Whether you travel for business or pleasure, you know that making a long-distance call with a calling card can cost a fortune. But what are your options?Dialing direct from a hotel room costs even more. With a debit card, you don't get a detailed invoice-- presenting difficulties for accounting and reimbursement-- and if you lose the card, you lose its remaining value. That brings us back to calling cards.
Competition has reduced rates among the big three (AT&T, MCI, and Sprint), but they still sock you with hefty surcharges that newcomer discount phone companies don't. Here's a rundown of costs for three vendors on four common types of calls: intra-United States; United States-Europe; Europe-United States; and intra-Europe.
Which service is cheaper?You make the call.
-- G.H.
| TYPE OF CALL THREE MINUTES |
AT&T (800/222-0300) |
PREMIERE WORLDLINK (800/848-0681) |
VOICE NET (800/500-9028) |
| NEW YORK-LOS ANGELES | $1.40 | $1.00 | 53 Cents |
| NEW YORK-LONDON | $7.02 | $2.50 | 83 cents |
| LONDON-LOS ANGELES | $7.20 | $4.51 | 83 cents |
| PARIS-LONDON | $12.28 | $7.18 | $2.13 |
