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Note 1: About A Sponsor
| One of our sponsors started his site, MissionaryCallingCards.com when he was a student
at BYU and asked us if we could help him get started. We've been an
advertiser for him ever since. Please consider visiting his site and
have a look around. If you know of deals that are better, he'd love to
hear from you.
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Note 2: CallYourMissionary.com 1
| I just wanted to send a quick note on how horrible my experience was with
callyourmissionary.com.
I talk a lot with family in England & have never been so miserable as
when I was using their service. We were speaking landline to landline &
calls would be dropped every 1 minute. I would report it & nothing
changed. I tried to call friends in Canada, same exact thing. I finally
let go of my money, accepting defeat as I could barely understand their
operators & you never got anywhere even after establishing a pattern of
complaints. BEWARE of callyourmissionay.com
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Note 3: CallYourMissionary.com 2
| We use callyourmissionary.com and have been very happy with it. We even
used it to call our daughter when she was in Russia this summer and it
worked great.
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Note 4: Continental
| We have been using the continental phone card @ comfi.com for 4 yrs. and
have never been disappointed.
My son served a mission to Bahia Blanca Argentina from 2003-2005 and
still calls there on a regular basis. As of today, he can call Argentina
and for $5 he can talk for 2 hrs 15 min. $10 4 hrs 30 min and for $20
he can talk for 9.7 hrs! They're website is very user friendly and
secure. We have never had a problem. You can print your card immediately
and refilling it is a breeze as well.
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Note 5: EnjoyPrepaid.com 1
| I use enjoyprepaid.com. The rates are about 1
cent per minute. I put $20 on for Todd in Mexico and never used the
whole amount which is OK because now I'm using it for Bryan in
Argentina. You can also use it for long distance in the states. There is
a local access number that you can use so you don't use any minutes
connecting. The connection is always fast and good. They also have rates
for mobile phones. I definitely recommend it.
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Note 6: EnjoyPrepaid.com 2
| I used the "Enjoy Prepaid" card (Emerald Plan) on Mother's Day. It
worked fine, but I did get disconnected 3 times and had to call back. I
do plan to use it again this year, unless I hear of a better plan. It
was $20 for a 1 hour phone card. I got this card because another mother
had recommended it.
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Note 7: FreeConferenceCall.com
| I just wanted to share something we did last May for Mother's Day
which has been the highlight of the year for this missionary mom!
My husband arranged a conference call at
www.freeconferencecall.com
so that we could all talk together
as a family no matter where we were. We worked it out at a time that
worked for everyone:
At home in California it was 5 pm, for my Pennsylvania missionary it was
8 pm, for my Australia missionary it was 8 am on Monday morning, for an
older married daughter and son-in-law in Denver it was 6 pm, and for
grandparents in Utah it was 6 pm, but we were all able to talk together
for an hour--all at the same time! It was so amazing and the sound was
very clear. It was touching to hear my two missionaries talk to each
other.
The way it works at freeconferencecall.com
is you log in (free) and sign up for a
phone number. Everyone then calls that number at the appointed time
from wherever they are. The only costs involved are the costs of each
person making a long distance phone call to the conference call number
or it will be free if you call from a cell phone that has free long
distance. Here at home my husband has a speaker phone for his business
that the four of us here used. So everyone could hear and talk to
everyone else. We only had to make sure everyone had the correct phone
number to call and the correct time to call. It was the best Mother's
Day gift I could have ever had. We will be doing it again this
Christmas and I can't wait!
(Note: you may have to make sure your missionary has a calling card so they can make the long-distance phone call at the apppointed time.)
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Note 8: Japan and Skype
Regarding Christmas Phone calls:
We always received
instructions from the Mission Office concerning when to call and how to
call (international codes, etc...) and our son sent us his
phone number in email before Christmas or Mother's Day. So I bet
we'll be getting all that information in the coming week or so.
Last Mothers Day I panicked because I realized we wouldn't be at our
home in Japan on Mothers Day and would have to call from a hotel in
Kyoto! We decided to try Skype and it worked out amazingly well for us. It
was very clear and inexpensive to talk to him! I think it turned out
cheaper calling him on Skype than using our Japanese landline.
My guess about some delays experienced during last year's
Mothers Day calls may have more to do with the high volume of calls
than any specific calling card or phone plan. I heard it many
times that Mothers Day is the #1 highest phone usage day around the
world! My guess is that Christmas calls will be much smoother.
If you need additional help setting up your Christmas call with your
missionary and you haven't received information in the email before Christmas, your
first source of information is the Mission Office.
Here is the information I received from the Mission Office last year
for making a call from the U.S. to a Japanese cell phone:
The dialing code for Japan is 011-81 (country code) - then their phone
number. When dialing a cell phone, the first 0 in the number is
dropped. That may also be true for a landline, but I'm not sure. You may have
to try a test call ;-) . . .
