There are so many companies in the market selling international calling cards that it becomes impossible to select the right package. The phone card industry is a competitive industry, but that is just one factor that explains the difficulty in finding the right solution. Another factor is that calling cards are actually more complicated than your usual phone services. They involve terms like local access number, maintenance fee, payphone fee, connection fee and calling rates. Some of these factors are common to all cards, but others are not. Here we see how to compare international calling cards by comparing the relevant factors.
Factors Used in Comparing International Calling cards
Calling Rates
This is perhaps the most advertized factor or benefit of any phone card service. In a way, this is the most important factor too. It represents the cost per minute for the calls made using that service. Usually, the rates differ from package to package – a company’s 10-hour package has different rates from the 20-hours package. In this vein, when comparing the calling plans from two companies, you should compare the same kind of packages to make the right comparison.
Fees and Taxes
Almost every company will quote the fees and taxes of a package separately from the quoted price. So before you make a final cost assessment of a particular package from a company, make sure that you take into account all the taxes and fees you will have to pay for that package.
Maintenance Fees
The maintenance fee refers to the minimum you are charged during a particular duration of the use of the phone. If you do not use the international phone card for that particular duration of the service, you will still have to pay the minimum amount in the form of maintenance fees. So, if your phone remains unused for long periods of time, in case you have other means of communication for example, then you may be better served by going with a package with a higher call rates but lower maintenance fees.
Customer Service
For users of the international calling cards, customer service is more important than for users of regular phone services. The processes of using the international calling cards are complicated, and many a times you may not be connected due to technical reasons – in such scenarios, customer service should help you with troubleshooting. You should compare two companies on the feedback they have received on its customer service.
Compare the Phone Card Company
Comparing the company, as well as the product, is also a good method to assure yourself that the overall product will be good. A company with more experience and better reputation will usually have better international phone card packages.
This article breaks down the international phone card service into different heads to help you make a comparison between one package and other. Once you keep to the basics covered here, you do not have to go into the details – which should ultimately help you make the right selection
