Using a phone card is one of the most convenient and cheapest ways of connecting to your international friends. However, the process of using one and the terms and jargon involved are somewhat different from just picking up a phone and making a call; any phone card user should know these terms before they use a card. In that spirit, this article brings you the 10 phone card terms you must know as a consumer and user.
Local Access Number
The phone card company usually designates a local access number for different regions of the country or countries that it serves. The caller can access the service provided by the phone company by first calling the local access number, and then authenticating themselves using a PIN.
Rounding or Billing Increments
Refers to the increments in which the calls are billed. For example, if the rounding is 2 minutes, a one minute and one second long call will be billed as a 2 minute all. Rounding has a large impact on the total bill.
Originating Call
Any call made using your phone card is called an originating call, and is charged as such.
Automatic Recharge
This feature allows the phone card to be recharged automatically once its value reduces to a pre-determined level. It is another name for automatic bill payment.
Connection Fee
This is the base charge applied to every call made using the phone card.
Billing Address
Like any other service, billing address refers to the address where you receive your bill. Many services do not require billing address, because they are purchased online. If you are going on a foreign trip, such services are a good option for you.
Maintenance fee
This fee is levied on some phone cards on a monthly or weekly basis.
Mobile Rates
These are the rates that that the user is charged when they make a call to a mobile phone. Mobile rates are usually different from landline rates.
Payphone Fee
As a phone card user, you can make international calls even using payphones. This is done by first calling the local access number of your service, and then using the service offered by the dialing software over the phone. Payphone fee refers to the extra charge one is charged when using payphones for such calls.
800 Number
This is the most important access number as far as using a phone card in US is concerned. The 800 number is a toll free number in the US, where the called party is charged the cost of the call, instead of the calling party. For many international phone cards, this is the standard access number; and is followed by the number of their service provider
Using phone cards is a convenience, and a couple of complicated terms should not stop one from using it to the fullest extent. We hope that the terms explained here will make your experience as a phone card user all the more easy.
