Prepaid phone cards are a great way to save money while staying in touch with friends and family around the world. International calling cards allow you to make phone calls to other countries at reasonable rates. If you’ve ever made an international call from your cell phone or landline, you know just how expensive that can be. A phone card lets you see the rates up front and pay in advance to save you the cost and the shock of an unexpectedly high phone bill.

When you buy a card, it comes with a local access number and a personal identification number (PIN). To make a call, simply dial the access number and enter your PIN when prompted. Then dial the phone number you wish to call and wait to be connected. The access number is typically an 800 number, which means it won’t affect your phone bill in any way.

Phone cards used to be much more common, especially when long-distance calls within the country were so expensive. Today, phone cards are mostly used to connect with folks in other countries who don’t have reliable access to the internet. It might surprise you to learn that less than 60 percent of the global population actively use the internet. So phone cards aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

If you like the idea of prepaid calls but don’t need to make international calls, consider a prepaid wireless phone. These devices let you avoid the commitment of monthly and annual contracts with cell phone providers. Instead, you pay for a set number of minutes, texts, and/or data upfront. When you’re running low, simply pay for a refill. If you have a habit of forgetting to pay your bills on time, prepaid wireless devices are the perfect way to ensure that you never pay a late fee again.

Stop by your local West Suburban Currency Exchange today to pick up a prepaid phone card, prepaid wireless card, or take advantage of one of many other services!