Prepaid phone cards are items that provide consumers quicker access to making domestic or international long distance calls.

These cards serve as alternative method of making calls when one is away from home or the office. These cards compete with traditional telephone service providers, collect calls, third party billing and using coins on local pay phones. One of the major benefits of using these call cards for consumers is that using such cards generally costs less than utilizing traditional services.

The lower price these phone cards offer, unlike the other methods, is that there are no surcharges made on the first minute of calling. A second major savings factor is that the charge for a prepaid card call is already inclusive of taxes, while taxes are added to the charges for traditional phone calls, collect and third party calls.

Consumers Get Significant Savings On These Cards

It's a fact for consumers today, that the cost savings from using prepaid phone cards can be significant, particularly for shorter calls. However, the longer a call lasts, the less the savings on gets. There are a number of factors for the increasing popularity of these devices.

First, the charges for making calls using these cards are generally lower than those for traditional methods of making calls away from home or office, and using these devices affords consumers more convenient methods aside from carrying around coins for use on pay phones. In addition, these communication tools are used in large numbers by consumers who don't have telephone service in their homes, as even today, a large number of U.S. households do not have access to regular telephone service.

Moreover, these calling cards offer more security than traditional telephone company cards, since if a prepaid card is stolen or lost, the loss is limited to the value remaining on the card, while traditional telephone company cards can be used to make hundreds, or even thousands of dollars worth of illegal calls.

A Call Card's Value Depends on Many Factors

The general value of a prepaid call card is dependent on several factors, especially beginning with whether the card works at all. If the card works well, the next most significant aspect is the amount charged when the card is used.

Among the local, domestic long distance and international rates that government regulators are reviewing, some cards like Coast to Coast Plus ( cents - 38 cents per minute) , these charge domestic rates that vary with the distance called, while others like the Hello Card (19 cents per minute for the $5 card and 26 cents per minute for the $10 card) levy the same rates no matter where a consumer calls within the continental US.

For consumers to take full advantage of these rate differences, this would be best served by purchasing both a variable rate card and a fixed rate card.

The problem with picking prepaid phone cards for their rates, is that very few cards disclose rate information. To find out what a specific call card charges, a buyer has to purchase a card, time his or her calls, record where a call goes, as well as keep track of the amount deducted from the card's account. This may sound too much of an effort, however it is a necessary action if consumers wish to locate the phone cards that offer the most competitive rates.