Calling the USA - is AT&T a rip off?
 

I just returned from Greece & had neglected to research how to call the US. I used my AT&T calling card, they have an easy to access toll-free number in Greece and I get a good deal in the US and for outbound international calls... but when I got the bill I found I was charged $7.01 for one minute calls, less for longer calls. My bill for 128 minutes total averaged $3.68 per minute. I feel ripped off, but don't know if there is a better deal. AT&T says everyone charges the same.

Yes, AT&T sucks. I was being charged ~$3/min. for calls from U.S. to overseas. I ordered a virtual calling card over the net that only charges me $0.58/min for the same calls. That's one huge savings, from ~$90 bills down to ~$17. No surcharges, minimums, or day/evening crap, you just buy a certain dollar amount ahead of time. You can use it for long distance in the U.S., or out, and the charges vary per country or state. The ONLY drawback is having to dial a 1-800 number, enter a private code, and then dialing your number -- kind of burdensome. This is the one type of service I decided to use, there are others and all cheaper than the big 3. If you respond to this thread and ask, I will tell you the name (I'm just a customer). <BR>

I can only speak for my experiences in Switzerland last year. I was charged what I thought was a very high rate by ATT when I used their international number. This year, I bought a telecarte in Paris and a Swisscom Taxcard in Switzerland. Public phone booths, enclosed and private, are readily available in Paris and in Switzerland. I did not compute the per minute rate, but I know I talked a long time it seemed in Paris. I actually got home from Switzerland with time on my Taxcard, even though I used it several times, both to call home and to call a European friend on his cell phone. It is very easy to buy those cards, and also very easy to use them. <BR>Because of the time differential, I would glance at at my watch, see it was a good time to call home, and pop into a phone booth. I dialed 00 1 area code regular phone number, and soon had a ringing tone in my ear. I will never again use my ATT card unless it is a real emergency and I have no other way to communicate. I must admit that I found phone service in France and Switzerland much less confusing than at home. One service, one set of rates, and good availability. I am not sure we get long distance any cheaper here with all of the various plans and gimmicks. <BR>Deregulation has not, in my view, served is well at all. (When was the last time you used a pay phone that was not out in the open; in France and Switzerland I could find an enclosed booth just walking along, particularly in Paris.) <BR> <BR>

Believe me when I say that MCI is an even BIGGER ripoff. $6/minute, and this was for an evening call when the rates are allegedly cheaper AND I belong to the international calling program! I needed to make an urgent call to my mother and it was a whopping $48. Absolutely criminal.

When my fiance and i traveled, he used an AT&T calling card while I used a Voicenet card. He got charged about 50 times more than I did. Voicenet was good because it also has the handy access numbers and it is so much cheaper. If you are interested I can give you a 1-800 number to call to get service.

You might want to consider renting a GSM phone before you leave the US. I just came back from Italy, and I rented a phone from Omnipoint (www.omnipoint.com) for $49/month. Calls were $0.77/minute within Italy, $1.99/minute to the USA, and $1.07 for all incoming (rates vary by country). Their service was great, and I did it all via fax. They FEDEX the phone to you (at their cost), and it includes a charger, spare battery, car adapter, and 5 adapter plugs for various countries. I just took the plug I needed and left the others home. They also send you a pre-paid FEDEX envelope and bubble wrap to send the phone back. It couldn't have been easier!!

Voicenet sounds interesting. Could you tell us more about it? Like who to call to get full details from the source?? <BR> <BR>

I have used Telegroup out of Fairfield Iowa, They give you a toll-free number for all the countries in europe-- the costs were cheap ie( .39/min from france to the usa- .29 from germany to the usa) this saved $ compared to the others

MCI does have a way around the outrageous rates. If you are calling home (not any other number) and have their international calling plan ($3 per month), then the rates are much cheaper. This is still annoying - you can only call 1 number for the cheap rate. <BR> <BR>Voicenet is a good option. But they don't have local access numbers everywhere. Countries like UK, France, Germany are OK, but Czech Republic won't work. Their domestic rates are good also - something like 17c per minute, with no surcharge, monthly fees, or monthly minimum. I think they advertise in "Kiplinger's". <BR>

Yes, they are expensive. We now buy ordinary local phone card in each country we visit, as recommended by Rick Steves. It is usually around ~$0.80/minute to US computed in around 20 sec increments. The Germany, however, was cheaper at ~$0.40/minute. Since it is a local card, you use any public phone that takes phonecard. Dial international number directly without any access codes to remember. While it is more expensive than the virtual phone card types, it beats ordinary calling cards and requires no prearrangements before you leave.

Hi, Carl, <BR>The trouble is that the ATT service is so easy and very reliable, even in very far away places. We too discovered that this ease comes at a helluva price, and are now big believers in local phone cards. We still use ATT for emergency or "call me back right away" calls since in some countries the local access numbers off the native phone cards can be constantly busy, but our ATT use is way down - a couple of several-hundred-dollar omigod phone bills are real convincing. <BR>The local phone cards are often colorful and fun and can make for neat scrapbook souvenirs, too.

When I travel to Europe, I use IDT pre-paid phone cards. In fact, when calling from England to USA charges are 10-cents/min and $1.00/month charge. <BR>See www.idt.net.