I am traveling in Italy for 2 weeks and want a calling card to call back home in the US.
I found some good ones thru MCI or AT&T with low rates and no fees. Only problem is...MCI card is only good on MCI paypones and vice-versus.
Does anyone have a clue if Italy is partial to MCI or AT&T ????
Thanx

I don't know what MCI card you are referring to, but I bought an MCI card at Costco some months ago, and I was able to use it both from hotel rooms and a couple of generic public phones.
All I needed to do was dial the local MCI access number, which in itself was a free call. Each country has its own access number.

Alternatively, you can just buy an international calling card at most
tobacco shops or newsstands in Italy.

that's good to know...
i found a MCI World Traveler Phone Card on a web site (www.speedypin.com). It has no connection fees, and is only 28.7¢ a min.
I used to have one like you have but the price per min was much higher.
i suppose i could get a cheap one here and then buy another one there like you suggest.
i'm new to this !!

I'm not sure my rate was higher than yours, though I didn't do a per-minute calculation. I paid $20 US for the card, made at least 60 minutes worth of calls,and I have about 20 minutes left.
All approximations.

Last trip, I went over with an ATT prepaid card (purchased from Sam's). Calls in US about 3cents/minute, but overseas to home about 27-30 cents. We found it much cheaper to simply pick up an international phone card there... got 100 minute card for about 5Euro. Much cheaper, and much easier to use.

If you do go with a US based card, make sure you call first while you are at home to get the international dialing instructions...the initial call in # will differ depending on where you are calling from.

Anne

good advice-
i think i will pick up the cheapest one i can find here ($12-15) and then get another one over there.

Forget the MCI/ATT cards available at Costco, etc. in the US. Just walk into a tobacco shop or newsstand and buy one when you get to Italy. Many more minutes for much less $$. I speak from experience!

Thanx Betsy-
One question: What the heck is a tobacco shop?


Also, are they available at the airport since that is my first stop on land and then i go to a rental car place.

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