Don't call collect!

[charlie2]

Was on a one day trip and forgot my cell phone and had to make a short call so I thought that ATT would be cheapest. A two minute call from DCA to home in NY was $9.29. Just thought I'd pass the word. I'll never do that again!

 

[Afterprop]

Stick 'Em Up ! ! !

Hold 'Em High. I hope you had both hands up. (It pays (no pun intended) to always carry a pre-paid phone card in your billfold in the event you don't have the cell phone again. I've made that same mistake in the past . . . unbelieveable what they can charge, and get away with.
Cheers,
'Props

 

[warbirdfinder]

Or from Mumbai, India to Phoenix, Arizona through the hotel switchboard for 14 minutes, a bargain at only $152.05 USD

 

[charlie2]

Hold 'Em High. I hope you had both hands up. (It pays (no pun intended) to always carry a pre-paid phone card in your billfold in the event you don't have the cell phone again. I've made that same mistake in the past . . . unbelieveable what they can charge, and get away with.
Cheers,
'Props

I think I'll do that...thanks.

 

[zonker]

I did the same thing a while back, left my cell at home.

So I bought a prepaid phone card that had 60 minutes of time on it, thinking it'd be plenty for a few days. Then I found out that every time I used it on a pay phone, I was docked 8 MINUTES for each call, over and above any time I used.

Does anyone know of a card that doesn't rip you off like this?

 

[TheBaron]

I did the same thing a while back, left my cell at home.

So I bought a prepaid phone card that had 60 minutes of time on it, thinking it'd be plenty for a few days. Then I found out that every time I used it on a pay phone, I was docked 8 MINUTES for each call, over and above any time I used.

Does anyone know of a card that doesn't rip you off like this?

It's not the phone card that's ripping you off; it's a federally (FCC) mandated requirement to pay the owner/operator of the pay phone. I use the phone in the hotel rooms and/or fbo's with my prepaid calling card to avoid the charge.

 

[ultrapilot]

Phone Cards Expire

I found out he hard way (lost money) that phone cards expire.

I needed a phone card when I forgot my phone on a four day trip so I bought one with a lot of minutes. The more minutes you buy the less cost per minute. I sure was surprised less then a year later when I could not get a good signal on my cell phone in the hotel room and decided to use my "calling card".

After the "I sorry but there are no more minutes remaining on this card" recording, I had them connect me with a service rep. She told me that the calling cards expire after a certain amount of time after you first use it but that she would be glad to sell me some more minutes to add to my existing card. Sorry but why would I want to add more minutes that might expire before I use them again?

If you buy one, just get the minutes you need for the time frame you need or you are wasting money. That's the first time as a pilot that I have ever wasted money...... Okay, that part wasn't true....

 

[BrokenWing]

One of the better phone cards out there is the AT&T card from Sam's club. 2.8 cents a minute and the card never expires. They do charge a 9 unit surcharge when using a pay phone but that's a small price to pay.

 

[atlcrashpad]

At&t Sux

AT&T raised their per minute rate for all the GI's during Christmas (1200 min card lasted 4 min). We ended up using Segovia it was 4 cents per minute to call the US.

 

[Stearmandriver]

Heh heh... I was in Monterrey Mexico one night, just wondering how my son was doing, as he'd been a little sick when I left on my trip. Nothing serious. but I thought it'd be worth a few bucks to check up. The hotel folks (usually extremely helpful down there) were unable to give me the local AT&T number to use my Sam's Club calling card, so I figured, "what the heck, just a few bucks..." and called collect.

2 mins = $96.82

 

[Beertini]

This might be a bit of the original post's subject, but I highly recommend checking out www.skype.com if you haven't already done so. Granted, it requires a high-speed connection for your computer but it is well worth the price of admission. I invested in a laptop camera and I get to see the family every day. It is a great thing to be able to see the kids while I am staring at the walls of the hotel in Mumbai. In fact, as I was writing this response the Mrs. just called me and let me say good night to the kids (which is pretty amazing to be able to do from Mumbai).

Beertini

 

[ksu_aviator]

Even more off topic, when I lived in Alton IL, I use to call for pizza from time to time. The pizza place was 6 miles away. My local phone plan only covered 5 miles. Outside that I had to pay a service charge for the phone calls. Some per minute charges exceeded 60 cents. I ordered that pizza one time at a total phone charge of $4.33! I cancelled my phone the day after I got the bill and went to a cell phone and I have carried a cell phone from then on.

Funk you very much Ameritech or Ameriquest or whoever the funk it was.

 

[Captain X]

All you guys who leave your cell phone at home....what's the plan if your girlfriend calls it and your wife picks it up? Or is your girlfriend on the trip with you?