About Calling Cards
the complete guide to calling cards
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Calling Card Pricing - Who Sells the 'Cleanest' Calling Card?In the market for a new calling card? We recommend buying a 'clean' calling card.
A 'clean' calling card is a calling card with relatively few extra fees. Because there are fewer fees, the pricing of clean calling cards is both easier to understand and more predictable under different usage scenarios. With a clean card, you'll find that the advertised per minute rate is going to be closer to the 'real' per minute rate you end up paying after all extra fees are added in. 'Dirty' cards have more fees and it is harder to predict what you'll actually pay per minute. In some cases, the actual per minute rate you end up paying can be 5x or more higher than the advertised rate! Since we are geeks, naturally we've calculated a 'clean card score' for 30 popular calling cards from 9 different companies. The results are shown in the tables below. To calculate these scores, we did a detailed analysis of 9 pricing elements for each card. We then combined all these pricing factors with some assumptions about card usage (how many calls, how long the calls are, etc.) to determine an adjusted per minute rate and a clean score for each card. The analysis produces two useful results. First is an estimate of the 'adjusted per minute rate' you can expect to pay for using a given card. This is, in effect, the loaded rate with all extra fees applied. The second result is the 'clean score'. The clean score calculated as the 'adjusted per minute rate' divided by the 'advertised per minute rate'. A lower score is better. The lower the clean score, the closer the loaded rate is to the advertised rate. A higher score means a card has relatively more extra fees. A perfect clean score would be 1.0 - meaning zero extra fees. But such cards don't exist because all cards charge at least a few extra fees. In our analysis, the lowest scores we found were between 1.3 to 1.7. A clean score of 1.3 means the actual per minute rate is 1.3x more than the advertised rate -- meaning a card with a 1.0¢ per minute rate really costs you 1.3¢ per minute after fees are applied. The highest score we found was 4.1 -- meaning a card with a 1.0¢ per minute rate really costs you 4.1¢ per minute after fees are applied. This is a pretty big difference! And we didn't even test the dirtiest cards on the market because those cards are so dirty we couldn't even do the calculations right. Clean Score HighlightsAmong the 9 companies and 30 cards / plans we analyzed, we found clean scores ranged from a low of 1.3 to a high of 4.1. The average score across all the companies and cards was 2.4. The clear winner in this clean card comparison is Pingo - they have the best clean rating as a company and are tied for the best clean rating for their calling plan. Company results Among the 9 companies we analyzed, clean scores ranged from a low of 1.3 (best) to a high of 3.1 (worst). See table below for more company results.
Note that despite having the worst clean score, Comfi had the overall lowest adjusted per minute rates, slightly edging out Pingo by 0.25¢ per minute. Card results Among the 30 cards / plans we analyzed, clean scores ranged from a low of 1.3 (best) to a high of 4.1 (worst). See table below for more card results.
We also made these observations about adjusted per minute rates and clean scores:
Overall, we think our clean score is a good indicator of price simplicity and, as a general rule, simple pricing is better. However, the best cards are cards with both clean pricing and low advertised rates - not necessarily the lowest available rate, but towards the low end. Such a card is going to be a definite winner. That said, dirty cards can sometimes have very low adjusted rates, but it takes a math geek to tell the good ones from the bad ones. For most of us, it is just too hard to guessestimate the impact of such complex pricing and it is much safer to buy a clean card instead. Clean Scores by CompanyWe calculated clean scores for 9 leading calling card companies. All of these companies are generally solid, reputable companies, so this is of the 'good guys' in the industry. Calculating the clean scores for some of the bad guys - e.g., Phonecardsmile - is not even possible because their pricing is soooo complicated, we can't even figure it out. Of our 9 companies, two companies, Pingo and PennyTalk, sell only a single card / plan and so their score is a direct calculation for that one plan. The remaining 7 sell multiple cards and their scores are an average of four different cards pulled for each company. The company with the lowest (best) score was Pingo with a score of 1.3. The company with the highest (worst) score was Comfi with a score of 2.7. Despite having the highest clean card score, Comfi had the lowest adjusted per minute rate at 2.42¢. Pingo pricing was very competitive with an adjusted per minute rate of 2.67¢. Despite having a reasonably good clean score of 2.0, PennyTalk had the highest adjusted per minute rate at 3.94¢. Click column headers to sort by column. In US cents (¢), except clean score. Clean Scores by Company
NEXT: Clean scores by card... Clean Scores by CardWe calculated clean scores for 30 leading calling card cards / plans. Of these, two companies, Pingo and PennyTalk, sell only a single card or plan, so they are represented just once. The remaining 7 companies sell multiple cards and the table include four different cards from each of these companies. We tried to apply this methodology to cards from some of the less reputable companies in the industry (e.g., Phonecardsmile), but their pricing is too complicated and/or vague. The cards / plans with the best scores were Pingo and Cloncom Connect USA with clean scores of 1.3. The card with the highest (worst) score was Lucky Minutes from Comfi with a score of 4.1. The cards with the lowest adjusted per minute rates were the Partner card from Comfi at 2.07¢ and the Sonico Green card from Cloncom at 2.11¢, respectively. The card with the highest per minute rate was PennyTalk at 3.94¢. Click column headers to sort by column. In US cents (¢), except clean score. Clean Scores by Card
Source Data for Clean Pricing AnalysisWe compiled calling card pricing data from 9 companies and 30 different cards for our clean card analysis. The analysis is based on cards and rates for calling from the US to UK. Results may vary for other calling routes. The analysis examined 9 pricing elements for each card / plan:
The specific cards chosen were the first 4 results listed when we searched for cards for US to UK phone cards on the company websites. In the case of Pingo and PennyTalk which sell only one comprehensive calling plan, we simply used that one data point. The rates used were the lowest quoted rates for direct calls from the US to the UK. In many cases, this rate was applicable for calls to landline phones only - calls to mobile phones are often higher. See below for explanation of pricing elements. In US cents (¢), except as noted. Calling Card Pricing Data
Rate and Fee DefinitionsHere is an explanation of the calling card pricing elements used in the analysis.
