Best International Phone Rates

[DaveWT]

Today a telemarketer from SPRINT called me. Yes, he hit the suppertime window of 6pm to 7pm, but I had eaten earlier. It seems "Mark" had noticed I had been spending a lot on my long distance bill. Isn't it nice he was so concerned? I told him I saved a bundle since I switched from Sprint to Qwest. He just laughed and continued to read questions from the card in front of him (to which I had already given him the answers), I told him Qwest charges me .78 a minute to Vietnam while SPRINT charges almost $7.00 a MINUTE for calls to Vietnam(and they wonder why they're going broke?). He said "Wow! That's a big differnce!" I thanked him for his call, and he in turn thanked me and wished me a good day. Usually they do everything but climb through the phone reciever to switch you, but he knew he was beaten. In fact, I think he switched to Qwest after he got off work. Sort of defeated the whole purpose of Sprint's telemarketing.

Just 78 censt a minute even to Vietnam, one of the most expensive countires to call. I think the Phillipines is even cheaper. The sound quality isn't bad either.

It's QWEST...the same company with the confusing comercial with the old man and the Motel clerk who had every movie ever made in the world...you know the one. If they would just skip all that malarky in the commercial and say "HEY EVERYBODY...78 CENTS A MINUTE FOR VIETNAM!!!" Sprint would already be out of business. First time I saw that commercial I thought they had online movies or something. Oh yeah, they also gave me a free 1-800 number too.

Oh yeah, AT&T called me once to switch. I told them I was getting .78 a minute and they told me they could give me .76 a minute. After I got done laughing until my side hurt, I told the gal to send me that offer in writing, and I would switch. She assured me that they would. That was 6 months ago and I haven't heard from them since. So don't fall for it.

Remember, it's spelled QWEST. There are some fakes out there that spell their company !Qwest, or QwestLCI, etc., trying to cash in.

Here's the URL http://www.qwest.com/

If you haven't started talking to your overseas sweetie on the phone, switch now and avoid the $2000 phone bill and the heart attack that comes with it when you do. After Mark's concerned phone call I thought I should tell other folks about it. Just my two Piasters.

[michsteve09]

... in response to Best International Phone Rates, posted by DaveWT on Oct 18, 2001

I use ATT prepaid calling card from Sam's Club. It cost $41 for a thousand US minutes. For me to call Brazil I get only 250 minutes but when I renewed through ATT they gave me one thousand US minutes for around $36. That is about 14.5 cents a minute with no surcharges or connection fees except from a payphone they charge you three minutes. I don't know what they would charge to call Vietnam though but you may want to try a card and find out.

[outwest77]

... in response to Best International Phone Rates, posted by DaveWT on Oct 18, 2001

http://www.philtel.com/

[Nathan]

... in response to Best International Phone Rates, posted by DaveWT on Oct 18, 2001

We pay about 18 cents a minute using phone cards with no connection fee...a $10 card gets my wife an hour conversation to Cagayan De Oro or two half hour calls for 5 bucks each...and no phone bill at the end of the month.

Nathan

[Ray]

... in response to we pay 18 cents to the Philippines, posted by Nathan on Oct 18, 2001

...per minute with Lucky Sea card. No connect fee, great connections & quality, no surcharge for calling a cell phone. They sell them in all the Filipino stores around here in San Diego. Don't know about your area.

How's the little one doing?

Ray

[Peaches]

... in response to We pay 11 cents..., posted by Ray on Oct 18, 2001

can be found @
www.philippinelongdistancetelephone.com
I use 9728.com  .12/min Provinces and cheaper  calling  
Manila...I just order it right away here at the net then  
can make a call right away.

Peaches

[outwest77]

... in response to We pay 11 cents..., posted by Ray on Oct 18, 2001

wats the address to buy those, no connection fee sounds
great, plus after it runs out, you have an automatic hang up

[SteveG]

... in response to Darn, im payin 21, posted by outwest77 on Oct 19, 2001

Outwest,
 This one adds no extra charge for calling cell phones and is 13 cents per minute(They say 11 cents/min in other places on the site but 11 when you look at the rate chart??).   Melly called her sister's cell phone this week and it worked and did not charge extra.  The address is:

https://www.phonecardonsale.com/index.html?action=2&todo=telespeed.html

 Here's the one I think Ray is talking about from LuckySeas.  We have been ordering these for a couple of years now.   I THINK you can call cell phones with them but I'm sure the rate would be significantly higher.  They are about 11 cents a minute normally.  The address is:

http://www.longdistancephilippines.com/suerteng_dagat.htm

                                  SteveG

[outwest77]

... in response to Here are a couple of addresses, Outwest, posted by SteveG on Oct 19, 2001

i will try to check it out
can  always use a low price card
wat if i cant connect, or if i call and no answer,
will it let me call again

[SteveG]

... in response to thanks for that ...., posted by outwest77 on Oct 19, 2001

Outwest,
 You can call as many times as you want.   Not sure exactly what you mean, won't all cards let you redial as many times as you need to in order to connect?

                                SteveG

[outwest77]

... in response to Re: thanks for that ...., posted by SteveG on Oct 20, 2001

I have never used one, i heard a long time ago that some  cards make you use up the whole  card on one call, or the rate goes up per minute. is that true

[SteveG]

... in response to hmm, posted by outwest77 on Oct 20, 2001

Outwest,
 I don't know of any cards which actually change the per minute rate but when you factor in connection fees for each call, it's the same thing as increasing the rate if you use it to make several calls rather than just one.   Some card sellers advertise real low per minute rates but downplay or hardly mention the large connection fees that go with them.  It's true that with these cards, you will only get that low rate if you use it all on one call.   Making several calls and paying a connection fee each time, uses up the value of the card faster which is the same thing as increasing the rate.  

  To me it's far better(cheaper) to go with a 'no connection fee' card even if the per minute rate is bit higher because of the frequency that you will get disconnected or have to call back to get a clearer line   or have to hang up and call back in 15 minutes while you wait for the person who answers the phone to go find your penpal.

 Later on when you are engaged or committed and have established a routine for calling where you are talking longer and not having all the interruptions, it may be very likely that you can and will use a whole card on one call.   Then if one of the connection fee cards gives an extremely low per minute rate, it may very well be the best deal.

 In my experience, no mater which of these cards you choose, you will come out far cheaper than to use any of the phone companies International discount plans.

                                          SteveG

[Nathan]

... in response to We pay 11 cents..., posted by Ray on Oct 18, 2001

Ray,

 Will have to look for that one! Tehanie is now 14 months old and doing great- she walked at 10 months and is now starting to run...she is very active and keeps us both busy keeping up with her. Zenny misses the Philippines a lot...all the family and all...but she is doing OK and making a lot of adjustments.
We may live there again...but not till Zenny gets her US
citizenship....then we can go back on her Balikbayan visa deal good for a year at a time.

Nathan

[Bear]

... in response to Best International Phone Rates, posted by DaveWT on Oct 18, 2001

https://www.phonecardonsale.com/index.html?action=2&todo=newvietnamcard.html

Its a phone card for $0.498/min

Bear