Anyone who wants to make an international call would first buy a phone card. Now phone card has become an inseparable part of international call.

Primarily, this calling plan is the most economical way for making long distance calls. The caller can make a savings of about 50% to 80% on his telephone bill. This is a great savings. In fact it is possible to achieve this savings because per minute calling rate is quite low. This being a prepaid calling plan, there are no hidden costs. Those who make more calls are offered discounts thereby encouraging them to make much more calls.

A person who has bought a phone card has the option of calling from any phone. He can call from his office phone, from his home, mobile, the telephone in his hotel room or even from a public telephone. This facility is not available in a payphone tariff strucuture where the caller has to call only from a designated telephone connection.

This prepaid calling strucuture operates similar to a credit card. Whenever calls are made, the call charges are deducted from the calling plan. At any time the plan can be recharged by buying additional calling time. Normally these calling plans will have some validity time within which the balance in the plan should be used as otherwise the balance will lapse. But, the calling companies have a unique offer wherein, if the caller buys new card from the same company the balance available in the old plan will be transferred to the new card. Thereby the caller does not lose any amount.

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