Making Your Mark  

A few premium on-line phone cards offer a call history feature. With call history, callers can view charges, duration and destinations for all calls made on their phone card. This is a nice feature to say the least, especially for those phone card users who have wondered where all of those minutes went. Not all phone cards come with a call history feature. Those that have call history provide users with an on-line account where they can log-in and view the details of each call made on their account in real time. We know that the following international phone cards come with the call history feature. These cards are marketed by Phone Cards International and the details for each card can be viewed on their website.

• Hello from UK – A phone card with great rates for those who call to and from the UK. It features toll free access in the UK, USA and Canada. It also has local access numbers in 14 UK cities.
• Continental Phone Card – A great all around international phone card that can be used from over 60 countries.
• Golden Lotus – An international phone card with great rates to India and other countries in Asia. It can be used from 25 countries.
• Marachi – A super phone card for those who want to make calls to or from Mexico and other countries in Latin America.
• Simply – An international phone card with great rates to most destinations from the USA and Canada.

Another premium on-line prepaid calling product that includes call history is the Tel3Advantage Flex Plan. It is a super on-line calling card that can be used to make cheap international calls from the USA and Canada. It can be used to make calls from any phone. It is also very easy to use and has no hidden fees and comes complete with a full range of features. Visit cheap international calling for more information on Tel3Advantage and other products that can be used to make cheap international phone calls.

If you are planning to travel to Europe or other international destinations this summer than prepaid phone cards may be the answer to your communication needs. Many people plan to use an international cell phone to keep in touch but those who check the rates offered by their carrier find the cost is far too high. Why pay dollars per-minute for calls when high quality international phone cards offer rates of just a few cents per-minute? International cell phones are fine for emergency but the rates charged for international calls are simply to high for every day use. People who want to save money should purchase prepaid phone cards that will work from the countries they plan to visit. These can be conveniently purchased and recharged through an on-line account from any location where the INTERNET is available. Phone cards are low cost and convenient to use since they can be used from almost any telephone. There may be some restrictions or extra charges in some countries so read the fine print before making a purchase. The answer is that travelers who make frequent international calls with phone cards will save a lot compared to those who make the same calls with international cell phones.

Tel3Advantage started their World Cup Sweepstakes today. It is Free to enter and First Prize Winners (9 people) will be able to make free international phone calls to the country of their choice through the end of the year using Tel3Advantage. It is easy to enter and there is no obligation, just visit Tel3Advantage World Cup Sweepstakes and choose your favorite country. The sweepstakes runs from June 11th through July 11, 2010.

There will be nine first place winners and each will be able to make Free International calls to the country they choose through the end of 2010. Also, the cost of all calls to the country with the most votes will be reduced by 10% during the month of August. You do not need a Tel3Advantage account to enter so the contest is open to everyone.

The Tel3Advantage Flex plan is one of the most popular prepaid calling plans in North America. It can be used to make cheap domestic and international long distance calls using any phone in the USA and Canada. It is free to open and maintain an account and there is no contract or obligation. Just prepaid an amount ranging from $10 to $100 and start making calls. Tel3Advantage features excellent customer service and call quality. It is the only company in the industry with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

There are a variety of products for making cheap international calls from Canada. These vary from those that can be used from any phone, like phone cards, to those that require an INTERNET connection like PC-to-Phone or VOIP. Although, in many case, INTERNET based products offer good value, they also require the user to have access to the INTERNET. In many cases they also require the user to pay a monthly fee for services even if no international calls are made. That is why many international callers are still using high quality phone cards and other prepaid calling products that can be used from standard or mobile phones to make international calls from Canada. Many of these products offer high quality, low cost and ultimate flexibility.

