Prepaid Phone Cards

Buying Tips

Prepaid phone cards can be difficult to choose, but we've developed this page to arm you with the information you need to make a fully informed buying decision.

Plan long calls

Cards with low per-minute rates usually have high connect fees. That being so, its best that you make long calls rather than short calls, even if you have to plan a call. 

How to waste money. If you have a connect fee of, say $1, and you call Sweden only to find that the person you're calling can't talk at the moment, then you'll have wasted $1 on a 1-minute call. A dollar-per-minute rate is just too high a price.

How to save money. Instead of paying $1 or $2 to find out that the other party can't talk at the moment, plan your long calls with whomever you are to call. You can contact your call recipient to plan a call in at least three ways:

1. By e-mail.
2. By calling him or her using a phone card that has no connect fee. 
   (See AmeriChoice, a long and short call card in one card)
3. By calling him or her using your normal long distance carrier.
   

Check the following issues

Although none of the following are issues with GBS, the Better Business Bureau recommends that, before purchasing calling products, you check the reliability of the company by answering the following questions to your satisfaction:

• Is there an activation fee?
• Are the rates the same across the continental U.S.A.?
• Are you purchasing from a reputable company.
• Does the seller guarantee satisfaction?
• Does the product allow you to call internationally?

If you do experience a problem, you can contact your local Consumer Affairs Department, State Attorney General, Better Business Bureau or Federal Trade Commission, Division of Service Industry Practices in Washington, D. C. at
(202) 326-2222.

Disposable vs. Rechargeable

Prepaid phone cards come in two types: disposable and rechargeable.  

Disposable: This is the more popular type of prepaid phone cards. They  initially have a certain number of minutes or a dollar value, and is thrown away after all minutes are used. 

Rechargeable: These cards also have a certain value or number of minutes, but when depleted can be recharged by calling the respective Customer Service department and billing additional minutes to your credit card.  The cost of the recharged minutes are often higher than what you originally paid for them.

The better choice?  Rechargeable cards have one disadvantage, namely that most of them are subject to a weekly or monthly service fee that is incurred, even during times of inactivity. On the other hand, if you buy multiple cards and you don't recharge them, then any time of inactivity between cards will not be subject to service fees!

Choosing the right denomination

For $20 worth of prepaid phone cards, it's sometimes advantageous to purchase two $10 ones instead. That's because the inactive time you spend between cards is not subject to the weekly service charge—it can save you money.
 

Marked or advertised units

Minutes  Cards marked in minutes have that number of minutes of call time.

Units  Cards marked with units rather than minutes can usually be used to make international calls. The number of units usually reflects the number of minutes for domestic calls. Companies charge multiple units for each minute of calling to international countries. For instance, if calls to Mexico cost 3 units per minute, then a 60-units would yield 20 minutes of call-time to Mexico (60 units / 3 units per minute = 20 minutes).

Dollars  Most cards, including ours, are marked with a dollar amount. Much like the products marked in units, these can be used to call domestically and internationally. They usually have a connect fee, per-minute rate, and a monthly fee.

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