Less expensive rates for calling DR from Canada

debs

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Jun 10, 2002
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OK, I'm being charged 55 cents/minute by Primus to call DR. I know about 101-55-66, but there's another one of these numbers floating around too and I think it's cheaper...does anyone know what it is? I don't like using pre-paid calling cards.
 

trina

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Jan 3, 2002
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Why don't you buy the prepaid calling cards? I use NOVA, and it's about .15/minute, better than anything I can find. There's a 1015945, but I think they charge .48/minute, which isn't much cheaper than what you are paying.
 

ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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debs said:
OK, I'm being charged 55 cents/minute by Primus to call DR. I know about 101-55-66, but there's another one of these numbers floating around too and I think it's cheaper...does anyone know what it is? I don't like using pre-paid calling cards.

I call there a lot and use the "Big Time" card (from Toronto) - no "connection fee" ( But they charge 69 cents at the end of the call if it succeeds) and 8.9 cents a minute. Calls of 10 seocnds are free so you can hang up when you get the Codetel intercept on busy lines or the inevitable cell phone not available/voice mail .

NO direct calling regime ( Primus, Yak, 10-X-XXX) numbers come close on a call over say 5 minutes. I have not found a comparable card that is cheaper -usually the per minute fee is closer to 5 or 6 cents but the connection fee is $1.29 to $1.99 and you are better paying more per mintue,less to connect and connect only on success.

I call Santiago Chile each week, same card, for 4.9 cents a minute. 3 hours + for $10 CDN ($6.50 US) So $2.20 an HOUR us to Chile is cheaper. With Yak (cheaper than Primus) it would cost $54.00 vs. under $10 CDN.

The card ( Big Time) has very good connections - clean and as noicse free as the DR system will allow - on land line calls it is like a local call here.
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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Debs, if you don't like using calling cards, then use yak a lot

10-15-945 it's .29 a min. for DR ,no connection fee, no switching long distance carrier. It's charged on your bell bill. It's only .09 to Italy and .07 for Canada.


10-15-945 then all the numbers you would normally dial including the 1
 

Nelly

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Jan 1, 2002
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Hi Debs, I am with Primus and have their My Country plan. I pay .17 to a mobile phone in the DR. Its only good if you don't make many LD calls to other places.
Cheers,
Nelly
 

debs

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Jun 10, 2002
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Thanks for the responses everyone

The reason I don't like pre-paid calling cards is that there is always a hidden fee somewhere. Not to mention you seem to get disconnected a lot. And I tend to find myself focusing on the time and not the conversation.

Nelly - I wish I could go on that plan, but I'm on their "Talk America" plan and since I make more calls to the US than the DR, I can't take advantage of the 17 cents/minute. And it's such a good rate!

Anna - Looks like Yak a lot is my best option. I found the other company I was looking for and they charge 78 cents/minute for mobile calls, so I was happy to see 29 cents with Yak.

Thanks again everyone!
 

ricktoronto

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Jan 9, 2002
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Re: Thanks for the responses everyone

debs said:
The reason I don't like pre-paid calling cards is that there is always a hidden fee somewhere. Not to mention you seem to get disconnected a lot. And I tend to find myself focusing on the time and not the conversation.

Not to flog a dead horse but Big Time is 69 cents. Only if you connect not "to connect" . I haven't been disconnected ever and the lines are clear.

To pay Yak 29 cents , for an hour, say, is $18.00, vs. $5.40 plus 69 cents, or $6.09.

Why pay 300% of the price for the same call? After the first 50 minutes of use the difference is the entire $10 it costs. Incidentally in almost every dollar store in the city they only charge $8.50 for the $10 cards so, the cost is actually 7.5 cents a minute.

Final reason: Yak charges you the taxes ( Bell does, on the bill) so you are paying GST on top of 29 cents, so really it is 31.2 vs. 7.5.

At the 4:1 point the service fee as long as you know the rules is minor.
 

