We all know that long distance calls can be very costly, especially when travelling. What I hate most about setting my phone on roaming when I go overseas is the useless text messages that I get from well meaning people who don’t know I am out of town. Each sms received can cost as much as $0.50 and while I wouldn’t mind a few of these, when there’s a lot and they’re just jokes or sms blasts, it can really get on my nerves. Calling out is also very expensive with the double charges incurred.
So when I really don’t want to be disturbed, but still want to stay in touch for important stuff, I get a local prepaid chip for my handphone or use international calling cards. Another alternative I just discovered is PINGO.
Pingo works just like an international calling card with the convenience of being internet based. Another great thing is you also don’t lose the minutes you end up not using. There are also no hidden charges like when you use a regular card and find out that each time you call there’s actually a minimum charge which is what happened when I used a cheap calling card to India.
Basically, you purchase calling time on Pingo with your credit card (or Paypal account) and you will get a unique Personal Identification Number (PIN) and a toll-free access number for the country your visiting or calling. Check the calling rates here.
With their low rates, you can receive up to 5 hours of free International calls just for signing up. IMPORTANT: As part of their promo now, if you key in this blog discount coupon: “ppp3”, you can get another US$3 off Pingo. This means you receive US$25 phone card for just US$17. And if you keep referring people to Pingo, you get another US$15 for each new customer that signs up. That’s a lot of FREE calls!
Note: This post is made possible by Pingo.