Has anyone purchased and used phone cards in China? I was told that it is best to purchase them there. How easy are they to use? Leaving for China on Friday.

Are you talking about a prepaid card that can be used from any landline or mobile service, or a prepaid SIM card for use with a GSM mobile phone?

i got a phone card through global phone. i signed up for it online. i used it last year in beijing without problems. website: gphone.com

we got phone cards from most of our hotels. they cost 50 yuan (about $6) for about 10 minutes. stick it in any of the phones that accept them, dial 001+ there you go. very easy.

Thanks so much for your replies. I was speaking of the prepaid landline. quimbymoy, you said stick it in any phone that would accept it. Are those hard to find?

You can buy those at most newsstands: Although, you will pay full price for them. We call them IC cards here. The ones that you have to use with a landline and connection code are cheaper and only pay about 65% of the total value. A 100 RMB IP card can call America for 36 minutes. Just for an example. They are cheaper and you can use them in your hotel. Have questions just ask.

hi PKC-
i actually had a couple of pre-paid cards that i used in china. one was a pre-paid card i got at sam's club or costco that i could use in my hotel room (but watch out, some hotels charge for dialing 800#s!). then i bought what jen calls the IC card that i got at the hotel. most of the pay phones there have a slot that you insert the card into, then it walks you through the process, and in the meantine, tells you how many minutes you have left on the card. those pay phones can be found in your hotel lobby.

Thanks again for the quick replies --- all very helpful. I leave in about 6 hours!