Latest on Phone Calls to FSU

[juio99]

Fellow posters and readers.  We have had several messages regarding phone rates for calls to other countries.  I have compiled a list of the messages and some comments.  I have deleted the names of posters.  The first source listed below is interesting because it shows 'scores' for the various cards as voted on by those who have chosen to post a vote on the matter.

JR

http://www.phonecardonsale.com/index.html
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www.masterbell.com and I am using the one called Euromama
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http://www.phonecards-prepaid.com/ ,  "South American Excellence" with a
rate of 3.9 cents per minute to St. Petersburg, with no connection fee.  
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callyourlady.com has a list of the cheapest dial-arounds (those
"10-10" or "10-15" numbers).  We've tried some that were a little cheaper
but the sound quality and ability to connect was so horrible that it wasn't
worth the savings.
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The card company I've been using ( http://www.ldpost.com ) offers a 10%
discount for orders over $100. That helps to get the cost down a bit.
Overall, I've been pleased with the quality and prices.
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http://1010phonerates.com/sitemap.html.
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http://www.123ezcall.net/
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http://www.2PrepaidCard.com
Calls to Ukraine: 10 cents a minute, Calls inside US: 5 cents a minute
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http://www.phonecardsforsale.com
Calls to Ukraine: 13.5 cents a minute, Calls inside US: 3.8 cents a minute.
No connection fees, good connections for both.
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My US friend uses this carrier - "10-15-335". It costs 10 cents a minute.
Sometimes we had poor connection and my friend wasn't charged for
those calls, which he complained of to the company.  There also could be
some echo effect and if it caused troubles for hearing/understanding he
just dialed my number again. Last few months we had pretty good
connection and could communicate pretty well.
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I purchase Europe phone cards at a local Indian grocery store, which
provides 50 minutes to Russia for $5.00.  The rate is less to Moscow and
St. Petersburg. Customer service can be reached at 1-800-644-1083.  
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We use Buddyphone, Phonefree, and other totally free PC to PC duplex
telephone software. Sometimes these give better voice quality than AT&T
or MCI.
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I think you will find much lower rates to Russia and the Ukraine at:
http://209.235.17.84/ccsoft/phonecardsprepaid/cardlist.asp
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http://209.235.17.84/ccsoft/phonecardsprepaid/cardinfo.asp?card=SAEKD,
and purchasing the $5 cards. There is no connection fee, and the rates for
a 50 minute phone call to Moscow are 5.9 cents, St Petersburg 3.6 cents,
and Russia 9.8 cents.  I have found the SA card with no connection fee to
be the overall best, however rates vary by the length of phone call.
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http://www.net2phone.com
To qualify for the lowest rates, see if you live near one of their free access
numbers listed at the below site, otherwise you'll pay slightly more to use
their 800 access number:
http://ocs.net2phone.com/net2phonedirect/access.asp
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I've been using the Net2phone calling card for my calls to St. Petersburg
for about six months now. Other than a correction on the rates early on,
I've had only minor problems now and then. I never use my computer. My
area has a whole list of access codes, plus the 800 number  comes in
handy when I'm in airports, etc.
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I think I pay $.067/min to call Kiev (slightly higher to other areas) without a
connection fee. I think I pay about $.047/min to Moscow without a
connection fee too.  The quality has been excellent too. Lena Henrikson
can help you get set up with these rates. Her email address is
lenhen@mcsi.net. I have had excellent service and the card is rechargable
and almost as important as everything else, the customer service has been
great!
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1-800-938-4136 Comunitel USA is a company that sells cards for 5 cents
($0.05) per minute. There cards are the best I have ever used. You want
the "Premium" card.
http://www.communitelusa.com/english/home.htm
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$.05 / minute  www.intercallusa.com
But the rates vary from different states in USA
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My last trip to Houston I found the LINQ Telecom Calling Card. Flat rates
of .05/min to Moscow, .08/min to St Petersburg, . There is no connect
charge.     www.linqtel.com
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Here are the latest rates:  Per minute / connection fee

  Russia  Moscow                0.0490  0.50
  Russia  St. Petersburg      0.1100  0.50

Without connection fee/per minute

   Russia  Moscow                0.1000
   Russia  St. Petersburg        0.1438

Spasibo,  Frank Diaz  (808) 833-9739     www.Wholesalecalls.com
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www.discall.com      is even better. I pay $.08/min to Kiev with no
connection fee. Moscow is about .$04/min. Check out their plans too.
There are some with no connection fees and most without.  I have used
Cognidial before as well. So far its been cheapest for me to use Discall but
not always as rates change frequently.
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We have been using PennyTalk for a little over two months. We call Russia
often with it. It's pretty good but there are a few things you should be
aware of up front. It's $0.49 per connection, and we are finding we get
charged even when we don't actually connect. It is $0.99 per month, used
or not. When we started using it, it was $0.11 per minute to call Russia
(Izhevsk), but it almost immediately went up to $0.14 with no notice to us.
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I found some interesting international telephone rates at
www.getpennytalk.com. I have not yet tried this long distance company,
but it appears from their rate sheet that I could save about 40% to 50%
over 1010-220 on long calls to rural Ukraine (of weekly occurrence
in this household). For certain calls, the domestic rate is also hard to beat.
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I left Uni-Tel for WDT in December and have had no complaints.  They do
not have a web site and are a small operation in Chicago. You call
1-888-353-0808 to get in touch with WDT. I have been charged no connect
fees so far.  I call Saint Petersburg regularly and pay 8.9 cents per minute.
They said there is no pay phone charge either.
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I've been using this one with great success. .09 min. No activation fee.
Charges accessed in one minute increments.
http://www.alosmart.com/
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www.leancard.com
6 cents per minute to St Petersburg
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www.netinternet.net
Good sound quality but tough to get through on weekends and holidays.
1-888-635-0154
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EconoLo from Econophone
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We've been using Cognidial for almost 2 years now. We tried cheaper
rates, but we had a lot of connection and reception problems. Cognidial
was a flat 21¢¢ per minute, but the quality was so much better it made up
for it. I'll have to take a look at LeanCard...
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Calling back to USA from overseas
I use WorldLink through http://www.americom.com/ and have found them
to be fairly reliable and reasonably priced.  I have no connection to them
and have no idea if they are the cheapest.  I do know I usually get
good connections (usually better than if I'm calling across town here in
Moscow) and have, in general, been pleased with them.  Good Luck.
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When I am traveling in the FSU I use the callback system to handle all my
business and personal phone calls.  Even calling long distance within the
FSU (like Moscow to Minsk) is less expensive through the callback system.
I use the service provided by RWL's Frank Diaz at
http://www.wholesalecalls.com/Callback.htm and have never had a
problem. Good quality and always works.

