Phone card bought here.
 

Can I use a prepaid phone from Sams to make calls out of Italy on a payphone? That way I can call home whenever I wanted. Are these AT&T prepaid cards good outside of the US? I would rather do this if it is possible. I really don't want to carry a cell phone around for two weeks just in case my kids(they are 16, and 17) and are staying with relatives want to call and chat.

Yes, you can. There is a card enclosed that tells the access number for various countries. You get about 1/3 of the total minutes.

Hi Karen. On the reverse of the phone card, you can call the customer service number and ask them precisely how many minutes it uses to make a call from Italy. Also, if you use a pay phone, there may be a usuage just because it is a pay phone. I know there is a nine minute charge for using them in the States from a pay phone. But not from your hotel.<BR>Just dial the access code for that country before you dial to the States.<BR>The last time I checked, they were only 3.5 cents per minute.

Karen, Clark Howard (saving money guru) recently discussed using cards from Sams and Costco's overseas. You might want to check his website - which I believe is clarkhoward.com - to see if he has any information on the cards. Good luck - the idea of telephoning from overseas scares me: in Venice, I called home and had to give personal calling card information to an operator. $3000 later the phone company assured me I wasn't responsible for the charges. Apparently the operator sold the information. The prepaid cards are a great idea.

You can buy a prepaid card in Italy for hardly anything. These cards are cheaper to use than the prepaid cards you get here in the States.

Karen - I second what Lee says. You can get a phone card at any magazine stand or tobacco store. I normally get 3 good calls back to the states for a card that cost USD5.00. Keep it simple and buy them as you go.

Karen,<BR> Make sure the card works before you get over there. I purchased 2 prepaid AT&T calling cards from Sav-On for my trip to Italy only to have one not work so I bought a card over there, cheaper & functional!!

THe phone cards are very cheap at the shops and all you have to do is insert the card, then dial 001, then the US number area code first.

The 5 euro phone card I bought at the cafe in Rome lasted me at least an hour in phone calls home! I had time left on it, so handed it to an airport guard as we left.