Use Phone Cards for International Travel

Here is a great story about how a couple ended up paying US$52 for a 2-minute phone call from pay phone at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. When A Two-Minute Phone Call at The Airport Costs $50.

Their cell phones weren't working, but they needed to reach the people who were picking them up at the airport. They went straight for a pay phone that accepted their credit card and made the call that way. It wasn't until they got their credit card bill later that they realized how much they'd been charged.

Apparently, they tried to protest the charges, but weren't able to ge them revesed. So, that's an important lesson learned the hard way.

We suggest that if you are planning an overseas trip, figure out how you are going to make calls before you leave.

The best alternatives are to bring (or rent) a mobile phone that will work in other countries (check per minute rates very carefully) or to bring along a prepaid international calling card.

Both can work well, but if you don't have multi-band mobile phone nd/or if your carrier doesn't offer reasonable rates, then an international calling card is the way to go.

When shopping for a travel calling card to use during your trip, you want to look for these calling card features:

• Check per minute rates for each of destination country you will be visiting. Just because a card offers a good rate from one country, does not mean it will offer good rates from all countries.
• Check for local and/or toll-free access numbers for the countries you will be calling from. Many calling cards are designed to be used from only one country and so do not have access numbers in other locations.

Or you can do what the article's writer suggest and pop into a nearby convenience store and buy yourself a small denomination phone card for immediate usage.

More information

• When A Two-Minute Phone Call at The Airport Costs $50

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Here is a great story about how a couple ended up paying US$52 for a 2-minute phone call from pay phone at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. When A Two-Minute Phone Call at The Airport Costs $50.

Their cell phones weren't working, but they needed to reach the people who were picking them up at the airport. They went straight for a pay phone that accepted their credit card and made the call that way. It wasn't until they got their credit card bill later that they realized how much they'd been charged.

Apparently, they tried to protest the charges, but weren't able to ge them revesed. So, that's an important lesson learned the hard way.

We suggest that if you are planning an overseas trip, figure out how you are going to make calls before you leave.

The best alternatives are to bring (or rent) a mobile phone that will work in other countries (check per minute rates very carefully) or to bring along a prepaid international calling card.

Both can work well, but if you don't have multi-band mobile phone nd/or if your carrier doesn't offer reasonable rates, then an international calling card is the way to go.

When shopping for a travel calling card to use during your trip, you want to look for these calling card features:

• Check per minute rates for each of destination country you will be visiting. Just because a card offers a good rate from one country, does not mean it will offer good rates from all countries.
• Check for local and/or toll-free access numbers for the countries you will be calling from. Many calling cards are designed to be used from only one country and so do not have access numbers in other locations.

Or you can do what the article's writer suggest and pop into a nearby convenience store and buy yourself a small denomination phone card for immediate usage.

More information

• When A Two-Minute Phone Call at The Airport Costs $50

Back to top

Back to blog main

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