What are calling cards, anyhow?

A calling card is, plain and simple, a way to lower your long distance costs. Here’s how this works: calling cards are a form of dial-around; this means that when you use a calling card to make a call, you are routing the call specially to get a lower rate. Calling cards usually come with two important numbers: an access number, which is the phone number you dial before actually dialing the number you want to call, and a PIN, which you must enter to prevent others from accessing your account without your authorization.
A somewhat new feature to calling cards now allows you to register phone numbers (from which you usually make your calls) so that you don't have to enter your PIN when calling from these numbers.

Some of the calling cards available are postpaid; this means that you have an account and are monthly billed for your usage. Others are prepaid, so you can only spend a set amount. Prepaid cards frequently have lower rates, since by paying upfront you enable the calling card provider to negotiate the rates in advance.

There are prepaid cards designed specifically for use between two countries or just within a single country. It's actually not hard to choose a calling card, but you should take this things into consideration, to make sure you pay the absolute lowest rate for your calls.

Now, let’s see what calling cards are not: first of all, do not confuse the calling cards we talked about in this article with the cards used in many countries to activate payphones; these cards usually contain smart chips and have many names, including phone cards, telecartes, and calling cards. We don't mean these, either. We are simply a way to lower your long distance costs. And if you purchase them online, you will also avoid getting a useless piece of plastic (the physical card). You will however get the PIC, access number(s) and the credit you paid for. Basically, all you need to start making low-cost high-quality local and international calls.

This article was written by Alex Russell; he's constantly posting news about calling card and phone card industry.