INTERNATIONAL calling cards are popular among students studying away from home, because they're easy to top up, relatively cheap and you don't have to make a long term commitment.
Continue reading below for the top three tips to make sure you're getting a good deal...
International phone card deals are always being changed, improved and in some cases being beaten by other providers.
If you're looking to get the best deal, the best start to make is a search online.
One thing to remember here is that providers often specialise in particular parts of the globe.
So if you're searching, try entering the country you're calling from, the country you want to call and then you'll have a far simpler task.
If you're in the enviable situation where you can be sure of steady internet connections on both your end abroad and at home, ask yourself whether you could actually make calls for free online.
Now that our smartphones have the same power as a laptop a few years ago when applications like Skype arrived, it now means you can use you iPhone or Android to make video calls, too.
Here's a starters' guide to working out whether free online calls are the way to go - so you can spend that money elsewhere on your foreign adventure.
So you decided to take the phonecard route, rather than make calls online.
One thing you need to do before you buy is make sure that your deal is what it first appears.
For example, if you're going to be charged enormous amounts, thus ruining your balance, because your deal has severe restrictions then it could save you lots of money and frustration if you work out what these restrictions actually are before you buy.
