I don't know if this subject has been discussed yet, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

So I just started this job that deals with phone cards so I've come to appreciate their usefullness. And since I've been a member of this forum I started to think of their usefullness in emergency situations.

So here's what I've come up with.

For those of you that don't know what phone cards are here is a description. A phone card is a card that represents an amount of telephone time credit or telephone money credit. This telephone time credit or telephone money credit is used to make local, long distance and/or international calls. The phone card is purchased with a certain amount of credit for future use. Phone cards are also known as Pre-Paid Phone cards, Calling cards, Long Distance Calling cards or International Calling cards.

Typically, phone cards come with a toll free access number and a personal identification number (PIN). To use the phone card you:
1. Dial in the toll free access number
2. Dial in the PIN
3. Dial in the telephone number you want to talk to.


So why are phone cards useful in emergency situations?
-Because some can be used from almost ANY phone (home phone, business phone, pay phone, cell phone, satellite phone (Navy Ships), touch tone phone, rotary phone, and in most cases phones in other countries).
-Because they can hold more value than you can adequately carry as coins in your emergency kits.
-Even if 'you' are not in an emergency you can offer someone who is in an emergency (stranded in an airport, survived a car accident) the wonderful gift of a telephone call.

Here are some tips for choosing the right phone card for you.
-Choose a phone card that never expires. This means that you can buy the phone card today, put it in a kit and always have telephone money. Heck, you can even will it to your children if you want to.

-Choose a phone card that has the option of voice dialing or operator assisted dialing. With voice dialing you can speak or dial both your PIN and the phone number you want to talk to. With operator assisted dialing you can speak with a live operator who has the option of dialing in both your PIN and the phone number you want to talk to. I recommend these options because you never know if you will be using a touch tone phone or a rotary phone. The toll free access number can be reached by either a touch tone phone or a rotary phone, but the PIN and the telephone number you want to talk to must be dialed using a touch tones or voice dialing. Why? Because after you dial the toll free access number your call is placed onto the phone card company's system. Everything on these systems including your PIN and the number you want the system to connect you to are accessed by either touch tones or voice dialing.

-Choose a phone card that DOES NOT have a first minute surcharge. Some phone cards have a huge first minute cost. This can drastically reduce the value of the phone card in a short amount of time. Imagine this... You are calling someone, but dial the wrong number and hang up. Or you have to make several short calls, such as contacting everyone on your emergency list. Even if you made a connection with a phone number for 1 second that first minute cost is subtracted from your phone card. If you do this enough times you will spend all of your phone card's value on short phone calls. It is possible to spend the entire value of a $10 phone card on 11 one second connections with a first minute surcharge of 85 cents.

-Choose a phone card that can have credit replaced on it. Some phone cards can be taken back to the place where you bought it and credit can be replaced on it. Some phone cards can have credit replaced on it with the assistance of a live operator. However, replacing credit with an operator requires you to reveal credit card and/or check information. Some cards can even have additional credit added to it making the phone card's actual value higher than what is printed on it (Face Value). This would make your phone card literally one of the most valuable items in a kit. I recommend this option along with the non-expiring card because you can use the card, replace credit on it, and use it again for as long as you want.

-Choose a phone card that can be used internationally. Not every card can be used both to and from domestic locations (within the U.S. and it's territories) and both to and from other countries. You never know where an emergency may happen or where an emergency may take you. Keep in mind that each phone card company has its own dialing instructions for each country. And there is no single phone card that can work to and from every country.


Here are some tips for using phone cards
-Be aware that the PIN on some phone cards can wear off the card. Take steps to ensure your PIN is readable.

-Be aware that nearly all pay phones have a surcharge that phone cards cannot avoid.

-Make serveral photo copies of the back of the phone card and put them in all of your kits. 1 phone card for multiple kits. And a piece of paper is much lighter and packable than a plastic card. I DO NOT recommend copying only the toll free access number and PIN. There is very important information included on the back such as international dialing instructions, tracking numbers that can be used by customer service should your phone card malfunction for whatever reason. If you do decide not to photo copy the back of the phone card at least copy
1. The toll free access number
2. the PIN
3. the customer service number
4. the tracking number (you can find out which number this is by asking customer service).

-Copy the back of your phone card onto the back of your emergency contact list.

