Does anyone have any tips on what is the best calling card programme outside the US (specifically in Asia) ?

Can't help you outside the US but had a recent domestic experience worth mentioning:

I've been an MCI customer for over ten years despite several interstate moves, and so I have MCI (getting NW/KLM miles) at home. This month I received an offer for 7,500 TWA miles to switch to Sprint. I switched and less than a week later MCI called me offering 6,000 miles to switch back!! So basically I got 6,000 miles to do nothing.

I don't know if other companies are as assertive as MCI (which has a dedicated "SwitchBack" department). By the way I had MCI on this current line for little over a year since I had just moved from another state. The MCI guy told me I had been a "valuable customer for 14 months" in his spiel, but I spend less than $25/month typically on long distance, and I don't think he knew how long I had actually been with MCI. He has a generous definition of "valued".

All these offers were the typical 1,000 miles per month over several months so long as you stay with that long distance company. And yes, they paid for switching my service to and fro.

I (and my wife also) signed that MCI card (with 5 times 1'000 UA miles per month plus some miles per $ spent) in Switzerland. On each card we make just a few calls per month (under $10 overall-charges) - the mileage credits work fine for both accounts.

And at the end of the 5-month-period we will stop it and wait for other/new-offers (and in the meantime we will use the cheapest call-back-provider: which at the moment is GLOBAL LINK for oversea-calls).

I have been earning miles on Northwest thanks to MCI since July 1990. About six months ago, I went through all my NW WorldPerk statements (yes, I have saved them all...sick isn't it?) and added up all the mileage I have earned just from MCI.

In a little less than 8 years, MCI has given me a total of 67,920 miles!!! That includes bonus miles as well as long distance.

I have been living in Japan for almost nine years now and have used both AT&T and MCI. AT&T I started uding about six years ago and used them faithfully until they dropped from United Airlines Program. I have been using MCI since its UA inception. Upon review of my statements, both offerend about the same rates for country to country service. The only thing about my MCI bill is that even with touchtone service in Japan, my bill/statement classifies ALL my calls as "operator assisted." Unfortunately, the best answer I can get from MCI about this is "That is just the way it shows up on your bill."

Thank you for your responses one and all. still exploring what its means it terms of miles (costs) with Asia telco providers (eg Telstra, HK Tel) and other global players (eg Global One).