Phoning Home...and other places

Another Monday, but this Monday is a little different. Though I am here, coffee in one hand, hunting and pecking with the other, I am in the process of packing for a week long journey with friends. So, I am not sure how the posting is going to go for the next week. I had planned to email my post, but I am a little weary of the service after the trial run this weekend. So, do check back periodically as I may have opportunity to post and keep up with you.

As I get all the details in line, I have been looking for a pre-paid calling card that will allow me international flexibility in calling home and office. Yes, I will be taking my cell phone, but it seems like international calling gets complicated and expensive, so I am looking for alternatives in case I find myself meditating on an Mayan pyramid (there is hope for a group regression at such a place) and need to share my revelations. Probably cell phone service would be limited down there, but its good to have one's ducks in a row, eh? So, I have found a calling card from Pingo.com, that will let me use my cell phone for such a thing (and is available on other phones, too). Their low rates are substantially better than my cell phone carrier. If I am in Mexico, I can call home to the States (and to other places
in Mexico) for under $.20. This is 90% less than what I would normally pay for international cell phone usage. Also note though that if you choose to use Pingo.com, you may want to disable international calling on your cell phone to make sure you are not being charged twice.

The other positive thing about their service is that it saves a lot of time in finding lower fee phone cards (which I have looked for in the past during travels) and their rates are easy to find. You just click on the Rates tab on their site. Pingo’s RateWatcher™ is also pretty nifty for finding low rates. Do note though, that there is a $.98 monthly fee for the service. This is almost made up in promotions. If you sign up, you receive five hours of free calling (for this you pay for $20 worth of service), plus at the moment if you use their coupon, you get more of a discount:

Special phone card blog discount coupon: “ppp3” valid for $3 off Pingo
Receive $25 phone card for just $17.

You can find out more about how it works by clicking on their "How It Works" page. It might also be worth using them as an instant calling card for general calls, not just when you are traveling. For those loved ones that I still have in the UK, the rates seem really competitive (and it would have been helpful for last week's bought of homesickness). And if you sell Cd's and training courses world-wide, this might save some money in communicating with clients outside your local market area.

So, that is one more task checked off on the to do list.

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