-Include any special instructions for dialing to and from other countries. Call customer service for these instructions. I would recommend at least having instructions for Mexico and Canada if you are living in the U.S.

-If you find yourself in a situation where you have no other means of trade you may be able to trade using the phone card. DO NOT trade the actual card, the toll free access number, or the PIN. Arrange for an amount of time for the person that wants to trade with you to talk on the phone. You dial in the toll free access number and PIN making sure no one can see what you are dialing. Let the person that wants to trade with you dial his/her number. You time the call. Make the trade.

-Some phone cards have an Activity Threshold. This means that the phone card company maintains the card for a certain amount of time. If there has been no activity with the phone card for a certain amount of time the phone card will be put into an inactive state. Meaning you may have to take extra steps to have the card re-activated for use. This is something you probably don't want to deal with in an emergency situation so I would recommend using the card for at least one minute every two months or so. OR if you don't want to spend your minutes do this:
1. Dial the toll free access number
2. Dial the PIN
3. Select customer service from the automated menu
4. Have a nice conversation with the customer service representative.
This will show up as activity on the card and that conversation with the CSR is free. Please keep in mind that this works with some cards not all cards. This Activity Threashold is different for every phone card company and may be known by other names.

-Phone cards can be used to send faxes and for internet dial-up use. Ask customer service for insturctions.



Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with the following products and am only providing this information as an objective researcher.

In alphabetical order:

Costco MCI 3.47 cents per minute PrePaid Phone Card
-No Experation Date
-Operator Assisted Dialing
-No First Minute Surcharge
-International Calling
-Rechargable (credit can be added to it) Can be recharged using an automated system or with a live operator.

Sam's Club AT&T 3.47 cents per minute PrePaid Phone Card.
-No Experation Date
-Voice Dialing
-No First Minute Surcharge
-International Calling
-Rechargable (credit can be added to it) Can be recharged using an automated system or with a live operator.



Well, there it is. Please feel free to use this information any way you see fit. I would appreciate any additions, corrections, or suggestions.

Thanks
Wayneburg

Hi Wayneburg,

Hmmm...a rather informative post. Thanks for taking the time to jot down the key issues (a couple of which I was unaware of).

FWIW I've photocopied the card and place a lightweight paper copy in my wallet and used a label maker to create labels which have been in my kits since I first got my card about a year ago, additionally, I placed a label with the calling # and PIN around the AAA battery in my ARC AAA light EDC. This has been duplicated for family members.

Didn't really do much research when I p/u the card, just went to Costco and got a Preppaid Rechargable Phone Card by MCI, initially rated for 670 minutes (dark blue and orange front and the back is black & white. I concur fully with your comment about them being worthwhile additions to the kits.

My perusal of the fine print revealed that it is initially valid for 2 years from date of purchase, and can be renewed apparently ad infinitum.

Don't know how this rates on your grading scale & I'm curious if you've any comments regarding this card. If need be, we can take it to PM.

On the whole, my hat is off to you for bringing more knowledge to light. I've seen a couple of threads that touched on these cards, but never a thread dedicated to them. Thanks.

Regards,
Comanche7

Wayneburg-
Thanks for the informative post; your suggestions about epiration, surcharges and such are a good starting point. Any chance you could save us some leg work and give us a list of cards that met your requirements, as well as retailers who sell such cards? I haven't done tons of research, but every card I remember looking at had some sort of expiration and/or high surcharges. Thanks in advance!

Comanche7,

Thanks for the positive response. I'm glad you gained something from my post. Here's a tip about that paper copy you are carrying in your wallet. There is a spray that you can apply to paper that makes it waterproof. I'll have to research what it is called, but it would definately be well worth the effort of applying it.

I would be happy to respond to any PM questions you might have about your card.

Thanks,
Wayneburg

Red Jeep,

Glad you found my post informative. I wasn't too sure how this information would be received. As for saving everyone legwork in researching cards.... I'm glad you asked. I plan on writing up a post answering those questions and why in the morning. I just wanted to answer these posts before turning in for the night after a day of holiday shopping. That's an emergency situation in itself.

Thanks
Wayneburg

I'm going to add to the tips for choosing the right phone card for you.
-Choose a phone card that can be used internationally. Not every card can be used both to and from domestic locations (within the U.S. and it's territories) and both to and from other countries. You never know where an emergency may happen or where an emergency may take you.

