for calls originating overseas?
They don't have a phone number posted.
They don't appear to have any country-country access for non-US calls. but I only tried one or two combinations.
-David
P.S.: I found a number I had written down for TTI National customer service in case anybody wants it: 800 893 5094. This is a number that they actually answer as "TTI National".
After looking at the prepaid Global Call card from noblecom.com, it really looks like the best bet for international to US calls. On the downside, the cards are one time use prepaid only .. no recharging, so you have to plan ahead .. they are good for a year from first use.
The per-minute rates are really cheap and there are no surcharges, and it's the AT&T network. It doesn't say on the web site if there are countrywide toll-free access numbers or not. Does anybody know if they use the AT&T countrywide toll free numbers for calls originating overseas?
They don't have a phone number posted.
They don't appear to have any country-country access for non-US calls. but I only tried one or two combinations.
-David
P.S.: I found a number I had written down for TTI National customer service in case anybody wants it: 800 893 5094. This is a number that they actually answer as "TTI National".