One product that is gaining popularity for making international calls from Canada is Tel3Advantage. It was introduced in Canada a couple of years ago and has steadily gained popularity among those people who make frequent international calls. Tel3 offers the highest call quality and some of the lowest rates. It is also one product that can be used from multiple phones (home, business or mobiles) and it is very convenient to use. They provide callers with an on-line account where they can track usage and make changes to their accounts. They also provide 24/7 customer service. It is also one of the only companies in the industry that has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Tel3Advantage offers some of the lowest rates and they do not charge a monthly fee for maintaining an account. They also do not charge hidden fees to make up for low rates which is common practice in the phone card industry. Tel3 offers some of the cheapes rates in the industry on international calls. For example, international calls from Canada to the Australia are only 1.4 cents per minute while calls to the USA are only 0.9 cents per minute with Tel3. These rates are good for the first 30 days if a new customer opens an account using the Tel3Advantage Triple Bonus offer. Tel3 makes these offers to entice people to try their service because they know that most customers will continue to use the service beyond the bonus period. Tel3Advantage is one of the most popular prepaid calling plans in North America because they offer high quality, low rates and some of the best customer service in the industry.

If you make international business trips and carry a laptop computer than PC-to-Phone service is a great way to stay connected while on the road. As long as you have an INTERNET connection, you can make cheap international calls from any location to other computers or to any phone in the world. Calls to other computers using the same PC-to-Phone software are often Free while there is a charge for placing calls to phones (landlines or cell phones). The rates vary depending on the country and the type of phone called but rates are much lower than those charged by international hotels or long distance carriers. PC-to-Phone service is also popular with students, expats and people who operate small businesses with an international focus.

PC-to-Phone service providers continue to add new features that make their product more flexible and convenient to use. For example, Skype, one of the most popular PC-to-Phone service providers, offers free calls to other Skype users and the following added features.

• Low rates on calls to landlines and cell phones.
• An online phone number so people can reach you on Skype from any phone.
• The ability to send text messages from Skype.
• A built in Voice Mail feature so calls are never missed.
• Call forwarding that forwards incoming calls to a regular phone when the user is off-line.
• Mobile applications so Skype can be used from Mobile Phones.

Skype has continued to innovate and add features in order to broaden the appeal of their service.

We think Skype is a great option for people who want to make free calls to other Skype users. However, Skype’s international rates on calls to landlines and cell phones are not as low as other cheap international calling options. In addition to a per-minute charge for each call, Skype also charges a connection fee for each call made to a land-line or cell phone. In order to evaluate the relative cost of making international calls to landlines or cell phones with Skype, we compared the international rates charged by Skype to those charged by Tel3Advantage for the same call from the USA. Tel3Advantage was selected for this comparison since it is a high quality prepaid calling plan that can be used to make low cost domestic or international long distance calls from any phone without changing companies and it is very popular with those who make frequent international calls from the USA or Canada.

We compared Skype published rates (excluding their connection fee) to those charged by Tel3Advantage to the following popular destinations.

In many cases, the rates charged on international calls to mobile phones are substantially higher than the rate charged for the same call to a land-line. Therefore, when making international calls, callers should take care and read the fine print so they fully understand the rate charged for making a call to the type of phone they plan to call or they may receive an unpleasant surprise. In most cases, rates on international calls to mobile phones are higher than they are for calls to landlines but this is not always the case. The rate difference varies between countries and service providers so it is best to shop around in order to find the lowest cost product for making calls to the country and type of phone you wish to call.

We did some research on this topic by comparing the rates charged by Tel3Advantage, a popular prepaid calling plan, on international calls to mobile phones and landlines in various countries. We found there were some regional patterns to the data but no consistent rules. The following is a summary of our key observations.

• The rate charged on calls to mobile phones is substantially higher than they would be for the same call to a land-line. This seemed to be a typical pattern. Especially for international calls made to countries located in Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East. However, there were exceptions so callers should check the countries they wish to call before making any conclusions. Some popular locations where the rates charged on international calls to mobile phones are significantly higher than they are to landlines: Brazil, France, Italy, Mexico and the UK. For example, a call to a mobile phone in Italy from the USA costs 14.7 cents per-minute while a call to a land-line costs 1.8 cents per-minute.

• In some cases, the rate charged on calls to mobile phones were the same as those charged to landlines. Many of these locations were in Asia but there were many exceptions. We discovered the following popular destinations: Bermuda, China, India and Thailand.

• We also found cases where international calls to mobile phones where cheaper than calls to landlines. This is true on calls to the following popular destinations: Cuba, Egypt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Syria and Uzbekistan. In most cases, the difference in cost is small. For example, the rate charged for an international call to a mobile phone in Egypt is 9.4 cents per-minute while the charge for the same call to a land-line is 9.8 cents.

