Mobile or Cell Phone Calling Card
The question we are always asked here at iCallAbroad.com is how can I lower the cost of international calls when I am calling from my cell or mobile phone? The answer is actually very easy and no matter where you are, whether in the USA or UK there are options that can help you lower you calling costs.
The first thing you have to consider is what type of contract are you on and so this post will detail the main contracts and what solutions there are for you:
USA Monthly Contract Phones
For those of you from the USA who are on a monthly mobile phone contract with one of the main carriers such as Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Cingular, etc... you will be paying a monthly fee for your phone and this will have inclusive minutes included in this monthly cost. This makes calling internationally very easy as you can sign up for the iCallAbroad USA International Calling Card and then dial the local access numbers for free (using your inclusive minutes) and all you pay is the low per minute rate on iCallAbroad USA. It really is that easy!
USA Prepaid Phones
If you are using a prepaid phone where you add credit to your phone as and when you need it, then there is still an option for you. Instead of having free inclusive minutes, on a prepaid phone you pay for all incoming and outgoing calls. So to make a call to our access numbers on iCallAbroad USA will cost you, aswell as being charged for the international portion of the call.
However, although this does not sound like a good option, you just need to compare how it all works out. To give you an example, most prepaid carriers will charge you up to $1.50 per minute to dial an international number direct. If you call our access number, which is a local number in the USA, it will cost in the region of $0.10 to $0.30 per minute depending on your prepaid plan - you then will be charged anything from $0.05 per minute by us for the international portion of the call.
So, it actually works out much cheaper to use iCallAbroad USA on a prepaid plan!
UK Monthly Contract Phones
Similar to USA monthly contract phones, most UK monthly contract users will be paying a monthly fee for their phone which will have inclusive minutes. With these inclusive minutes you then have two options; either you can call using our iCallAbroad UK landline service or iCallAbroad UK Mobile Service.
They differ in that if you have inclusive minutes you can use our landline service and just dial the access number for that destination and pay nothing else. Your inclusive minutes will cover the cost of the call - however I would advise you check your carrier to make sure that you can call that particular access number as some will not let you call those access numbers from your mobile or will charge you an extra premium for calling that number. If that is the case you would need to use our mobile service and simply top up your phone as per the site to make calls at great low rates!
UK Prepaid Phones
If you are on a prepaid contract then you would want to use our iCallAbroad UK Mobile Service to make great low cost calls. Simply top your phone up (as per the site) and your phone is then loaded with international credit, so all you need to do is dial the access number and make low per minute calls. You will be charged to call our access number, however when you compare this to simply dialling direct you will save money.
For example, if you called an international number from a UK prepaid phone it will cost you in the region of £1 or more per minute. When using our mobile service you will be charged for calling the access number (a UK access number) which will be around 10p to 20p per minute, depending on your prepaid tariff and then the low per minute rate on our website. So overal you could save up to 80% off international calls when using our UK Mobile Phone Calling Card.
Note - As with all these options, we always advise that you contact your mobile phone carrier to make sure you can call our access numbers and to find out the specific costs. In nearly all cases monthly contract customers can call our access numbers and these calls will be included in your inclusive minutes, so you will not pay anything extra. Prepaid customers will always pay to call our access numbers but as we explained above it makes sense to use our service and save money - though its best to check how much they will charge you to call our access numbers.
The first thing you have to consider is what type of contract are you on and so this post will detail the main contracts and what solutions there are for you:
USA Monthly Contract Phones
For those of you from the USA who are on a monthly mobile phone contract with one of the main carriers such as Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Cingular, etc... you will be paying a monthly fee for your phone and this will have inclusive minutes included in this monthly cost. This makes calling internationally very easy as you can sign up for the iCallAbroad USA International Calling Card and then dial the local access numbers for free (using your inclusive minutes) and all you pay is the low per minute rate on iCallAbroad USA. It really is that easy!
USA Prepaid Phones
If you are using a prepaid phone where you add credit to your phone as and when you need it, then there is still an option for you. Instead of having free inclusive minutes, on a prepaid phone you pay for all incoming and outgoing calls. So to make a call to our access numbers on iCallAbroad USA will cost you, aswell as being charged for the international portion of the call.
However, although this does not sound like a good option, you just need to compare how it all works out. To give you an example, most prepaid carriers will charge you up to $1.50 per minute to dial an international number direct. If you call our access number, which is a local number in the USA, it will cost in the region of $0.10 to $0.30 per minute depending on your prepaid plan - you then will be charged anything from $0.05 per minute by us for the international portion of the call.
So, it actually works out much cheaper to use iCallAbroad USA on a prepaid plan!
UK Monthly Contract Phones
Similar to USA monthly contract phones, most UK monthly contract users will be paying a monthly fee for their phone which will have inclusive minutes. With these inclusive minutes you then have two options; either you can call using our iCallAbroad UK landline service or iCallAbroad UK Mobile Service.
They differ in that if you have inclusive minutes you can use our landline service and just dial the access number for that destination and pay nothing else. Your inclusive minutes will cover the cost of the call - however I would advise you check your carrier to make sure that you can call that particular access number as some will not let you call those access numbers from your mobile or will charge you an extra premium for calling that number. If that is the case you would need to use our mobile service and simply top up your phone as per the site to make calls at great low rates!
UK Prepaid Phones
If you are on a prepaid contract then you would want to use our iCallAbroad UK Mobile Service to make great low cost calls. Simply top your phone up (as per the site) and your phone is then loaded with international credit, so all you need to do is dial the access number and make low per minute calls. You will be charged to call our access number, however when you compare this to simply dialling direct you will save money.
For example, if you called an international number from a UK prepaid phone it will cost you in the region of £1 or more per minute. When using our mobile service you will be charged for calling the access number (a UK access number) which will be around 10p to 20p per minute, depending on your prepaid tariff and then the low per minute rate on our website. So overal you could save up to 80% off international calls when using our UK Mobile Phone Calling Card.
Note - As with all these options, we always advise that you contact your mobile phone carrier to make sure you can call our access numbers and to find out the specific costs. In nearly all cases monthly contract customers can call our access numbers and these calls will be included in your inclusive minutes, so you will not pay anything extra. Prepaid customers will always pay to call our access numbers but as we explained above it makes sense to use our service and save money - though its best to check how much they will charge you to call our access numbers.