For example the number they give you might be: 080-2149-6277
You would dial: 011-81-80-2149-6277
I hope this is helpful.
Have a joyous season everyone!
MM Chris - Japan/Washington state
Elder Robert - Japan to 7/10
Elder Jason - South Africa,
RWH to HF
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Note 9: Mobilecaller.com
| My brother-in-law travels internationally and uses a website called
mobilecaller.com
He's never had trouble with dropped calls or getting through.
His wife calls him using this service and it's the best and cheapest way
to call that he has found. I just set up our account and put $20 on for
starters. You can update it whenever you want, even during a call, and
the rates are anywhere from 9-14 cents a minute. The one I signed up
for was 12 cents a minute to Ukraine.
I'm excited to use the service for our Chistmas call to Ukraine.
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Note 10: No Phone Card Option 1
| You said if we do something different than a phone card to let you know
so below is what we do.
We have Qwest as our long distance provider. They have an international
calling plan you can sign up for. It costs about $5 per month to be
on it. You can actually just call and sign up for it a couple of weeks
prior to a phone call and then drop off of it again after the call if
you want to. Anyway, with that plan I think calls to the
Philippines cost us something like 8 or 9 cents a minute. They are great
clear calls and we don't have to worry about minutes on a calling card,
etc. We've been very happy doing it this way.
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Note 11: No Phone Card Option 2
| [submission from an RM]: My mom is a member of a Missionary Moms group for the UK.
She asked me to e-mail you some details on how I call them from my computer
(in Provo, UT) to our house in the Netherlands.
I found a program called JustVoip with a downloadable application.
You install it on your computer, set up an account, associate a phone number with
it (this phone will not get charged...it's just so when you call someone, you
have an actual phone number you're calling from).
What you'll want to do is add contacts to the program (names and phone numbers),
but make sure you enter the phone numbers in their INTERNATIONAL FORMAT.
What I do is buy calling minutes. The minimum is 10 euro's (they only use euro's,
but any debit or credit card will work). By buying 10 euro's of credit, I get 120
days of free calling to any land line in many countries. Cell phones do cost a
little, but I've even found that to be cheaper than local cell phone cost.
There is a fair use policy that after using a certain amount of minutes in one day,
you do get charged, but only like 1 eurocent a minute. So unless you exceed the
fair use policy, you can call for free for 120 days. When the 120 days are up it
starts using your calling credit. Even this will last a long time, as for many
countries it only charges 1 eurocent per minute to a land line.
For a list of the different charges to various countries, visit JustVOIP.com.
I hope this is useful. I've found it a very cheap way of communicating with
those that don't use instant messaging online and it's easy. You can call
and send text messages using their service.
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Note 12: Nobelcom.com 1
| I still use www.noblecom.com when I need a
card. It is about $.02 per minute. They have always been very reliable
and easy to use. They are especially good with international calls and
I've always gotten through.
I know that sometimes the moms can't get the calls to work, and I've
never had that problem with them.
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Note 13: Nobelcom.com 2
| I'm a silent observer here, my son got home last October. But I had to let
you know my experience with a phone card company, Nobelcom.com. I've
praised them in the past, but have had a few problems.
I spent $20 for a card (comes just as a pin number) to call Japan and
$20 for a pin for my missionary to call home from Japan. The pin to call
him worked quite well, and as it turned out we always called him for
Mother's Day and Christmas after he sent us a phone number.
But just a month ago, I received a bill from them for $20,
nonrefundable, to
automatically update my minutes. I do not ever remember signing up for
this...I did add minutes to my original pin during his mission. I was able
to cancel the automatic update, but they would not refund my $20. I'm
thinking of donating it to another missionary.
The other pin number for my son to call us from Japan: when he first
arrived it was too intimating to try to use the phone in the Tokyo airport,
so he didn't use it. When he was returning, he had a VERY long wait in
Tokyo and tried to use it and discovered there were no more minutes.
When I
called the company they informed me if it isn't used for a year the minutes
expire. Another wasted $20.
Just a heads up....
MM Rosa
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Note 14: OneSuite.com
| We didn't use phone cards with our missionaries, but we found a great
on-line company that we signed up with with rates that can't be
beat--OneSuite.com. We have a pin number so that our account can be
accessed from any phone and not just our home phone. They have
different plans, too, so a person could check them out and see what fits
their needs.
Update from the Admin: One of the MMs used OneSuite.com this year to talk for
an hour to her missionary in Brazil and only paid $2.40.
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Note 15: PennyTalk.com
| We have used Pennytalk.com for 3 or 4 phone calls and it has always worked great. Only a few dollars per call.
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Note 16: Qwest International
| I personally liked signing up with Qwest international phone calling.
