Prepaid Phone Cards - Advantages and Disadvantages

The prepaid phone card business is a very competitive one and as a consumer, you have a lot of choices. In fact, the options available to get the best deal on calling cards is almost limitless and companies will sweeten the deals with some very attractive benefits'

It's easy to jump in and grab the first offer you're presented with but there are some important factors you need to consider before purchasing a prepaid phone card. In this article, we are going to highlight some of the pitfalls you need to be aware about.

The Advantages Of a Prepaid Phone Card

The benefits are numerous and it doesn't make sense to use traditional calling services today given the advantages of a prepaid calling card. Here are some of them:

- low rates, in fact, just cents on the dollar for international prepaid and long distance
- free sign up
- use from anywhere; abroad, vacation and home
- ease of convenience

Things To Avoid

One of the biggest drawbacks with prepaid phone cards are the hidden fees factor. These can literally take away the value of a card and make it a fairly unpleasant experience for the user. What are some of the hidden charges to look for. Try these on for size:

- Connection fees should be avoided. This is an extra charge made every time you make a call. You may be attracted by the low cost per minute but this could be offset by an unreasonable connection fee.

- Minute rounding was one of the hidden charges which left an unsavory impression for this author when I first started using prepaid phone cards. I wondered why my minutes always seemed less than I expected when making a call. I soon learned about multiple minute rounding. Basically, my calls were being rounded out in five minute blocks. Therefore, if I spoke for 8 minutes and 20 seconds my call would be rounded out to 10 minutes. Go figure!

- Look out for hidden maintenance costs. These are like hidden bank fees in a sense where a fee is charged either weekly or monthly. In some instances, even daily. This is hard to comprehend and is another fee which should be avoided.

- Extra surcharges can eat away at your talk time. For example, making calls from public phones could incur a high surcharge rate. Check this before purchasing your card particularly if you plan to travel overseas where you'll be using public phones on a regular basis.

Prepaid Phone Cards - Be Prudent When Purchasing

Calling cards have made life a lot easier for people wanting to stay in touch with family and friends overseas. Use a little consumer ettiquette before purchasing and make sure you understand the hidden cost factor. In fact, rather than being lured in by the low cost per minute rate, read the fine print first. If hidden charges are at a bare minimum or non existent, then head back to the home page and check out the offers!

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