Tips on Choosing a Telephone Card

By answering some of these questions, we hope you will be able to make an informed decision. Sometimes, the cheapest may not always be the best value.

How long do you think your call will be?
Some cards charge a connection fee whilst some don’t.
If you are making a short call, you will be better choosing a card that does not charge a connection fee. If your call is a long one (exceeding 30 mins), it may be better for you to pay for a connection fee and get a cheaper per minute rate. The longer the call, the better you are with a card that charges a connection fee.

When do you make your calls?
If you make calls after midnight, some cards have special off-peak rates.

Do you call major capital cities?
Most cards have special rates for major capital cities. For example, the rate for Bangkok Thailand is generally cheaper than the standard rate for Thailand.

Does the card have local access numbers?
You need to make sure that the card you buy has a local access number. Calls to a non-local number will incur a long distance charge. A surcharge is often charged for calling 13 xxxx, 1300 xxx xxx or 1800 xxx xxx.

Will you be making calls from multiple locations?
If you are on the move within Australia, make sure that the card has local access numbers in your destinations. Most cards will have access numbers in the capital cities whilst some may not have them in the regional and rural areas.

How frequently will you use the card?
All cards have an expiry date from first use, usually between 3 and 6 months. If you infrequently use the card, pick a card with a longer expiry date.

Other points to consider.

Bonus credit?
Some cards offer bonus credits when you buy larger denominations, i.e. get $5 free when you buy $50 card. Bonus credits give you extra talk time.

Billing Increments
The smaller the increment, the better the card value. For example, if you talk for 6 minutes and 5 seconds; a 1 minute increment card will charge you for 7 minutes whilst a 3 minute increment card will charge you for 9 minutes.

Help Desks
All the cards that we stock on www.telephonecards.com.au have help desks for customer support. However, some only operate within business hours whilst some are 24 hours. If this is important to you, select the one that best meets your needs.

Language Needs
All cards provide English prompts. However, most also offer multiple languages. You may want to check that the card has your language as an option.

ACMA (Australian Communications Media Authorithy) Phone Card Fact sheet
Read what you should also consider from ACMA before purchasing a phone card. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_1741. The fact sheet can also be viewed in PDF format here.