cdibo

My daughter is in Barcelona for 5 months with only a cell phone. I am getting rates of .27 to .29 cents per minute. Any suggestions for a better rate?

escargot

Our son currently in Germany. You got better cell phone rates than we did. He bought a phone card, which ended up being cheaper, and has the cell phone for emergency and if we need to reach him, otherwise we communicate mostly by email as he is finding internet cafes easy to find; with a weekly phone call so mom can hear the voice, as moms like to do ! Sorry can't help on better rates....hope she is loving it, son was in Barcelona a year ago and loved it.

italy06

I agree with escargot - my daughter goes to France in two weeks and her international cell phone rates are higher - you got a good deal. We got her the phone in case of emergencies she encounters over there and hopefully our phone card rates will be cheaper. Good luck. Look into Skype as well but I think it gets pricey when you add a cell phone to the equation as well.

lincasanova

your kids need to buy a phone card to be used from public phones (not cell phones&gtand they will only pay about 6 euros for 280 minutes.

or call froma "call center". also turns out cheaply.

cell phones are for emergencies. otherwise..they are too darned expensive.

travelbunny

..Your daughter can do without a cell phone..or she can buy one locally to keep in touch with her friends in Barcelona. Itl cell phones should be for emergencies. Keep up to date with email or arrange a Sunday afternoon call from a paybooth...In the old days I had to write to my parents. I wouldn't like to go back to snail mail but your daughter has this wonderful opportunity. Use it to help her grow and one of the things you can do for her is to cut the umbilical cord. It is too easy to just dial home when there is a problem without trying to solve it or put it in perspective. A cell phone for emergencies is another story, but an emergency isn't a bad hair day.

lincasanova

hey! how on earth did that DEVIL get into my post?!!!! sorry.

i wouldn't have been able to do one of those things even if i tried!!

janisj

lincasanova: > ) (w/o the space) &gt

check out http://www.fodors.com/forums/smileys/ Using ) is a big problem - I tend to use a lot of them but always have to double check I'm not accidently creating a smiley

cdibo: I agree w/ the others. A phone card is a MUCH better deal than a cell phone. Between a phone card and e-mail she shouldn't need the cell phone except for emergencies

sharkmom

If you both have computers and internet access, have her use Skype to call home. All you need to do is install software on both computers and have a microphone (usually builtin on laptops) and get a head set for your computer. The calls will then be FREE and you can talk as long as you want. It sounds difficult but it really isn't. We used it from our laptop very successfully from both Italy and France using wireless connections inside our hotels. We had pre-arranged call times, so that the family would be at the computer to get the calls. She could do the same or make a quick call from a land phone (much cheaper than using a cell) and let you know she was going to give you call. Trust me; it's as good a deal as it sounds and once you've used it, you'll never pay the phone companies the outrageous amounts they charge.

laclaire

I have a local cell phone here in Spain and use it to keep in touch with my friends here. I text messages to my parents and friends in the US occasionally. When I want to talk to my parents, they call me (I call and hang up twice. . . the bat signal we call it), but if I have a phone card (Happy Cards at the kioskos in Barcelona), I call them for cheap.

In a pinch, calling 900 99 00 11 is ATT here in Spain and she can do a collect call.

jerfrommultimadrid

hey laclaire.

"I text messages to my parents and friends in the US occasionally."

problem with that is two-fold.

1) the cell carriers here will not guarantee the successful delivery of the sms since it is both a cross-country and cross-network sms. the only guarantee you have is that they will charge you for it.

2) international text messages cost you 60 cents each to send. at 60 cents, if you use the system detailed in the post above you can talk for 30 minutes (more or less) for the same price as a sms to the states.

hope that helps.

saludos,
jer...

ET

Not sure where the OP is located, but if for calls to the US, the rate sounds very reasonable for a cell phone in Spain.

However, I would also recommend Skype if your daughter has high speed internet access. Best of all, the basic service is free.

Our daughter is in the UK studying this year, and we both have Skype on our computers. Calls from computer to computer are absolutely free. In addition, our daughter has Skype Out which allows her to call any number in the US for 2 cents a minute. She also has Skype In. Skype In gets her a local US telephone number (cost $38 for a year), which anyone can call and she can answer on her computer for 2 cents a minute.

So far the service has been great and it has allowed us to keep in close contact with her at minimal cost.

StCirq

And JaJah is even better than Skype...

FainaAgain

Your daughter is in another country with only cell phone? Was she robbed? Didn't she take a suitcase along? Does she have money?

You made me worry for her!