UK to USA telephone calls-cheaper ideas?
Jan 15th, 2003, 04:34 PM
#1
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UK to USA telephone calls-cheaper ideas?
What are cheap ways to call the US from the UK? I have to make about 50 calls during a week's trip.<BR><BR>For comparison, in the US, if you want to call other countries, putting money in the public phones is very expensive. Getting an AT&T or MCI card (two of the larger telephone companies) is cheaper, yet still expensive. Some companies, like www.idt.net have prepaid cards that costs only 10 cents/min to the UK plus a $1-2 month fee that is deducted from the card each month until the card has no more value.
Jan 15th, 2003, 04:57 PM
#3
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My sister used a prepaid card she got at Costco to use in Paris to call the US. I use one I got from Sam's Club to call long distance in the US and it's really cheap (I also use it to call Jamaica). I think one of these cards would be your best bet.
Jan 15th, 2003, 05:07 PM
#4
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Frank - For some reason the MCI card I got in Costco did not work in London although it worked perfectly in Paris - go figure. So I bought a card called Pay Peanuts in a convenience store. It comes in different denominations and most importantly has no connection charge. The large advertising posters the stores have in their windows tell you the price per minute to each country.
Jan 15th, 2003, 05:18 PM
#5
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<BR>Go to www.google.com and enter international phone cards. You should be able to find a website that will let you enter in the name of the country you will be calling from, and then it will tell you which cards are best for that country. Most likely you can then purchase a card from a website.
Jan 15th, 2003, 05:31 PM
#7
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I will be visiting Paris in March and staying at a Paris apartment. I am told to use the apartment telephone I will need a phone card. Can I buy this type of card in the States before I leave? Is it a card that you swipe at the phone or phone booth, or do I need to purchase the card in Paris?
Jan 15th, 2003, 07:19 PM
#8
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In stead of getting pre-paid calling cards, easier option is to simply dial a call through number followed by the number you require. There are several UK operators, and you find their details at<BR>http://website.lineone.net/~iceburn/<BR>telecomuk.html<BR>0870 or 0871 call is charged at 11p a minute anytime from BT callboxes.
Jan 15th, 2003, 07:32 PM
#9
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Alec - Pardon me for being dense but how do you pay for using those call through numbers? Don't you need a phone card anyway if you're using a public phone to call the US from London? Is it that this could be a cheaper way than calling directly with the phone card? Thanks, it's always good to have more options!
Jan 16th, 2003, 03:18 AM
#10
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In UK there are different rates for calls at differenct times of the day - you may want to think about that too as even local calls within London are metered. Using a costco card which costs about 5 c a minute/unit in US would work out much more to use from UK to US as the call would take 'x' units per minute and that you can find out from the cards customer service but you would have purchased the card alreay! I always take a US card as a back up and then look for a local card on arrival. Also if you use a US card to call back to the US from abroad each country you are calling from has their own code you dial in order to place the call, so be sure to get those codes before leaving the US.
Jan 16th, 2003, 04:35 AM
#11
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You deposit coins, use phonecard or credit card (minimum charge of 50p) in the public phone and your call charge is deducted automatically at the rate of 11p a minute. It's as simple as that. No pre-payment required. When you dial the call through number like 0871 xxx xxx, recorded announcement greets you and asks you to dial the number required. For calling US you dial 001 and then area code etc. Call quality often isn't quite as good as dialling direct, but it's acceptable and at a fraction of the cost charged by BT, who cares? It will be cheaper from ordinary private line, between 3 and 7p a min.
