I'm cheap. Help me be cheap on the phone.

September 15, 2006 7:42 PM

What's a cheap long-distance phone card?

I recently moved from British Columbia to Ontario, and, along the way, ditched my land line in favour of just a cell phone. Long distance with my cellular plan is quite expensive. However, I know there are some phone cards out there with good rates.

The question I have is which is the best, and where can I get it? Which long distance card can I get that has the lowest per-minute rate to call from Ontario to BC?

Specifically, I am in London. If I can get it locally, fine, if not, I am willing to purchase online. One that I can "top-up" might be nice, too, but it isn't imperative.

posted by synecdoche to Technology (7 answers total)

Alternately... have you considered Skype? I've spent about $9 on long distance in 2 months calling home from China. The call quality is almost perfect, headsets are cheap, and it doesn't feel as weird talking through a headset as you'd think.

2 cents a minute, no connection fees.... you can also SMS text.
posted by trinarian at 9:06 PM on September 15, 2006

As soon as I read the Intro to this post, I immediately thought Skype as well. I believe calls in Canada are charged at their 1.9 cent per minute rate. If the people who you are calling also have High Speed Internet you might want to get them to try Skype as well, since calls from Computer to Computer are completely free AND better sounding because you don't need to pass through the POTS.

If you want to get REALLY cheap, get a SkypeIn line that is local to your old area. Incoming calls are free, so people can call you locally and reach you no matter where you are, Ontario, British Columbia or even China. Getting your own local line only costs something to the order of $40/yr.

I personally use Skype as a permanent number, no matter where I move, and need to change phone service, its a number I'm always available through, as long as I have an internet connection.

Hope I didn't sound like too much of a Skype commercial, but I've been a big fan of it for years now.
posted by gregschoen at 10:59 PM on September 15, 2006

For phone cards, I prefer the Cici brand. It has good rates and it's one of the few that take 6 months to expire, instead of three.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 7:11 AM on September 16, 2006

Same situation, cellphone only, and Win-Tel has been pretty good to me.
posted by danwalker at 7:25 AM on September 16, 2006

I've heard that Pin City has good rates.
posted by donajo at 8:19 AM on September 16, 2006

I rely on the vast selection here where you can easily compare rates but since the prices they list are all in US dollars it may not work for you.
posted by Rash at 1:10 PM on September 16, 2006

I'm an Ontario mobile-only user too. I've used Win-Tel for the past couple of years. The quality is usually ok. I'm thinking of trying Yak, as they have better rates.
posted by blue grama at 2:35 PM on September 16, 2006