Prepaid Calling card guide for cheap calling, The tricks and some of the traps!

This is a semi-review on two calling cards and why some others should be avoided.

I have a preference to good quality calls at a slightly higher price so this is not a "cheapest card available" guide.

Firstly a note.....

BEWARE some of the really cheap calling cards.

There is usually a catch somewhere, usually it's just a hidden "connection fee" which makes the value completely vanish or "call success charge" but sometimes can be such things as the calls are carried over bad quality Voice over internet or worst still, shunted overseas and then routed through the cheapest system they can possibly use resulting in disconnections, errors and plain bad quality..

Currently I use and can reccommend.:

TalkPlus which is a TelstraClear provided product for my landline originated calling.
Yabba, which is a Telecom provided product for my mobile originated calling.

Both cards can be assigned to a specific number meaning I do not have to enter the PIN each time I make a call which makes calling a LOT easier, just dial the access number, then dial the number to call and wait.

Talkplus handles all my Landline calling, it offers superb quality calls at the same or often a lower price than my iTalk Voip line did!
If I use a local access number, most countries and New Zealand are between 4c and 6c per minute and include GST.
I can use an 0800 number from a landine and pay just 10c more on top of this rate, or from a mobile and pay 45c more.

Here are the countries I call and pricing as a brief summary.
Talkplus Global. (Previously Clear Talkplus)

This card is ideal for making cheap calls from a landline based phone and also offers some of the cheapest 0800 calling around.

Access number for "national calling" 015222, this number is basically an 0800 number so is free of charge to call.
0800 165 000 still works as a regular 0800 but not sure for how long.

Add 10c per minute for 0800 calls from a regular landline.
Add 45c per minute for 0800 calls from a Mobile phone.

NATIONAL
Land to Land $ 0.04
Mobile to Land $ 0.59
Mobile to mobile $ 0.94

Australia $ 0.05
Australia (mobile) $ 0.39
China (includes mobile) $ 0.06
UK* $ 0.05
UK (mobile) $ 0.39
USA (includes mobile) $ 0.05
Canada(includes mobile) $ 0.05
Ireland $ 0.05
France $ 0.06
Hong Kong $ 0.07
Spain $ 0.07
Chile $ 0.09
South Africa $ 0.12
India $ 0.29
India Mobile $ 0.29

Most countries are between 4 - 7c a minute.
National calls are very cheap and excellent quality.
YaBBa (previously Talkaway)

Calls from a TELECOM mobile phone incurs no extra surcharge to international destinations.
Calls from Payphones incur a 24c per minute surcharge.

Access numbers are always free of charge to call.
0124 (Free from landlines and Telecom mobiles, does not even work from Vodafone, oh what a pity!)
0800 825 528 (0800 Talkaway) ditto...

NATIONAL
Land to land $ 0.30
Mobile to Land $ 0.70
Mobile to mobile $ 1.10

Australia $ 0.10
Australia (mobile) $ 0.30
China (includes mobile) $ 0.10
UK* $ 0.10
UK (mobile) $ 0.30
USA (includes mobile) $ 0.30
Canada(includes mobile) $ 0.30
Ireland $ 0.10
France $ 0.10
Hong Kong $ 0.10
Spain $ 0.10
Chile $ 0.10
South Africa $ 0.25
India $ 0.29
India Mobile $ 0.29

Most popular countries are 10c a minute.
Mobiles in the most popular are 30c a minute.

National calls are expensive with this card, 30c normally, 70c from a mobile phone.
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