Jim Hinsch

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Jan 1, 2002
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Way too much money! Canada t the DR for US$3.60/hr.

Ouch!

Why on earth would someone pay $0.10, $0.17, $0.29, or $0.69 per minute! What a rip-off.

Call the DR at US$0.06 per minute no connect fee, or US$0.03 per minute with a connect fee.

Cost for 1 hr: US$3.60

NO CONNECT FEE
ALL FEES SPECIFIED UP FRONT

See http://www.BocaChicaBeach.net/staying_in_touch.html or click on the link below:

<a href="http://www.BocaChicaBeach.net/staying_in_touch.html"><img border="0" src="http://www.BocaChicaBeach.net/images/logo.jpg" width="189" height="98"></a><br>
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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I wonder how many years it would take for our postel services to get a card to Canada.
 

ricktoronto

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Jan 9, 2002
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Re: Way too much money! Canada t the DR for US$3.60/hr.

Jim Hinsch said:
Ouch! Why on earth would someone pay $0.10, $0.17, $0.29, or $0.69 per minute! What a rip-off.

Jim since the subject was calling from CANADA to DR the Big Time card which you can actually USE from CANADA is the lowest price deal. I know the site you mention ( I even know the fine chap who runs it) and there are no cards available to Canadian residents notwithstanding the charts that imply that.
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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Never mind. Debs said she is not interested in prepaid calling cards so I deleted this. If she was interested she would go to the corner store and get one. We have many.
 
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andy a

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Feb 23, 2002
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This subject has appeared various times before.

Since the cards referenced by Jim Hinsch have add-ons, it is hard to determine the true cost per minute - what about the order handling fee + the value deterioration rate (both the weekly rent and the drop dead date) + the pay phone surcharge (in my experience, about 40% more than they advertise).

Do they have a contact 800 number for complaints? Also in my experience, they seem to have an accelerated rate schedule as time runs out on the card. Since they don't do a good job of telling how much time/money is left, it's hard to audit. It seems that many times I have been told at the start of a call that I had 10 minutes or so to talk, only to be told 3 or 4 minutes into the call that I would be disconnected in 1 more minute.

Therefore, I prefer internet computer-to-telephone connections now. Dialpad, for example, charges an almost honest $.13 per minute from the U.S. or Canada to the Dominican Republic. (I don't know whether the calls from Canada are in U.S. or Canadian cents). There is an expiration date, but it gets rolled over if the account is recharged before then.

Amount remaining is displayed. The duration of the conversation is also displayed, such that the user can audit the charges.

Finally, one doesn't have to enter 40 odd numbers to place one, perhaps busy, call. Just a few mouse clicks will do, at least after programming the number into the list.

If I don't have access to the internet and must use a call card, I settle for Sam's club's version of the AT&T call card - about $.16 per minute with no add-ons or value deterioration.
 

Jim Hinsch

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Jan 1, 2002
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Rick,

There are many different cards available at the link I provided (<a href="http://www.BocaChicaBeach.net/staying_in_touch.html"><img src="http://www.BocaChicaBeach.net/images/logo.jpg" width="45" height="25"></a>), from several different companies, all with different features and costs.

The card below and that I was referring to works from Canada via an 800 number that can be called from Canada.

This is a direct link to the card (click):

<a href="http://speedypin.com/phonecard/card_lookup.html?aff=2048&originationcountry=Canada&destinationcountry=Dominican+Republic"><img src="http://speedypin.com/img/sthumb.php?pid=IC10" width="90" height="50"></a>
 

ricktoronto

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Jan 9, 2002
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I Started With Dialpad But......

andy a said:
Therefore, I prefer internet computer-to-telephone connections now. Dialpad, for example, charges an almost honest $.13 per minute from the U.S. or Canada to the Dominican Republic. (I don't know whether the calls from Canada are in U.S. or Canadian cents). There is an expiration date, but it gets rolled over if the account is recharged before then.