The analysis generated two calculated results that measure calling card 'cleanness'.
NEXT: Usage assumptions... Usage AssumptionsHow the many calling card pricing elements interact to determine your adjusted per minute rate depends heavily on your calling card usage in real life. Key factors that impact real life adjusted per minute rates include things like how long your calls are, how long you hold the card for, whether you call thru a local or toll-free access number, whether you use a payphone, etc. The usage possibilities are nearly endless and can very hard to model or predict - even for geeks like us. This is one of the reasons we recommend clean cards - they perform about the same regardless of your usage pattern. To conduct the analysis, we made a series of assumptions about usage. These assumptions may or may not reflect your actual usage, but they are designed to trigger more pricing elements to come into play. Other usage scenarios can be envisioned that trigger fewer pricing elements.
Disclosure: AboutCallingCards.com recommends a small number of vendors based on in-depth company reviews and analysis. We recommend only firms that we believe deliver the best value to consumers. Read complete disclosure statement. In the market for a new calling card? We recommend buying a 'clean' calling card.
A 'clean' calling card is a calling card with relatively few extra fees. Because there are fewer fees, the pricing of clean calling cards is both easier to understand and more predictable under different usage scenarios. With a clean card, you'll find that the advertised per minute rate is going to be closer to the 'real' per minute rate you end up paying after all extra fees are added in. 'Dirty' cards have more fees and it is harder to predict what you'll actually pay per minute. In some cases, the actual per minute rate you end up paying can be 5x or more higher than the advertised rate! Since we are geeks, naturally we've calculated a 'clean card score' for 30 popular calling cards from 9 different companies. The results are shown in the tables below. To calculate these scores, we did a detailed analysis of 9 pricing elements for each card. We then combined all these pricing factors with some assumptions about card usage (how many calls, how long the calls are, etc.) to determine an adjusted per minute rate and a clean score for each card. The analysis produces two useful results. First is an estimate of the 'adjusted per minute rate' you can expect to pay for using a given card. This is, in effect, the loaded rate with all extra fees applied. The second result is the 'clean score'. The clean score calculated as the 'adjusted per minute rate' divided by the 'advertised per minute rate'. A lower score is better. The lower the clean score, the closer the loaded rate is to the advertised rate. A higher score means a card has relatively more extra fees. A perfect clean score would be 1.0 - meaning zero extra fees. But such cards don't exist because all cards charge at least a few extra fees. In our analysis, the lowest scores we found were between 1.3 to 1.7. A clean score of 1.3 means the actual per minute rate is 1.3x more than the advertised rate -- meaning a card with a 1.0¢ per minute rate really costs you 1.3¢ per minute after fees are applied. The highest score we found was 4.1 -- meaning a card with a 1.0¢ per minute rate really costs you 4.1¢ per minute after fees are applied. This is a pretty big difference! And we didn't even test the dirtiest cards on the market because those cards are so dirty we couldn't even do the calculations right. Clean Score HighlightsAmong the 9 companies and 30 cards / plans we analyzed, we found clean scores ranged from a low of 1.3 to a high of 4.1. The average score across all the companies and cards was 2.4. The clear winner in this clean card comparison is Pingo - they have the best clean rating as a company and are tied for the best clean rating for their calling plan. Company results Among the 9 companies we analyzed, clean scores ranged from a low of 1.3 (best) to a high of 3.1 (worst). See table below for more company results.
