VoIP Was Supposed To Kill Calling Cards… Except it didn’t.

With cell phone plans, broadband VoIP and tons of software apps all facilitating voice communication (Skype, GoogleTalk, etc), you’d think calling cards will have went away by now.  However, they didn’t.  For good reason, too.

Simply put, calling cards continue to be the most simple and efficient means to communicate for cheap.  With many costing a mere 3 cents or less per minute, they remain as the most affordable way to get in touch with family, friends and business associates at all times of the day, whether here or abroad.

While unlimited cell phone plans and broadband VoIP will allow you to talk for endless amounts of hours, they tie you to long-term plans which may not prove to be in your best interest.  Though I’m sure there are people who will find them useful, most of us wouldn’t really want to pay a fixed amount for two years when you may only need to make plenty of calls for the next couple of months.  Add to that the reality that most unlimited cell phone plans don’t include international calls as well as the fact that their terms can change anytime they wish and calling cards simply emerge as the most sensible option.

Since you can dial in with a calling card on a cell phone, they can be as mobile as you are.  No need to fiddle around with complicated software on your phone, either (which often wouldn’t work anyway).  Just dial up and start talking.

Despite doomsayers proclaiming that calling cards will be going away soon, truth is, they’re more popular than ever.  Chances are great, too, that they’ll stick around for much, much longer.

While calling cards may be old technology, their service is definitely not. Facilitating serious savings for consumers, they remain as relevant to today’s communication needs as they were several years ago.

Of course, some aspects of the medium has changed. Instead of needing to pick up an actual card, consumers can now just order one from a website and have the card sent as a digital picture embedded in an email. It’s instant and automatic – a perfect fit for mobile consumers who seem forever busy without a second to waste.

The average phone card user, after all, has changed too. Instead of folks who use calling cards to get in touch with distant relatives from home, it’s now seeing wider adoption among mobile professionals who use it for cheap business calls over their cell phones. Why restrict yourself to expensive per minute charges, after all, when a high quality option is available for much less?

Once you get the calling card in your email inbox, you can simply copy the access numbers and PINs into your mobile handset for easy retrieval, even programming it into your contact list to require even less work when you’re making calls. Even better, folks receiving your calls at the other end of the line don’t have to be alerted to the fact that you’re trying to save money while giving them a buzz – in fact, you’ll look like you’re calling directly from your mobile carrier’s plan, a definite plus when you’re looking to impress.

If you’re a mobile professional with a need to regularly get in touch with clients and business contacts, it’s hard to ignore the ease and value that modern calling cards can afford you. Why not try one today?

There’s a simple reason why calling cards are hot: they save consumers a lot of money. If you find yourself frequently making calls both locally and abroad, nothing beats the savings a calling card is going to get you.

If you talk with people uninitiated in the benefits of calling cards, they’ll always remark how expensive it is to make international calls. While that may be true when you’re calling using your cell phone or landline plan, it’s hardly the case with a calling card in tow.

A typical cell phone plan, as you may expect, charges to the neck when placing calls in other places of the world. On average, you’ll see most mobile carriers charge 14 cents a minute on calls to China, 32 cents per minute when talking to relatives in India and 8 cents a minute for calls to the UK. You’ll find similarly steep charges for pretty much any country you want to make long-distance calls to, from Mexico to Timbuktu.

On a calling card, whether you use a prepaid or postpaid one, you can make the exact same calls for considerably less. Calls to China, for instance, will cost you half-a-cent per minute on average; India, around 3 cents per minute; and the UK, a mere 0.7 cents for each 60-second duration. Regardless of what country you’re ringing up, you’ll be hard-pressed to find calling cards that will charge you more than 8 cents for every minute of your conversation.

Depending on your cell phone plan and what kind of calling card you get, you can save as much 95% on your international calls with a calling card. Still think calling abroad is an expensive proposition?

Prepaid calling cards are phone cards that let you purchase time in advance, in contrast to traditional calling cards where you are billed after you make the calls.  Like other prepaid services, they bring unique benefits that make them a popular choice among calling card users.

1. Convenience

Prepaid calling cards are easy to get.  Since there’s no contract, you can just pick them up off a counter or order one online without having to present documentation of any sorts.

2. Fraud Protection

Calling cards, requiring only an access code and a PIN, are easy targets for theft.  When your prepaid calling card is stolen, you only lose whatever amount you have left on the account.  With a postpaid one, you can end up responsible for hours upon hours of calls that you didn’t make.

3. Budget Control

When you have loved ones living abroad, it’s easy for your calls to last longer than you actually intended.  Prepaid calling cards remove that risk, allowing only a fixed budget for your talk time.  If you run out of time, you can simply reload (and reloading options are incredibly easy now).

Of course, it’s not all roses and daises for prepaid calling card users.  While they’re more convenient, they should prove a bit more expensive than your typical calling card.  Make sure you check, as well, if a prepaid calling card you’re getting deducts reloading charges (not very attractive) along with the expiration date (many cards expire unused credits after 6 months).