Wehre to get a cheap calling card for Bosnia & Herzegovina?

March 2, 2006 12:06 PM

Where can I find cheap calling cards to make calls from the US to Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia? A friend's mother recently moved here and needs to make calls to her friends at home on a regular basis. She is paying $0.40 per minute now. There must be some cheaper cards with decent quality. Any idea where I can find them? either online or from local stores. His mom is living in Orange County, CA if that helps. Thanks.
posted by dy to shopping (11 comments total)

SkypeOut is $0.20 US. Which is still a lot considering how cheap Skype usually is. Does your friend have a computer?
posted by GuyZero at 12:12 PM on March 2, 2006

I've used LD Post phone cards in the past - they have a country finder you can use.
posted by darsh at 12:12 PM on March 2, 2006

If she has a computer, she can use SkypeOut. The rates for Bosnia ad Herzegovina are $00.20/minute, and as always if she's calling people with computers Skype-Skype calls are free.
posted by Packy_1962 at 12:16 PM on March 2, 2006

I use a permanent service by which I call a US number and then dial for Serbia, which ends up being about $.10 a minute, which is probably the best rate possible. The charges constitue part of the regular phone bill though, so if your friend just wants to use a calling card, there may not be a better option. They are getting steadily cheaper though, as it used to be upwards of $1.00 a minute. Anyway, I can find out the specifics of the telephone service for you if you think that could help your friend.
posted by Oobidaius at 12:16 PM on March 2, 2006

Whatever you do, don't use SpeedyPin.com. I have used them to get cards for calling Serbia and they were awful. Most of the time, the calls wouldn't go through. Whenever I reached someone in customer service--which was rarely--they would give me another number to call for a refund. I ended up leaving many voice mails and emails demanding my money back... but it was no use. Total rip-off.

I third the vote for Skype.
posted by lilybeane at 12:18 PM on March 2, 2006

It looks like it might be pretty cheap with Vonage. Though that assumes she had broadband.
posted by MattS at 12:26 PM on March 2, 2006

I know this may sound like an obvious answer, but I use callingcards.com for cards for all over the world.
posted by Pollomacho at 1:11 PM on March 2, 2006

Abtolls lists several services that cost as low as $0.2083/min.
posted by grouse at 1:15 PM on March 2, 2006

Oh, on a quick search callingcards.com listed rates for Bosnia for as low $.135 a minute. The trick is to find cards with no connection fees or hidden charges. That's usually about the third or fourth one listed. I did not check the Bosnia cards carefully, but the rates for the third or fourth ones is in the $.15/min. range.
posted by Pollomacho at 1:43 PM on March 2, 2006

I use phonecardonsale.com
which shows a card named Himalaya giving a rate similar to the one quoted by Pollomacho, with no connection fee.
posted by Rash at 2:26 PM on March 2, 2006

Hi Oobidaius,

The permanent service sounds like the best deal so far. She has a regular phone at home, so it should not be a problem. Could you please tell me what their contact no. is? Thanks a lot. You can email me at [e-mail]
posted by dy at 2:54 PM on March 2, 2006