After two years in Madrid, I have finally tried every single phone card on the market. This experiment has cost me approximately $1,000,000,000,875,101*
*That's in Australian dollars. Multiply by .66 for approximate amount in Euros
My findings are that the Eurodirect card is the best value by far, and that I would be almost $1,000,000,000,875,101 better off had I simply believed Jeremey when he told me that two years ago.
Here's to finding things out for yourself, though, however painful and expensive.
What makes the eurodirect cards better than Skype? Other than the fact you don't need a computer (I personally don't have a landline so its skype all the way for me)
And for tourists who would have to use the eurodirect card on payphones, I presume locutorios are still the best?
I have a page on my site on phoning home - I'll add eurodirect if I can be convinced its better than a locutorio.
What makes the eurodirect cards better than Skype? Other than the fact you don't need a computer (I personally don't have a landline so its skype all the way for me)
of course if you have no landline skye is great but keep in mind that you can also call back home with the eurodirect card via your mobile VERY cheaply. it has to do with getting on the vodafone "vitamina 60x1" pay as you go plan and using the eurodirect card in conjunction with that plan to call back to any phone in the u.s.a./canada and landlines in europe, australia, nz, etc... for 40 cent connection fee + 3/4 of a cent per minute. see www.spainsim.com/vodmovicallcards.htm for more tips.
i have all of my rental phones set to that plan so when a client rents a phone and calls back home, the call to the eurodirect access here in madrid costs him/her just 40 cents for up to an hour and i give them the 800 minutes relay back home for free. so, they can make as many calls as they want withing an hour for 40 cents (4 x 15 minute calls, 6 x 10 minute calls, 30 x 2 minute calls, etc...).
i personally use eurodirect with the local access (912910067) and since that is a free call for me due to the fact that i have my calls to spain landlines included in my adsl package. so, i get 800 minutes for 6 euros (less since i get eurodirect wholesale ) which comes to 0.0075 euros per minute (3/4 of a eurocent) and the connection is far superior to any skype connection i have ever had.
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And for tourists who would have to use the eurodirect card on payphones, I presume locutorios are still the best?
not sure why a tourist would need to use a payphone as most hotels and hostels have phones these days. so, they can use the toll free eurodirect access from their hotel and get the call back home for 2.3 cents/min. not 3/4 of a cent but still better than a locutorio.
also, they can call from the comfort of their hotel room and do not have to go out to a locutorio.
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I have a page on my site on phoning home - I'll add eurodirect if I can be convinced its better than a locutorio.
what are the rates for locutorios these days to call back to any phone in the states/canada or to a landline in europe, australia, nz, etc...? i have never used one so i am not sure what the calls cost.
hard to believe they woudl cost less than 2.3 cents/min.
by the way, the most a eurodirect card will charge anyone is 14.3 cents a minute, that is from a payphone due to the rats at timofónica and their 12 cent/min. surcharge on ALL CALLING CARDS IN SPAIN
Hi Lately I'm using JAJAH at www.jajah.com. No download, no installation, no headset. It it a regular phone-to-phone call. Between registered JAJAH users telephone calls are free of charge. Even before you register you get 5 free minutes. Good luck Nava
Age is a matter of mind, if you don't mind it doesn't matter.
Posts: 318 | Location: Israel >Madrid | Registered: 29 July 2004
Jajah tempted me, but i can never get anything at the price they claim. A friend and I both registered but still got charged and the link is broken where you can ask them why you're being charged.
Are you getting it to work for the prices they say?
Hey Jer As far as I understand you can use "vonage" only between Spain to U.S, U.K, and canada ? With Jajah I can talk to Israel with my daughters and friends who are already registered free of charge. Nava
Age is a matter of mind, if you don't mind it doesn't matter.
Posts: 318 | Location: Israel >Madrid | Registered: 29 July 2004
I have Vonage and still use the Eurodirect card. About Vonage vs. Skype, I tried Skype, but I found that the connection with Vonage was clearer and more reliable. But...it costs me about $15 a month for two US numbers (and I got to keep the numbers that I have had for over 12 years, which was important for me).
My family and friends in the US use these to call me. I could get a Spanish number, I suppose, but I have to have a fijo for the DSL, so I don't think there would be any point to it. To get a Skype number costs about 35 euros a year, I think.
I use the Eurodirect card for when I am out and about, have my cell phone, and need to call someone in the US. And also for times when my DSL connection is flaky and I don't have a good connection via VOIP (happens every once in a while). And also, of course, when I am traveling in Spain. I've never found a locutorio that was cheaper than Eurodirect from a fijo (or probably even a cell).
I also try to keep one around for when people come to visit, because it is just unbelievable how few minutes you can get with the other cards (one that I bought in Granada in an emergency situation cost five euros and I got six minutes of call time to the US).
Posts: 1070 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 10 December 2002
Calls to the US and the UK are 5c - CHEAPER than calling Spain! And even the Spanish calls are great - the best 24/7 tariff I've seen... I just got a Yoigo account (also new this week) as i lost my old phone. Slightly cheaper than Hhhhappymovil but has an annoying 6€ a month minimum usage. I think when my 20€ of calls are used up, I'll be moving to Hhhhappymobil.
Most impressive is that US mobiles are also 5c. (Most mobiles cost 20c).
happy móvil looks interesting but ya have to look more deeply into it all.
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Most impressive is that US mobiles are also 5c. (Most mobiles cost 20c).
not really impressive if you think about the why. in the u.s.a. and canada, when a person receives a call on their mobile THEY *as well as the caller) are charged minutes for the call. in most of the rest of the world, when a person receives a call on their mobile, it is free for that person and ONLY the caller pays. so, it makes complete sense that this new service would offer cheaper calls to the u.s. mobiles than to european mobiles for example.
happy móvil looks like a good solution for those who make a lot of international calls.
only reservation i would have is what mobile network do they use? i cannot find that info on their website. they are a virtual mobile operator and obviously do not have their own network so they use one of the existing ones. what they do is buy hundreds of thousand of pre-paid minutes from one of the existing operators and resell them for less, similar to what eurodirect do with minutes but to call to landlines. the operator happy móvil uses cannot be movistar as the prices are too low. judging from what i read on the site, i have a feeling it is orange (used to be amena) which is not very comforting as that is still the 3rd in quality of all 3 main operators. also, the mailbox number to dial into voicemail is 242 which is the same as amena/orange so that is another tip off that they use the orange network.
and then there is the question of ready availability of recharges. they say you can recharge at...
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• Las 400 tiendas The Phone House. • Estancos • Puntos de envio de dinero • Locutorios • Estaciones de servicio • Aeropuertos
... but i have yet to see recharge cards anyplace but the phone house stores
BUT, if one is going to use happy móvil to call a landline in the u.k., you are better off just getting a vodafone pay as you go SIM card and putting it on the vitamina 60x1 plan and using it with a eurodirect card.
the diff is clear...
happy móvil: connection fee = 30 cents. call rate = 0.05 euros a min.
vodafone vitamina 60x1 + eurodirect: connection fee = 40 cents. call rate 0.0075 Euros per min. for up to an hour.
after 2 minutes the happy móvil cost becomes higher than the vodafone vitamina 60x1 + eurodirect cost.
as for yoigo, i have to look into it more but for starters having to spend a min. per month on pay as you go seems a bit swleazy to me and 30 cents a min. for an international call is NUTZ!!!
- rent or buy a cell phone from me for your stay in spain, more info at 
- already have a cell phone, get a spanish SIM card for it at 
) which comes to 0.0075 euros per minute (3/4 of a eurocent) and the connection is far superior to any skype connection i have ever had.
