dssxxxx

I have read every post about using rental phones, buying cellphones, callbackworld, etc. I know "most" of the tricks of the trade......

One thing I have never seen posted is this:

I have a unlocked quadband phone, that usually I will buy the SIM card of the country I am visiting. Such as TIM in Italy. No one has ever asked and I am curious......can you use a prepaid phone card (one that you would use from the hotel, local landline, local payphone) from your cellphone?

It would make sense to call the 800 or toll free number and use the cheaper rates to call the US, say from Italy.

Can this be done????

Thanks.

xyz123

Yes it can be done and is usually a good way of cutting down on making international calls but that's a general answer...a lot of it depends on the access number locally and how the local sim treats local calls..

Let me give you an example...Virgin Mobile UK in the UK charges 15p a minute for the first 5 minutes of use each day and 5p/minute thereafter...so if you buy a UK type calling card with a London access number, that's what you pay for the London part of the call...but buried in the tariffs is the idea that calls to 0800 numbers cost 15p/minute period...so if the calling card has an 0800 access number, well you have to add 15p a minute to the cost of the call...considering virgin mobile only charges 20p/minute to call the USA, it's not a big bargain one way or the other. I have a calling card from a firm called bizon....2¢/minute to call the USA from the UK, pretty good eh...they give you a local London access number (020 7xxx xxxx) but Orange UK on my mobile blocks access to the number...some mobile phone companies might do likewise.....

But in general, if you get a calling card with a local access number, you will save money.

gforaker

It would work, but you would be paying minutes on the cell phone in addition to the minutes on the card to call home. It's much better to use a service such as callbackworld to trigger an incoming discounted call to you. This way you use a dicounted long distance rate while NOT paying cell phone minutes because incoming calls are generally free on European cell phones.

dssxxxx

I don't mind paying the local TIM charges from Italy because they are a lot cheaper than the .60 Euro charge per minute to call directly to the US.

Anybody have any info on Italy phone cards using a TIM SIM?

And since the phone is used for only approximately 10 days each year, we are not interested in the callbackworld option.

Anyone else?

xyz123

"And since the phone is used for only approximately 10 days each year, we are not interested in the callbackworld option."

I don't understand this statement in all due respect....callback world is free to join and has no monthly charges and is postpaid unlike calling cards where credit is lost although admitedly the best deal, mobile phone wise, with callbackworld is the international card of united mobile rather than TIM as calls to the USA on UM via CBW cost only 14¢/minute billed in 6 second intervals while calls via CBW on TIM are more like 30¢/minute but it wouldn't hurt to open and keep a cbw account.

logos999

At least in Germany all prepaid cards have all 0800 numbers blocked. Italy might be different.

equitraveler

I have an unlocked cell that I use in Italy with a WIND sim. I also have an MCI World card with local access numbers for many countries. The access number for Italy is blocked by WIND. I receive a message saying that this is an unauthorized number. The apartment I am renting in Torino next month has no land line; the owners took it out because they installed WiFi and 'everyone in Italy has a cell phone.'

dssxxxx

Using TIm SIM, the calls to the US at .60 Euros a minute. This I can live with.

I am just looking at the "possibility" of saving a few Euros and talking "longer" for a few Euros less.

Also, I put international calling on our parents phone and one of my business lines for $5.99 (Verizon) per month and a charge of $0.30 per minutes for call to my cell in Italy. With no cancellation fee when I return.

goethe

I'm headed to Germany in 2 weeks and I own a tri-band unlocked GSM phone. Rather than order a SIM card on-line in advance, should I expect to be able to find a SIM card for my phone when I land in Germany? I'd rather buy it locally if this makes sense. Then agin, I may buy a pre-paid public phone card, which I used when I was in last in Germany 10 years ago.

Any feedback regarding this will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

dssxxxx

Get the SIM card in the airport when you land in Germany. A lot cheaper is you are going to just be in Germany for your trip.

logos999

Just been there, Karstadt sell 2 different Sagem models, with T-Mobile prepaid card, 10€ calling credit for 9.95€ altogether (phone and SIM and credit included

logos999

charger included too