Calling cards is a very comfortable and rewarding way to save money on international and local calls. Regrettably, many calling cards do have some hidden fees that actually reduce the number of minutes available and you pay more than expected.

The first possible hidden fee is the connection fee. Sometimes it is called the access fee. Money is charged from your account every time you make a call. This is usually from 5 cents to 1 dollar. The connection fee is deducted even if the answering machine pick up the receiver on the other side so make sure you are not charged the whole pile of money for every connection established. The best solution will be to choose a calling card which has no connection fee at all. There are plenty of such companies so you should look thoroughly to find some.

Minutes Rounding or Billing increment is just another hidden fee. If the calling card has a 1 minute rounding it means you will be charged for one minute even if you talk 45 seconds. 250 seconds will be charged at 5 minutes. Well, 1 minute rounding is comparatively good as there are calling cards that have a significantly higher rounding period.

One of the most notorious hidden fees is the maintenance fee. Your account is charged on a monthly or even weekly basis. If you don’t use your minutes during some period, your money will be deducted… just for nothing. Make sure the calling card you choose doesn’t have any maintenance fee.

A Long Talking Fee is the hidden fee you should pay if the duration of your call goes beyond a certain limit. It is better to find out about this limit in the terms and reconnect each time you are close to it.

Choose calling cards form the reputable providers. Their rates may seem a bit higher than those of their rivals, but as they don’t have any hidden fees other companies may have, you pay less in the long run.