Ignorant telephone question: calling card, long dist within US?

Factual Questions
1

I’ve never had a telephone calling card (the kind that you buy and they have a specified amount of $ on them for making calls with).

I need to make a high volume of short-duration long distance (domestic US to other states in US) telephone calls. Our current long distance phone service is good for that, it’s optimized for a small monthly volume of long-duration calls.

Do there exist calling cards, available somewhere in the NYC metro area, which will let me make domestic (US) calls and charge me by the minute and not by the call and without some type of per-call surcharge?

Alternatively, is there any LD service I can access via a 1010-xxx calling code that offers calls billed strictly by the minute? AT&T is available but will eat me alive in per-call surcharges if I use their 1010 number.

2

Well, here’s a good place to research competing 10-10 rates: http://www.10-10phonerates.com/

Frankly, though, it would probably be cheaper to switch your home LD service to someone like ECG, which charges 2.75 cents per minute for all long distance calls, 24x7, with no monthly minimums or per-call fees. You can check out the competing plans here: http://www.saveonphone.com.

3

You rock!

OK, I’m all registered to make 6¢-per-call brief-duration calls :slight_smile:

4

I had the same problem and went to OneSuite.

Their costs are 2.9 a minute and there are no connection fees unless you use a payphone to call from and then it’s only .25 surcharge.

Their fees are prepaid. I make tons of short duration calls, including the always expensive in-state calls and 10.00 lasts me forever.

That’s cheap long distance!

5

www.cognicall.com is defenitley my favorite.

Firstly it is 6.9 cents per minute, flat rate, with no connection fee. The international rates are also very competetive. It is a post-paid card, that allows you to pay with a credit card and is automatically billed after certain increments that you can set (mine is at 100 dollars). You can set it up to allow your phone number to be stored in their system, meaning that you don’t have to dial your PIN code to get access once that is set up. There is also the advantage that they have toll-free access numbers in nearly every country. They also allow you to view all of your calls online. It is a very nice service, and I have used it for several years now and helps a lot when you have to travel, or move around a lot.

6

That would be the rate for all interstate long distance phone calls. If you use ECG to make a long distance call within the same state, the rate is 12.9¢ per minute.

7

Depends on the state. It ranges from 3.9 cents per minute (CA) to 23.3 cents a minute (SD). But, yeah, it pays to check that out. Of course, you can opt to use ECG only for interstate LD, and stick with your local phone company for intrastate, if that’s cheaper.

8

To my mind, that is why Onesuite RULES! It costs 2.9 a minute in state or out. I’ve never seen a card like that.