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Prepaid Calling Cards by issaasad

Prepaid calling cards allows you to conveniently make national, long distance and international phone calls without monthly fees or being locked into costly landline rates and plans. Although prepaid calling cards are no longer as popular as they once were, and some companies were shut down due to lawsuits from the FCC, there is still a substantial demand for them.

How do you define a “prepaid calling card”?

Prepaid calling cards are either physical or “digital cards” that hold a preset amount of talk minutes valid for phone calls within a specific country. Some companies and cards offer special times and promotions for specific countries; for example, the card can offer a certain amount of calls for the United States and Mexico, but not for Brazil. Usually, the owner of the card pays for a package of talk time, and to make a call, they will dial a certain code before the destination’s number. Prepaid phone cards can be used from any landline and most cell phones.

What happened to prepaid phone cards?

Some prepaid phone card companies were closed by the FCC because of cases of fraud; a lot of companies made promises to give a lot of minutes for a very low price. The old saying of “if something sounds too good to be true, then it likely is not true,” is correct in this instance. A lot of the cards promised to offer 1,000+ minutes of talk time, but then charged separate hidden fees for just using the card. Some companies even limited to the amount of continuous talk time to one hour. The companies did not fully disclose the fee schedules on the card’s packaging, and as such, millions of customers were charged unknowingly. However, at the time, prepaid phone cards were one of the few alternatives to expensive long distance landline phone plans.

How have prepaid phone cards changed?

The FCC cracked down on prepaid phone card companies, and now they are much more reputable. Companies including Wal-Mart and AT&T  are now one of the biggest companies to offer prepaid calling cards. These companies offer dependable cards that are security encrypted and guaranteed by reliable and well-known companies.

Who should use prepaid phone cards?

If you travel abroad, or you’re in the military, Issa Asad highly recommends you to get a prepaid calling card from a reputable company. These cards offer you international phone calls at a drastically lower price, which is something many cell phone companies cannot offer. Prepaid phone calls are extremely valuable if you ever travel, or your cell phone loses services, lost, stolen or is broken. The military also enjoys using prepaid calling cards, as it allows them to stay in touch with their friends and family, regardless of where they are stationed.

Prepaid phone cards are ideal for niche and targeted segments of the telecom market. Some people that are included in this niche are people who use a landline plan and do not car for continuous long distance service. Instead of using a cell phone, these people can get local and long distance nationwide calling for just $40 a month, and taxes and fees.