I know it's not as cheap as maybe a phone card, but I know it's
reliable. It costs us $5.00/month to have (because we have a business
line), but it can be added just a bit before your expected call and
taken off right after your call and you can put it back on when you
need it again. Our mother's day phone call only cost about a total of
$13.00 w/ the international plan and that was talking just over 1
hour. It has excellent connections (at least in Portugal).
Plus I only have to call the extra international numbers -- not a pin.
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Note 17: Recording Your Call
| Betty, this came through the Argentina email group I'm on. I'm sure other mission
families would like to do the same. We are just trying it out
to see if we can get it to work. It is such a fun idea....
I thought
you might like to share it with all the missions moms. I just
copied all the conversations as they came. I have found that we need
to use the digital recorder to do this. We tried it and it works
great. I am so excited to be able to listen to his voice after the call.
We record our calls with our missionary using our computer. It's great to go
back and listen to his voice, when I get homesick for him. --
Karen
Q: How do you record a phone call on a computer? I like that idea. --
Sheri
A: Almost all computers have both a microphone slot, and a program to record
sound. Get help if you can't find it under accessories, or media or sound and video.
We just use one of those micro recorders, have the phone on speaker
phone and we record the call. Then you can plug your recorder into a USB
port on your computer and save it in a file.
Hope that helps. --
Robyn :)
You can also use a digital recorder, then offload the audio file to your computer. --
Deann
Take your digital camera that has a 8 gig SD card and sit it about 6
inches from the the phone( tipped sideways. it works better) and make
sure it is on viceo mode. Then when the call comes put it on speaker
phone and it will record. Then take the card out when you are finished
and put it in your SD slot in your computer and copy it on to your hard
drive. It worked great. --
Ruth
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Note 18: Sams Club 1
| Last year I put tons of minutes on my Sam's Club phone card because they
were so inexpensive. However, when I called to see what the exchange
rate was I was told that if my son used it calling from Canada to the US
the rate would be 13 minutes to every 1 minute. That would have eaten up
what I put on in no time. So, he bought a phone card in Canada for about
$20 and we had more than enough time to talk. That's what I would
recommend. He did the same thing for Mother's Day too.
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Note 19: Sams Club 2
| We get the international card at Sams for $25.00 and you get about
an hour or so on it. I think it was 36 cents a minute. We
usually had 2 on hand as it's cheaper than to have them activate to add
more minutes. We NEVER had any problems with it so that's been our choice.
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Note 20: Skype 1
| Since we have been living in New Zealand we have used Skype with the best
success. We call others on their regular phones. It is 2.1 cents for
us to call the states and Taiwan from here. Our Elder sends us his
number and the time we are to call. We have a little splitter and both
use ear phones. It sounds just like a telephone that way. Then our Elder
does not have to worry about buying a card. But this year there is a
hiccup because he needs to find a landline. They have cell phones and
the Pres. does not want them using them to call but maybe it would be
okay if we call on them. He will have to see. If he can get to a
member's home then it would all be good though.
[Ed: Cell phone minutes can be expensive if they go over, so perhaps the
mission president is wanting to prevent that happening. also, and perhaps
more important in the policy is that church owned cell phones are
for missionary business and a call home doesn't fit that category.
Another thought after looking into Skype is calling a cell phone is much more expensive.
I priced Skype for calling a landline, or calling a cell phone. One hour to the land line
to Japan is about $2.50 and the same call to a cell phone is about $9.80.
YMMV (your mileage may vary).
However, using Skype to Skype is free. That's what we did with our missionary (in Japan),
plus if both computers have a camera, it's a video call, and still free.]
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Note 21: Skype 2
| We have previously used Skype with the Conference Call feature and
it has worked great (Spain and Philippines talking to each other and to us
simultaneously). Just plan ahead and make sure you "load" your account with
plenty of credit BEFORE the big calling day. The first Christmas we tried
it, the PayPal transfer was delayed or jammed some how and we couldn't add to our
account until hours after the call was finished. Then we had a $40 credit
waiting for 6 months! :-) Best of luck to all, enjoy those calls,
and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Roger, Dad to twins:
Elder Jason, Philippines, -5/08-05/10
Elder Jeremy, Spain, 07/08-07/10
[ED: Skype credit only lasts 180 days, or 6 months, so be sure to read online
about their credit policies so your credit doesn't expire. Skype to Skype on
the PC is free. See the other Skype entry for more information.]
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Note 22: Sprint International
| This is our first phone call home so I am pretty ignorant but here's
what I do know. I sent my son a couple of "Sprint" international phone
cards while he was in the MTC so that he could use if he needed them to
call home from the airport. I found out when I activated them that they
weren't really useful in Australia because the rates there were
something like $10.00 per minute on that particular phone card. They
indicated that there were only two cards (both Australian companies)
that could be used in Australia for decent rates.