I'm also going to add to the tips for using phone cards
-You can barter for goods using telephone talk time. This goes against my ethics for emergency situations, but the fact is it is another way of using a phone card. If you find yourself in a situation where you have no other means of trade you may be able to trade using the phone card. DO NOT trade the actual card, the toll free access number, or the PIN. Arrange for an amount of time for the person that wants to trade with you to talk on the phone. You dial in the toll free access number and PIN making sure no one can see what you are dialing. Let the person that wants to trade with you dial his/her number. You time the call. Make the trade.

I will go ahead and add this information to my original post.

Wayneburg,

Waterproofing for paper, IIRC there is a product sold by Campmor? called Mapseal? that has been favorably reviewed on these forums. I think that it is a liquid that you apply with a sponge. Its been a while since I last thought about it.

I also believe that there are aerosol sprays that will do the same thing. Musing here, I wonder if Thompson's Water Seal (available in spray and liquid form) would work well...hmmm <plans a trip to the garage to root around and find a left over can to experiment with this weekend.> I'll see about a test and report the results here.

[Edited by Comanche7]
There have been several conversations on the forums regarding waterproof paper, i.e. Write in the Rain and 1 or 2 more. These are purported to be excellent for printing with laser printers (both sides I presume) and I'm looking forward to trying this out. Cautionary note, since laser printers use a heat fusion process to dry / bond the ink to the paper, it is imperative that you verify that the specialty paper you plan to run through your expen$ive laser printer will not "gum up the works". Perhaps some of us have tried laser printing on such papers and would be willing to share experiences / paper & printer types used.
[End Edit]

Comanche7

Wayneburg,

Really appreciate your willingness to share the professional insights, I suspect that you may end up with a couple of PM's resulting from this thread. <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

FWIW The Costco / MCI card that I described above will work internationally (at least according to the info sheets that came with it which I've no reason to doubt at this point).

[Observations made below were with the first cup of coffee this morning and muse mode in low gear, possible topic drift follows: <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> ]

As far as bartering with the phone time, I understand the feelings that you expressed, many of us are perfectly willing to freely share what we can, HOWEVER it pays to look at the big picture and think outside of the box. The method that you describe appears to be entirely ethical and moral, IF one is not taking advantage of anybody, and IF the person(s) that one is bartering with agree that it is a fair exchange of goods / services, then it would seem to be entirely appropriate.

Having said that, I would qualify the statement with the observation that I am NOT in any manner suggesting that it would be appropriate to gouge someone in distress (i.e. hurricane disaster etc. Clarification: These are just my thoughts and I've no reason to believe or even infer that any of the forum members would commit gouging.)

[Edited by Comanche7 after reading Wayneburgs comment regarding ethics which is located a bit further down this thread]

I've experienced ocassions where I've helped someone and they ABSOUTELY insisted on some form of renumeration.

Since this may be or become a matter of their feelings and pride / personal honor / not wanting any debt in any form, Ive tried to be sensitive to the situation. When this has occurred, I've found that it is generally best to accept the renumeration offered, which I generally apply to the resources that I draw from the next time I help someone else... YMMV

[End Edit]

[end of topic drift and time for a second cup of coffee <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />]

Your offer of research and initiative in starting working with this thread is sincerely appreciated.

Comanche7

Wayneburg,

Food for thought...perhaps if you were to consolidate your information in a format similar to that used by Doug in his reviews, he might consider including it in one of the reference areas for kit contents.

Comanche7

Great post. Here is a thread from a while ago on the same subject.

Comanche7,

Thanks for the info on Mapseal. That's the product that I was thinking about at 3am this morning. Geez didn't think I'd ever remember that one.

As far as your phone card goes, keep in mind that each phone card company has its own dialing instructions for each country. And there is no single phone card that can work to and from every country. How do I know that? Because there are some countries that are considered AT&T exclusive countries, MCI exclusive countries, etc. Sounds like a monopoly I read about in school called Ma Bell. hehehe. I think I'll include this information in the original post as well.

On the topic of bartering in times of emergencies. I am of the same thinking as you on this topic. I didn't want to start preaching my ethical views in the original post, but I did want to include the information. Now that I think about it, I think I may take out any reference to my ethics since I do have that statement at the end of the post that says "Please feel free to use this information any way you see fit." I'm just trying to be objective.

