Best PhoneCard for Calling UK from US, Hungary and Spain

cralittlewood

Hi,

Done a few searches of this site and read variuos threads and it seems that getting a calling card is the cheapest way to call the Uk from abroad.

It all seems very confusing on which card to choose. I have read the thread about calling from New York to the Uk and somebody recommened the Bison card, so this is on my list.

However I am going to Budapest next week end and would like to have the facility to use a card there, and later in the year I am going to Menorca and would like to use a card there.

So my question is do I get one card for all three destinations or separate cards.
My next question is where do I get the cards from and will I be able to get one in time to use next weekend from Budapest.

My 3 Destinations are;

Budapest (a few calls)
Las Vegas (will be making the most calls from here, probably quite a few calling the kids)
Menorca (a few calls)

Thanks in advance

redux

It might have been me that mentioned Bizon, but as you've realised it doesn't have pan-European coverage and only uses local area code access, not freephone numbers.

https://www.enjoyprepaid.com is also from the same parent company Nobelcom. You can search a mixture of their products and a few others at https://www.masterbell.com

If you do a google search for calling cards, you'll be in for hours of boring entertainment. There are all kinds of different charges, fees, almost invisible increments.

A while ago, I looked at cards from IDT, but I found it was fairly difficult to understand all the tariff variations - there was quite heavy loading on freephone numbers from callboxes and mobiles. An MCI card might also be worth looking into though - there is this one that doesn't look so cheap http://www.minutepass.com/GlobalService.asp
or this
http://consumer.mci.com/international/english/osb/index.jsp

Many cards have a fairly limited number of countries they can be used from, so you might get a local one in Hungary, and use a different one elsewhere. Sorry to be a bit inconclusive overall, but that is the state of the subject


But I notice that you posted this in the Mobile Phones board. If that is deliberate, and you were thinking of use with a local SIM card, then another possibility is to use callback services. They use the fact that it is often cheaper to make a call in one direction than the other. So you call a trigger number, get called back with a dialling tone and then dial the destination number. For many countries' mobiles, rates are about 15p per minute to landlines. You could also use it from a landline more cheaply, from about 3 or 4p per minute.

redux

ps. I have also heard of GoTalk, which might interest you as it is usable in Hungary, but I haven't tried it myself

https://www.gotalk.co.uk

I accidentally found an Australian company with the same name, and they seem to have a phonecard that can be used internationally. I'm looking at it a bit more, wondering if they sell it to international customers.

cralittlewood

Thanks for all the info, I have been going around in circles looking at all the cards and was just going to order a fastworld card which looks like I can use it from all the locations and then I saw your message about gotalk.
Now just having a look at that also.

Cheers will let you know what I plump for.

redux

cralittlewood wrote:

I have been going around in circles looking at all the cards

yep, I've done that too. I've had a $5 Bizon card for a couple of months but only used for 2 short calls so far.

now I'll try looking up the fastworld one you mentioned

redux

I think I found the drawback of that Australian one - 3rd country surcharge of 33 or 75c per minute to call home to Australia