Things you need to know about phone cards

What you need to know before using a phone card

International calling cards can offer cheap calling rates to overseas or local destinations. But while the rate often looks great on a poster, there are often a lot of extra fees, charges and qualifications in the terms and conditions.

These may mean that you’ll never pay the cheap rate you saw on the poster!

Administration fees

Some phone card businesses charge a large fee every day after you first use the card—whether you are using it or not.

Connection and disconnection fees

Some phone card businesses charge a fee for connection, disconnection or both.

Charging in blocks

Some phone cards charge in ‘blocks’ of time—for example, in five minute blocks. This means each call will be charged to the nearest five minutes.

Expiry

Many cards have a limited ‘life’—for example, some expire three months after you first use them and you lose any remaining credit.

Different call types

Different kinds of calls—for example those to ‘1300’ or ‘1800’ numbers, or mobile phones—may cost more than those to normal landline numbers.

Call quality

Phone card calls are usually placed using internet technology instead of regular phone lines. This means the quality of the sound you hear may not be as good as that you hear on a regular ‘landline’.