As far as having this information included on the actual website. That would make my day. I've been a member of this board for a few years and I've come to appreciate it and all its members contributions. To have this information included would be an honor.

Thanks,
Wayneburg

Hello again,

I've been asked if I would provide the results of my research into phone cards.

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with the following products and am only providing this information as an objective researcher.

Now with that out of the way here are my picks so far from a few weeks of research.

In alphabetical order:

Costco MCI 3.47 cents per minute PrePaid Phone Card
-No Experation Date
-Operator Assisted Dialing
-No First Minute Surcharge
-International Calling
-Rechargable (credit can be added to it) Can be recharged using an automated system or with a live operator.



Sam's Club AT&T 3.47 cents per minute PrePaid Phone Card.
-No Experation Date
-Voice Dialing
-No First Minute Surcharge
-International Calling
-Rechargable (credit can be added to it) Can be recharged using an automated system or with a live operator.


I'll include this info in the original post.

Thanks,
Wayneburg

Hello yet again,

I'm going to add to the tips for using phone cards
-Some phone cards have an Activity Threshold. This means that the phone card company maintains the card for a certain amount of time. If there has been no activity with the phone card for a certain amount of time the phone card will be put into an inactive state. Meaning you may have to take extra steps to have the card re-activated for use. This is something you probably don't want to deal with in an emergency situation so I would recommend using the card for at least one minute every two months or so. OR if you don't want to spend your minutes do this:
1. Dial the toll free access number
2. Dial the PIN
3. Select customer service from the automated menu
4. Have a nice conversation with the customer service representative.
This will show up as activity on the card and that conversation with the CSR is free. Please keep in mind that this works with some cards not all cards. This Activity Threashold is different for every phone card company and may be known by other names.

-Phone cards can be used to send faxes and for internet dial-up use. Ask customer service for insturctions.

I think I'll do some research for Pre Paid Cell Phone cards too. These are cards that allow you to use a Cell Phone without a dedicated cell phone carrier company. Unless someone else has already got that info.

Thanks
Wayneburg

Another item that crossed my mind after rereading this thread, is that sometime back, I received a "free phone card" that was given to me at work as a thankyou or "attaboy" recognition. I placed it in my wallet and figured that one day I'd use it, a year later, the day came, I pulled it out to use it, removed the sticker from the back of the card and suddenly found that it had expired about two months after I'd received it as a gift. I don't have any sour grapes feelings about it, but it did irritate me that the information was not plainly visible on the card. By the time it happened to me, the gift giver have been burned by several of her (the boss) own cards expiring the same way. Live and learn. Thanks to Wayneburg's research and comments on this thread (and the others referenced above, Ditchfield thanks for the link) we may not all have to reinvent the wheel.

Comanche7

I forgot to mention that nearly all of the phone cards I've researched use AT&T phone lines at some point in a telephone line connection to place some calls.

]I've experienced ocassions where I've helped someone and they ABSOUTELY insisted on [providing] some form of renumeration.[

I read once that there's an old Chinese saying that a debt to a stranger cannot be repaid to a friend - only to another stranger.

(This idea was also the basis for the movie "Pay It Forward".) I've always liked the idea, myself. If possible, tell them that your religion doesn't permit you to accept remuneration - sometimes, telling them this and asking them to donate any remuneration to charity, or to promise to help another stranger in need, will allow them to "save face".

A friend of my brother was an engineer who worked for one of the Canadian companies that fell afoul of the Helms-Burton law for doing business in Cuba. He was flown down to Cuba to help set something up and was there for several weeks. When it was time for him to return to Canada, the workers - as was their custom - insisted on throwing a huge, lavish party in his honour; despite the fact that they were desperately poor and he was a highly paid Canadian engineer, they refused to let him pay for any of the meal. He insisted that his religion demanded he pay for part of the celebration, and finally convinced them to let him pay for the roast pig - which he knew was the single most expensive item. This way, he didn't leave feeling like he'd ripped off a bunch of poor people, they didn't feel like they'd offended their guest, and everybody enjoyed the celebration.

(Hoping this doesn't start a political flame war about the rights and wrongs of Canada doing business with Cuba. <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> )

Wayneburg,

Great post and valuable information. I was just about to buy a phone card. Thanks a lot for posting.

