Has anybody tried this?

Tues March 8,2005 | fishhound

[fishhound]

I have, for about two years, not had a long distance carrier for my phone.

[fishhound]

Hi All. As always you guys are great and informative. Maybe this can be a kind of giveback. I do not know if someone else has suggested this but as we say in Boston. This is whicked pissah!!!

About two years ago, I was heading over the pond, I was interested in phone cards. I met a woman in a store who told me she got rid of her long distance carrier for her phone. She just used phone cards which charge about 2.5 cents a minute to anywhere in the US. Oversees it goes up considerably. From oversees even moreso. But you only pay as you go.

So I tried it. I got a phone card that I could recharge with a debit card. It is 675 minutes for twenty bucks. Brand is MCI but there are lots of them and the pricing is competitive.

I got rid of AT&T and now just have my local provider.

I think my total long distance spent for last year is about $60-$80. That's all; no service fees, no wierd line charges that no one can explain to me or goofy taxes that, again, no one can explain to me.........in short it is whicked pissah!

I have my card numbers memorized(just happens over time) but I can just use one memory speed dial number on the phone for the 800 number then another memory number for the pin to get the connection and then just dial the number I want.

If I am stranded(or without my cell phone) a pay phone will give me my money back when i use my card. At first it was completely free but the pay phone companies caught on and they wack your card about thiry cents for using it on a pay phone. But you do get your change back.

When I called ATT to cancel the long distance service they were just dumbstruck and could not belive that I did not want long distance service. It was kinda fun. There is no rule that says you have to have long distance service. There was a lot of But But But........why do you want to do this?! And a lot of "can we examine your service and suggest a less expensive plan." And I said "No".

When other people call me, from long distance, the lines go thru as the call is picked up by the local carrier. No problem.

I would say this has saved me a lot of money. I hope it helps others. Call me cheap; but it works for me.

An elderly person who is on a fixed income would benefit well by doing this. Even if they save thirty or forty bucks a month; that could be helpful. And you get one less piece of mail a month, every month,..... forever.

As always, I enjoy reading this site. I was not sure what Topic to put this in but I hope people see it.

[ConservativeMind]

You can still make toll-free calls when you cancel your local long distance carrier. Also, you can receive long-distance calls from elsewhere, too.

For a card that doesn't lose minutes nor charge a monthly fee, look into the AT&T calling card at Sam's Club. It is rechargeable on the phone and is under 3.5 cents a minute.

Otherwise, you can use Skype on your computer for free computer-to-computer calls and to make calls to any phone world-wide via SkypeOut (US and Canada are about 2.2 cents a minute this way). I know you already have a computer and an internet connection. With a microphone and speakers, you can save a bundle calling all over the world.

SkypeOut works pretty well, but you get CD-quality voice when you go computer to computer over broadband, with some reduction in quality via dialup (be sure to not surf while talking on dialup).

For those who want normal long-distance service, visit ABTolls.com for a price comparison of many carriers.

[fishhound]

Thanks.
The MCI card I have is about 2.5, or just below that, cents per minute at present.

Someone gave me a PC phone but I have not played with it yet.

With the Skye setup do you need equiptment and do both parties have to have the same equiptment?

I am often reading online I might be scr*wed by just trying not to surf while talking.LOL

[ConservativeMind]

You need no proprietary equipment for Skype. A decent headset would work best, but you can do a mic and speakers if you don't mind the sound-cancelling "half-duplexing" from time-to-time. As long as the person you call has a sound card with a mic and speakers it will work, but again, a headset is ideal. I use a Telex USB stereo headset from Amazon (call is not in stereo, but it's useful for music, etc.), but any will do.

The Costco MCI card is 2.9 cents and the Sam's is 3.47 cents.

[Jaysun]

This brings to mind a gas card deal I saw last year. Supposedly, you pay $100/yr then buy as many gas cards as you'd like and whenever you'd like throughout the year. The gas cards sold for $15 each but had a value of $20 each. The cards worked like any other debit or credit card at the pump.

Do you remember seeing anything like this?

When I saw it my BS detector overheated. First, what's with the $100/yr fee? Second, why would anyone sell you $20 of purchasing power for $15?

[fishhound]

I haven't seen that(gas cards).


On the phone cards there is no carry or monthly service charge. The only purchase is for minutes.

The gas thing sounds like a real scam. Might not be bad if the purchase would be at a fixed price on the gallon though, so that if it went up you would still be entitled to get gas at the original price. But I think I would saee pigs fly before that happened.