International callers should shop around for the best deal when deciding on a product to use for making cheap international calls. They should recognize that rates can vary significantly between countries and the type of phone they wish to call. It may be prudent to use one product for making calls to cell phones and another product to make calls to landlines. There are a wide selection of phone cards and other prepaid calling products to choose from so most callers can find substantial savings by shopping for the product that best fits their needs.

Tel3Advantage offers some of the cheapest rates on international calls to Costa Rica. The rate is only 2.8 cents per-minute for the first 30 days if a new customer signs up under the Tel3Advantage Triple Promo. This rate includes all fees and taxes. The same low rate applies to calls to cell phones or land-lines and there are no restrictions. In addition, new customers get up to 321 Free Minutes as a bonus when they open a new account.

Tel3Advantage prepaid long distance is also a safe option since it offers one of the most popular international calling plans in North America. They have been in business for over 15 years and have more than 100,000 active customers. The also have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. It can be used to make cheap long distance (domestic or international) from any phone in Canada or the USA without changing phone companies. It is simple to use since there is no need to dial account numbers or PIN codes when making a call. There are no long term contracts or maintenance fees. Simply use the service as much or as little as you like and only pay for the minutes used. Tel3Advatage also provides customers with a free on-line account where they can make changes to their account and monitor account activity. Up to 10 phones can be linked to one account so the same account can be used with your home, cell or business phones.

Tel3Advantage offers the lowest rates to Costa Rica and other popular destinations.

If you make international calls to China from the USA or Canada than this may be of interest to you. Tel3Advantage announced recently that they have lowered their rates for international calls to China from North America from 1.7 to 1.32 cents-per-minute. This rate includes all fees and taxes if the caller uses a local access number when placing the call. A 1 cent-per-minute surcharge is added if the caller uses the Tel3Advantage toll free access number to make the call. It is not hard to avoid the surcharge since Tel3 has a wide network of local access numbers. Calls can be made from any kind of telephone, including mobile phones and hotel or business phones. Tel3Advantage now has the lowest rates on international calls to China from North America.

It is possible to get a lower rate on international calls for the first 30 days if a new customer opens an account using the Tel3Advantage Triple Promo offer. The rate on calls to China for the first 30 days using this offer is only 1 cent-per-minute and the new customer can also get up to 900 free minutes as a sign-up bonus. Visit Tel3Advantage Triple Promo for details or call 800 441 0321.

The 2009 Tel3Advantage Christmas phone card promotion is in progress. During this promotion new customers who sign-up for the Tel3Advantage Flex Plan will get twice the normal sign-up bonus. It is free to open an account and all a new customer needs to do to qualify for the bonus is make an initial deposit. The amount of the bonus depends on the amount deposited but it ranges from $2 to $18. The bonus can be used to make free domestic and international calls to any location in the world. If you plan to make any international calls from North America this holiday season than you should sign-up for Tel3, get their holiday bonus and try one of the best quality prepaid long distance services in North America. Find out why Tel3 has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and more than 100,000 satisfied customers. Visit Tel3Advantage for details or call 800 441 0321 and ask for the Christmas promo.

With the Holiday Season fast approaching, a perfect gift for a friend or loved one who is far away may be the gift of a phone card. A phone card gift card can be delivered to any location in the world instantly via e-mail and there is no tax, duty or delivery fee. A phone card gift card is very easy to purchase and is a useful gift, even for the person who has everything.

A gift card can be purchased in any amount (from $5 to $100) and the recipient can trade it in for any phone card they want. So they can choose the best phone card for their needs from a vast range of phone cards including those with a global reach and a full range of special features.

Purchasing a gift card is easy. Once you complete a gift card purchase you will receive an email containing a PIN number and a link – all that is needed for a phone card to be selected and activated. Just send this information to your friend or loved one and they can choose the phone card they want. It is that easy.

Visit Phone Cards International to review a full range of international phone cards and choose the gift card option if you would like to send a special gift to a friend or loved one this holiday season.