Hi all...
Traveling to London & Paris in May. I am considering a Pingo "phone card" (not really a card; just an account number) for calling back to the US on occasion just to keep in touch with my kids.
I've used Union telecard's Europe Blue card in the past, but they have no access numbers in France or the UK.
I'll only be making a dozen calls or so total, from my hotel phone (yes...I know there may be a chanrge for that.)
I have access to a global cell phone, but Sim card calling seems to cost nearly $1 per minute, whereas, even with hotel fees, a virtual card will probably run around 25 cents a minute at most.
Is Pingo reliable, easy to use, etc.?
I will appreciate all comments, suggestions, experiences.
Thanks.
SS
Has anyone ever used Pingo (phone card) in France/UK to call US?
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Never heard of it. The phone cards for sale in Paris cost 0.01€ per minute to call the U.S. Is that cheap enough for you?
kerouac...
Thanks for the tip.
How do they work? Can you use them from a hotel phone like this (what I am used to here in the US):
1. Dial the local or toll-free access number.
2. Enter the card number.
3. Dial the number you want to call.
...or is there some other procedure?
Also, are the prompts when you dial in simple enough French that I'll have no trouble following them?
And last...where do you buy them and can you recommend a particular one?
Thanks, again.
SS
I have never used one in France since I live here, but yes, that is how they work (toll-free access, etc.). I think most of them are sold for something like 7.50€ at most newsmerchants and other such places -- you will see posters advertising them. Naturally, besides the 0.01€ rate per minute, there is a "connection fee" which might be 0.20 or 0.30.
North America is a local call from many land lines here, so nobody gives much thought to these matters. I think I have 40 countries of my "local call" list withough even asking for anything special. I am always surprised that the American phone companies are still getting away with charging so much for "long distance."