calling cards versus unlimited long distance

In my last post, I was contemplating shutting off my $40 per month unlimited home phone long distance and having my relatives call me. If we still had a cell phone, I would likely be using my evening and weekend minutes to make my long distance calls. Problem is - who wants to be restricted to evenings and weekends to make long distance phone calls? So, I guess it is time to look at prepaid calling cards again. In the past, I typically picked up prepaid long distance calling cards at gas stations while traveling, or at the local Wal-mart, but I always heard of friends and relatives getting much lower rates on the internet. I guess that I was paying the price of convenience and not shopping around. It's always good to have one tucked in your wallet for emergencies. Even if you've run out of minutes, you can usually add more time with a credit card via the phone in a pinch.

While perusing opportunities at PayPerPost, I noticed that a company called Pingo is offering $5 in free calls if you sign up for a phone card online. This isn't a bad deal, especially when you consider that they advertise calls as low as 1.8 cents per minute. Talk about a cheap prepaid phone card. You'd basically get 277 free minutes just for signing up. Not bad at all. I also like the fact that they don't require you to enter your full pin for every call that you make. Considering that some of the calling card pin numbers that I have had in the past were around 20+ digits long, this can be a daunting task when you're making a bunch of calls. They also offer a web-based management system where you can track your call usage and minutes online.

Here's their ad for the $5 in free calls: