It can be confusing with all the choices there are for phone cards these days. They are for one country or even one state or city. Other options are calls through the Internet, cell phone calls, cell phones with wireless phone cards, and who knows what else. Dont forget, there is also video-conferencing.

You hear and see someone through the Internet, and they also see and hear you. Internet services have multiplied your choices for phoning across the country, or across the world, inexpensively. Even if you are using a phone card on a regular land line, the call itself is going through a 1-800 number through DSL broadband Internet, through cable networks or by wireless networks. Phone card companies save money by figuring out the cheapest routes for reaching a specific region or country, and then passing on the savings to their customers. If you're looking to call a specific country often, a phone card may still be the best option.

With the companies looking for the cheapest way to get your voice across the ocean, service can sometimes be spotty, and it's difficult to know which services will work the best. But with big discounts and no long-term commitment, a phone card can be worth the gamble. You can buy one on the Internet, you go on the Internet, and after you pay with your credit card, you get a password and a 1-800 number. Other types of phone options are getting cheaper all the time. Cablevision announced it would offer international calls to any country in the world for 4-cents a minute. Skype, which lets users make phone calls over the Internet with their computers, announced that calls to standard phones in the U.S. and Canada would be free, instead of the 2-cents a minute it was before. Even though you have to sit in front of a computer with a headset and a microphone to make calls that is pretty incredible.

Under the company's new plan, all outbound calls to the U.S. and Canada are free of charge, whether it's to a regular landline, a cell phone, or another Skype user. For a fee of about $40 a year, the Skype service also lets you have your own phone number that anyone can dial into. There are some complaints that voice quality using a VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is not quite the same as non-Internet call, but the bugs should be out soon.