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Even since before the widespread use of mobile telephones, people have been able to bring a solution to their telecommunications needs with them almost anywhere they traveled in the form of telephone cards. Telephone cards provide a convenient structure for people to contact business associates, family, and friends from any phone in the world at a flat or variable rate. There are a myriad of phone cards available for this market ranging from revolving telephone credit lines to pre-paid cards. All have their pros and drawbacks. Additionally, cards can offer various rates as well as rates that increase and decrease due to calls placed during peak hours or on weekdays.

Military members have been one of the most sought-after demographics for telephone card companies because of their deployment schedules and long stays away from friends, family, spouses, and children. Any convenience store that is near a United States post, base, or station will typically have all sorts of pre-paid calling phone cards available for purchase. However, what many service members fail to realize is that these cards often charge a flat charge just for connection alone. This charge can cost up to several dollars just for the privilege of completing the connection, so if a military person makes a long distance call to his mother from across the world, he or she can expect to pay anywhere from $.25 to $5.00 for the privilege of talking to her answering machine for thirty seconds.

The per-minute charges of telephone calling cards can vary widely as well and the fine print that details these calling card charges is often so fine that the companies decline to print it on the card or the associated documentation. Many calling card companies explain their fee structure on a form that is only available by mail order, which will be sent at the companys convenience. But when someone wants to make phone calls on a card that they have already bought, the last thing that they want to do is mail a self-addressed stamped envelope away for the company to send them a copy of their total fee structure. It is because of this practice that next to no one actually knows when they are charged for what fees.

Revolving credit phone cards are a popular way to keep an ongoing account with a telephone card company. Used much like that of a credit card, revolving credit phone cards issues the card holder a certain limit, dollar-wise, of credit that they are able to use to call with. The card holder is issued a bill to pay once a month. While many times card holders of these kinds of accounts will get access to phone rates that are unavailable on prepaid calling cards, they are also susceptible to overage charges, monthly maintenance fees, and large, surprise telephone bills. While prepaid phone cards may run out of minutes, leaving a conversation unfinished, a revolving credit phone card can bring about surprisingly high phone bills that you may have not expected.

Phone cards are far from perfect. When taken into consideration their potentially high rates, confusing fee structures, and sometimes unreliable service, they are hardly a reliable and affordable means of keeping the lines of communication open. However, for the world traveler or military member with few, if any, other choices available phone cards effectively serve their purpose in allowing at least some affordable communication with home.

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