Do you happen to know if the Sam's Club cards are the same ones they sell in regular Wal-mart stores at the checkout? Sam's Club stores are kind of thin on the ground around here, but Wal-Marts are everywhere.

Thanks again and take care,

Andy

I've said for years that my religion doesn't allow me to work, no one ever believes that.

But your idea that your religious beliefs do not allow you to accept renumeration for a good deed is one i will have to remember. I have been in the same position as Comanche where there was no way i could talk someone out of paying me after lending a helping hand. And why does it seem like the people that insist on paying are almost always the people that look like they can't afford to spare the money. Now i can use an excuse that stands a chance of working.

Thank you Aardwolfe.

I am adding to the list of phone cards I have researched

BJ's Wholesale Club MCI 2.98 cents per minute PrePaid Phone Card
-No Experation Date
-Operator Assisted Dialing
-No First Minute Surcharge
-International Calling
-Rechargable (credit can be added to it) Can be recharged using an automated system or with a live operator.

Ade,

Sorry, Sam's Clubs are the only place I've seen that carry the card I've listed. I know that Sam's Clubs and Wal-Mart are related, but as far as the phone cards go they are specific to each store.

Wayneburg

aardwolfe,

Interesting thoughts, sounds like your uncle handled it pretty well. It must have been a bit awkward for a while until he was able to negotiate a happy medium.

IIRC Ben Franklin was not overly prone to lending large amounts of money, typically stating something along the lines of, if I make a number of small loans and tell the borrower to repay me by making a subsequent small loan to someone else in need, then I've helped many more people that if I make larger loans to fewer people.

It's been several years since I read that, and I don't recall the exact quote, however the general gist is evident. Actually, I've used this a couple of times and it seemed to be acceptable.

Pay it forward...interesting concept, the movie ending had pretty mixed emotions involved (happy/sad).

Comanche7

My experiences in Ecuador have been similar. It seems that those of little material wealth are often the most generous, sharing what little they do have with anyone who has shown any interest in them and their situations. One of the most touching moments in my entire life was in a small village many hours north of Quito. We had traveled some pretty mountainous and rough roads to get to this remote town called Tumbatu. We set up our free health clinic at the school and had seen approximately 50 patients, nothing real serious, when this elderly lady who I had seen early, with no real significant medical problems other then those associated with aging, a hard life and some general malnutrition, walked back and gave us a bottle of Coke. She said she could not pay us for our services, but knew we would be thirsty, so she bought us this bottle of soda. We knew that this purchase probable represented close to a week’s worth of her income and we all felt beyond words and very humbled by her act of kindness.

I'm adding to tips for using phone cards

Keep in mind that you can even make local phone calls with your phone card too, just remember to include the area code when dialing the number you want to talk to. This is especially useful if you come to a pay phone, but have no change.

Using phone cards on cell phones to make long distance or international calls:
Keep in mind every minute you have a connection will be deducted from your phone card AND you will be charged per minute by your cell phone carrier.

paramedicpete,

It's moments like those that we really get rocked back on our heels. My own guess reading between the lines here is that she probably then walked back home, likely several hours to a day by foot. I would hope not so far, but from several other medical folks that I've spoken with over the years, some of these folks often walk days to bring their families to these free clinics and doctors. Kudos to you and the others involved in this worthwhile project.

Respectfully,
Comanche7

Angels come in all shapes and sizes. Most important are the lessons we learn from them and then pass on to others.

What a fine story.
Thanks for sharing it.

Adding some more info to the original post.

Some phone card companies have a feature that allows you to set up speed dialing for a number of telephone numbers. This may be of use in an emergency situation. You can store your emergency contacts on the speed dial system.

So here's the card I've decided to add to my emergency gear.

The Sam's Club 3.47 cent per minute card.
Here are it's features.
-No Experation Date
-Voice Dialing
-Operator Assisted Dialing
-No First Minute Surcharge
-International Calling
-Rechargable (credit can be added to it) Can be recharged using an automated system or with a live operator.
-Speed Dial

It is the only card I've found that has all of these features.

And for those interested here are the numbers you would use when calling from Mexico and Canada.

From Mexico dial 001800-462-4240 or 01800-288-2872 then the PIN and the area code and 7 digit number in the US.

From Canada dial the toll free access number of the phone card and use the card as you would if you were calling from within the US. If that does not work dial 1-800-CALL-ATT / 1-800-225-5288