[Philb]

... in response to Latest on Phone Calls to FSU, posted by juio99 on Jul 8, 2002

I have been using UTA phone cards for the past few months.  They are available from phonecardsprepaid.com.  I get an hour to Eastern siberia for $5.00.  There is no connect fee, but there is a weekly service charge.  That is why I buy the $5.00 cards and use them so I do not incur this charge.  They deduct this on Tuesdays.  Sound quality is good and I very rarely get busy signals.  I believe that this cards rate to Moscow is 3.9 cents a minute.

[BrianN]

... in response to One more to consider, posted by Philb on Jul 10, 2002

I can't spell that places name to save my life.  1010220 costs me 10.99 for one hour to novosibirsk (& everywhere outside of moscow and st pete).

[Philb]

... in response to But what's the rate to novokuznetsksketk..., posted by BrianN on Jul 11, 2002

I used to pay about $10.00 an hour through Priceline.  I was really pleased when I found them.  I messed around with some cards that actually had cheaper rates but the quality was so bad that they were unusable or they had so many hidden charges that they actually were more expensive. You ought to give these guys a try.  The rate would be the same for Novosibirsk.

[SteveM]

... in response to Latest on Phone Calls to FSU, posted by juio99 on Jul 8, 2002

What a lovely time that was, when Econophone cards worked.  There was a connect fee, but it was 2.9/minute to Moscow, and it considered Vladimir (250 km away) as part of the region.  About $4 to talk to my then fiancee for an hour and a half...

[snowwego]

... in response to Latest on Phone Calls to FSU, posted by juio99 on Jul 8, 2002

I found a new card that gives me 45 minutes for 5 dollars IT is called Extra DPC world card. - and is distributed by detroit phone card INC Custormer servive # 1-866-647-7612

[tfcrew]

... in response to Latest on Phone Calls to FSU, posted by juio99 on Jul 8, 2002

...the best service we have found so far (Euromama) to Ukraine.
Karl

[Oscar]

... in response to About Masterbell...., posted by tfcrew on Jul 8, 2002

I tried Masterbell, the "Euromama" card to Dnepropetrovs'k.
I found it difficult to get through sometimes but I did end up getting through usually.
But I was very interested in checking this throughly because it is a great rate at 13 cents per mimute.  I bought the $20 card.

Well, I timed my calls (with my chronograph) and by the time the card was finished, I figured I should still have about 15 minutes left when the card ran out!  So it really didn't come out to 13 cents per minute..

I called their customer sevice number and they said I had to email complaints to masterbell.  I did so about a week ago and have never heard back from them!

Anyone else have this happen with them??

Oscar

[juio99]

... in response to Re: About Masterbell...., posted by Oscar on Jul 8, 2002

Oscar, yes the same thing happens to me.  It is somewhere in the rounding, taxes, etc.  But let's look at this in perspective.  I worked with your stated numbers and calculated that it is costing you 14.5 cents per minute rather than the 13 cents per minute.  So the real question is; is the 14.5 cents still a good (maybe the best) deal for you?

JR

[Oscar]

... in response to Oscar, Still a good deal or not??, posted by juio99 on Jul 9, 2002

Yes, it still seems a decent rate but I don't like when you are not getting what you are told you will get..  I may still try a few of the Euromama cards, but I also like WDT which simply bills you for time used at 19 cents per minute, 3% tax, no other fees..  They have been very reliable, never a problem getting through..

I often had trouble gettting through with the card and I wonder if they were charging me minutes for non-connections etc.. and that is perhaps why I got less minutes than I thought I should have.  This doesn't happen with WDT..

6 of one, half a dozen of the other! LOL!

[KenC]

... in response to Oscar, Still a good deal or not??, posted by juio99 on Jul 9, 2002

JR,
I believe that Masterbell is the best game in town for now.  We have used them for the last month or so.  This may change as we have switched around a few times as necessary.  It seems like a company appears from no where with good service and prices, but cannot maintain them for long.  The service deteriorates after a while necessitating a switch to a new company.
KenC

[BubbaGump]

... in response to Re: About Masterbell...., posted by Oscar on Jul 8, 2002

Some calling cards impose conditions that will screw you out of some of your time.

[Jeff]

... in response to Re: About Masterbell...., posted by Oscar on Jul 8, 2002

I've been very pleased with Masterbell and their customer service.  But it always seems like when we like a phone card the service and quality gets crappy and we have to look for another one.