I had a terrible time getting through to DR, the connection had a lot of artifacts (echos especially) and the price at $0.13 US per minute is still $0.20 CDN and thus is nearly triple the pre-service fee of the calling card I use.

I am using cable so bandwidth is not a problem but the only 1/2 way decent use of IP telephony fo rme thus far is PC to PC via Yahoo! which is free and works OK - I use this to talk to my daughter at university as whe has a T-1 LAN connection and the both of us talk OK.
 

ricktoronto

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Jan 9, 2002
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Jim Hinsch said:
Rick,

The card below and that I was referring to works from Canada via an 800 number that can be called from Canada.

This is a direct link to the card

Jim, thanks - at 6 cents a minute (US) that's actually more than 10 Cents (CDN) and with a weekly fee as well you need to use it in a week or 2 and frankly for the 7.5 cents plus 69 cents per call I find the local cards OK. One advantage of my card is that it is CRTC regulated here, they have a 24/7 1-800 service line which I called once and was quite happy with .

It also works with 800# and from USA to DR as well (or any other country) and I have used it to call DR from MIA airport when I was delayed and it was pretty effective. Free call to the 800# from the payphone as well.

I think one thing is clear - once the average user gets over any bias and investigates the actual fees/cost per call, they beat the local phone companies (over $1.00) , discounted providers like Sprint ( here is is 68 cents a minute to DR) the 10-10 combos (29 cents) and IP telephony (20 cents) by a mile.

One final word - this disclaimer is a bit unnerving for the card you referred:

" Unless otherwise indicated, calls made to international cell phones are billed at substantially higher rates."

Since 99.9% of calls I make are to DR cell phones this is not an advantage - my card is indifferent to cell vs. land line. 8.9 Cents CDN less the 15% discount to buy it at the corner store.
 

andy a

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Feb 23, 2002
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Two years ago a Canadian friend told me about a Canadian based call card (I think it
was called Best) that could be used from the US. With a low rate to the DR and no
gotcha's, I decided to buy several.

They worked as advertised for about 2 months, then their telepone numbers were
disconnected and I was stuck with the other unused cards.
 

Jim Hinsch

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Jan 1, 2002
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ricktoronto said:


Jim, thanks - at 6 cents a minute (US) that's actually more than 10 Cents (CDN) and with a weekly fee as well you need to use it in a week or 2 and frankly for the 7.5 cents plus 69 cents per call I find the local cards OK.

One advantage of my card is that it is CRTC regulated here, they have a 24/7 1-800 service line which I called once and was quite happy with .

" Unless otherwise indicated, calls made to international cell phones are billed at substantially higher rates."

Since 99.9% of calls I make are to DR cell phones this is not an advantage - my card is indifferent to cell vs. land line. 8.9 Cents CDN less the 15% discount to buy it at the corner store.

I think you'll find this card is also indifferent to call cell phones in the DR, but in some countries it will cost more.

There is no charge per call and you must use it within a week or there is a charge. The card does have 800 customer service 24x7.

Most of us don't have access to that corner store. But making 6 equal calls over two weeks, when considering the extras on both cards, the corner store card is 20% more expensive, if 8 calls are made, it is 67% more expensive.

For two calls in a week, the corner store card comes out to CDN$.115/minte, or even with the card I mentioned if you get a 15% discount.
 

Jodi

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Jan 2, 2002
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FYI regarding Bell....

Bell has lowered it's rates to the DR! They've come a long way from the $1.69/minute that they used to charge. It's now .35/minute...and they seem to be pretty desperate to get the business.

I've been with Primus at .17/min....but with that plan, my Canadian long distance is .15/min. Bell called the other night pretty much begging me to switch back to them....finally, after offering me a month free and still not getting me back, the caller offered me a $75 credit on my Bell account if I would switch back...no contract. So I'll take the $75 and start using calling cards!