Note that despite having the worst clean score, Comfi had the overall lowest adjusted per minute rates, slightly edging out Pingo by 0.25¢ per minute. Card results Among the 30 cards / plans we analyzed, clean scores ranged from a low of 1.3 (best) to a high of 4.1 (worst). See table below for more card results.
We also made these observations about adjusted per minute rates and clean scores:
Overall, we think our clean score is a good indicator of price simplicity and, as a general rule, simple pricing is better. However, the best cards are cards with both clean pricing and low advertised rates - not necessarily the lowest available rate, but towards the low end. Such a card is going to be a definite winner. That said, dirty cards can sometimes have very low adjusted rates, but it takes a math geek to tell the good ones from the bad ones. For most of us, it is just too hard to guessestimate the impact of such complex pricing and it is much safer to buy a clean card instead. Clean Scores by CompanyWe calculated clean scores for 9 leading calling card companies. All of these companies are generally solid, reputable companies, so this is of the 'good guys' in the industry. Calculating the clean scores for some of the bad guys - e.g., Phonecardsmile - is not even possible because their pricing is soooo complicated, we can't even figure it out. Of our 9 companies, two companies, Pingo and PennyTalk, sell only a single card / plan and so their score is a direct calculation for that one plan. The remaining 7 sell multiple cards and their scores are an average of four different cards pulled for each company. The company with the lowest (best) score was Pingo with a score of 1.3. The company with the highest (worst) score was Comfi with a score of 2.7. Despite having the highest clean card score, Comfi had the lowest adjusted per minute rate at 2.42¢. Pingo pricing was very competitive with an adjusted per minute rate of 2.67¢. Despite having a reasonably good clean score of 2.0, PennyTalk had the highest adjusted per minute rate at 3.94¢. Click column headers to sort by column. In US cents (¢), except clean score. Clean Scores by Company
NEXT: Clean scores by card... Clean Scores by CardWe calculated clean scores for 30 leading calling card cards / plans. Of these, two companies, Pingo and PennyTalk, sell only a single card or plan, so they are represented just once. The remaining 7 companies sell multiple cards and the table include four different cards from each of these companies. We tried to apply this methodology to cards from some of the less reputable companies in the industry (e.g., Phonecardsmile), but their pricing is too complicated and/or vague. The cards / plans with the best scores were Pingo and Cloncom Connect USA with clean scores of 1.3. The card with the highest (worst) score was Lucky Minutes from Comfi with a score of 4.1. The cards with the lowest adjusted per minute rates were the Partner card from Comfi at 2.07¢ and the Sonico Green card from Cloncom at 2.11¢, respectively. The card with the highest per minute rate was PennyTalk at 3.94¢. Click column headers to sort by column. In US cents (¢), except clean score. Clean Scores by Card
Source Data for Clean Pricing AnalysisWe compiled calling card pricing data from 9 companies and 30 different cards for our clean card analysis. The analysis is based on cards and rates for calling from the US to UK. Results may vary for other calling routes. The analysis examined 9 pricing elements for each card / plan:
The specific cards chosen were the first 4 results listed when we searched for cards for US to UK phone cards on the company websites. In the case of Pingo and PennyTalk which sell only one comprehensive calling plan, we simply used that one data point. The rates used were the lowest quoted rates for direct calls from the US to the UK. In many cases, this rate was applicable for calls to landline phones only - calls to mobile phones are often higher. See below for explanation of pricing elements. In US cents (¢), except as noted. Calling Card Pricing Data
Rate and Fee DefinitionsHere is an explanation of the calling card pricing elements used in the analysis.
The analysis generated two calculated results that measure calling card 'cleanness'.
NEXT: Usage assumptions... Usage AssumptionsHow the many calling card pricing elements interact to determine your adjusted per minute rate depends heavily on your calling card usage in real life. Key factors that impact real life adjusted per minute rates include things like how long your calls are, how long you hold the card for, whether you call thru a local or toll-free access number, whether you use a payphone, etc. The usage possibilities are nearly endless and can very hard to model or predict - even for geeks like us. This is one of the reasons we recommend clean cards - they perform about the same regardless of your usage pattern. To conduct the analysis, we made a series of assumptions about usage. These assumptions may or may not reflect your actual usage, but they are designed to trigger more pricing elements to come into play. Other usage scenarios can be envisioned that trigger fewer pricing elements.
Disclosure: AboutCallingCards.com recommends a small number of vendors based on in-depth company reviews and analysis. We recommend only firms that we believe deliver the best value to consumers. Read complete disclosure statement. |
★ 2023 Editor's Choice ★Our 2023 Editor's Choice is Pingo. Our in-depth analysis shows that Pingo delivers superior value. ☆ Pingo $10 bonus ☆
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