Anyway, my son told us that he has already picked up a phone card in
Australia. The other missionaries have told him that it is really cheap
and he will be able to talk for an hour without any problem. I'm sure
you'll get more specific info from more experienced Australia moms but
it appeared to me that in Australia the best bet is for the missionary
to get his own phone card.
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Note 23: Tel3 Advantage 1
| I use Tel3 Advantage and love their service! I haven't had any
problems with them at all.
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Note 24: Tel3 Advantage 2
| We bought the Tel3Advantage card for Mothers Day phone calls and it was
a disaster; other people have great experiences with it; I just got a
call yesterday from a sister from P.G., UT and has a son in Vina del
Mar who's been out only a month less than my missionary. She had the exact same
experience on Mothers Day as I did but didn't think about it being the
discount provider's fault and dealt with a horrible, disappointing
experience being unable to hear each other except in bits and pieces; I
eventually tried direct dialing from my phone and just paying my phone
company's charges for the call and it was crystal clear. It was 3 cents
a minute with the Tel3Advantage and 30 cents a minute with my Comcast
plan; 10 times more but still under $15 for the 45 minutes so very much
worth the cost.
Everyone was nearly in tears before I thought of
trying to direct dial. My theory is that it is the Provo server for
Tel3Advantage that is not very good and is not making a good connection;
the call we received from him from Chile was clear as well (when he
called to give us the phone number and time to call on Mother's Day) So
really I wasted $10 on the Tel3Advantage card because I couldn't use it
and I never use long-distance cards because I have long-distance on my
house phone and my cell. So it didn't save me any money in that case.
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Note 25: Time Limits
| We just received an email about Christmas phone calls. The church is
emphasizing a one-hour limit, which is in the handbook.
For our missionary, he calls us, and then we call right back, thus using
our own low-cost long distance rates. But he serves in Canada, so the rates
probably won't apply to other foreign missions.
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Note 26: Time Warner
| This isn't a phone card but we like it, so here goes: We
have our phone service through Time Warner and it includes unlimited
free calls to Canada.
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Note 27: Union Telecard
| Based on several MM recommendations I used Union Telecard, an online
phone card retailer, for my Mother's Day phone call with perfect
results. We were able to get through and we did get all the minutes we
paid for with no hidden fees. Do be aware that if you are calling your
missionary's CELL PHONE the minutes will cost you more. Be sure to by a
phone card that will call a cell phone. Union Telephone provides for
all options to all nations.
Costco Magazine had a short article this month cautioning that some
phone cards can be quite a rip off with extra fees, hidden charges for
minutes and loading, etc. They were quick to point out that you will
not have a problem with their phone cards.
We have also used 10-10-321 to call Europe with great results.
We did use three-way calling on our Mother's Day phone call in order
for my daughter's who don't live near us to talk to their brother. We
plan to do that again this Christmas. I did practice my three-way
calling several times prior to Mother's Day in order to ensure that I
knew how to do it and would not hang up on my son. I will be doing that
again as well!
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Note 28: Valuable Minutes
| We have had good results with the Valuable Minutes phonecard, available
at www.prepaidcall.com. We bought it here
because we have to call him. Calling to Mexico works out to about $.033
per minute. (The one you advertise on your site is about $.15 per
minute, if I read the page correctly.) The call went through just fine
on Mother's Day. I also use it for domestic calls now, because we got
so many minutes for so little money. It is also refillable.
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Note 29: Verizon
| We used a Verizon prepaid card from Costco. In fact, I copied the back
of the card for him (laminating it with tape) and kept the original so I
could add time if I needed to (because I'd had the card for while). He
can use it again when he comes home.
MM Rachel
(Note: Verizon appears to be more expensive than some other offerings here)
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Note 30: World Clock Meeting Planner
| Need to make a call to someone far away? Need to arrange a videoconference, telephone- or net-based meeting with several people spread around the globe? This utility should help you find a convenient time, so no one has to be up during the middle of the night.
The World Clock Meeting Planner
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Note 31: YourBells.com
| www.yourbells.com gives you a selection of
cards (kind of like a clearing house or central vendor) where you select
the to and from country and they show you a selection. Some have a 3 month
expiry date, some have connection fees (not bad if you only plan to use
it for one VERY long Christmas call but not good if you wanted it for
making lots of short calls.) some round up to the minute, some to three,
different costs etc. Great for getting one that suits your needs to a "T".
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Note 32: www.1010987.com
| I didn't have much luck with my son because of the international rates.
It seems to eat up minutes really fast!
Someone told me about a service called 10-10-987. It costs just 53
cents to connect, I think and then it's only 6 cents a minute. Our
mother's day call for 35 minutes was roughly $3.00. You can check it
out at www.1010987.com. If moms have other
missionaries, they can select from the drop down menu and see what their
calls would cost. It even works for stateside calls.
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