Prepaid Phone Cards

I'm traveling to the Boca Chica area of DR. in Sept. and staying at the Coral Hamaca Resort, I understand the hotel next door sells prepaid phone cards at a reasonable price. What concerns me is how these international cards work as far as calling back to the States. Is their a connection fee? And can I purchase these at the airport also a cheap price. I heard some go for about 19 cents a minute ??? Any help what be apprieciated..... I'd like to purchase a card once for the week and be able to call back to the States once a day for approx. 3 to 5 minutes each call. Any suggestions ??

Here is a web site that will enable you to purchase a pre-paid card for 5 cents a minute and $1.50 connection charge. At that price I don't think you need to worry how long you may talk on the phone. A 30minute call will cost you abut $3.00.

http://pkcomm.com/

Irv

The trick when purchasing a card here in the US is to make sure that it is valid for use in the RD. If it works in the RD for calling back to the USA it will distinctly have a separate number on the card for calling from the DR.

Tropicard is one that I know works here in the USA and also in the RD. There is no connection charge either. Because you will be making short calls, this is important. If you make 1 or 2 long calls then some cards with connection charges but low rates can still be economical.

Most call centers in the RD that I have used also give me a fair deal for short calls to the USA.

Codetel and Tropical recently pulled a "bait and switch" with the Tropicard. They advertised the Tropicard at US$0.19 from the DR to the USA. Then they just changed that price to US$0.49/min, claiming "prices are subject to change", but still advertise the lower rate. They also have a hidden "maintenance" fee of US$0.29/month, even though they advertised "no hidden fees".

Be very careful when purchasing phone cards. They often are not as advertised. Be especially aware of cards with connection fees. They have a habit of "disconnecting" your calls after a few minutes.

Jim Hinsch JimHinsch@CSI.COM

Any other calling cards that can be used to call from the DR to US and vice-versa?

Thanks Jim for the information, as Like Tony asked, are their any other companies. Also, are their any at the airport that are worthwhile to purchase. Again, I will need to phone back to the States once a day for a few minutes each call. I guess I can deal with 49 cents a minute, compared to what AT&T charges - somewhere around 55 cents per minute plus a few bucks to connect.

Phone cards are sold everywhere, including the airport. In fact, if you bring your cell-phone, they even have cards (everywhere) that work with cell-phones that are not activated in the DR. Search the old messages in the archive for lots of detail on that subject. A typical call to the USA from a call center (also located everywhere, including the airport) and many cambios is about US$32/min.

Jim Hinsch JimHinsch@CSI.COM

I baught a TLD card in Santiago and got 33 min. for $10.