Prepaid phone cards allow consumers to purchase telephone minutes in advance, both domestic and international, and use them from any phone. Cards can be bought in all types of stores nationwide and are popular with travelers, students or those who make frequent international calls.
How They Work
Prepaid phone cards come with a toll free access number and a PIN printed on the card. The caller must access an automated system by calling the access number and enter their PIN when prompted. The automated system can also provide a balance of minutes remaining on a card.
Interational Rates
Depending on the country, some phone cards can offer much more competitive rates on international calls than a traditional long distance plan.
Rechargable
Some prepaid phone cards allow additional minutes to be purchased on the same card, usually by calling the number on the back of the card and providing a credit card number.
Business Model
Resellers purchase minutes from large telecommunications companies world wide and set up access numbers for their customer base to use. They then use distributors to allocate cards to retailers who sell the cards to consumers.
Consumer Complaints
According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers have had problems with hidden maintenance fees and lower-than-promised minutes. Ask the retailer you purchase the card from to stand behind the product. Check the card and compare rates with others, if they are surprisingly low, it might be a red flag for a faulty card.
Tags: phone cards, access number, automated system, cards allow, international calls, phone cards allow, Prepaid phone