Phone card for a person with a land line and no long distance service. (CostCo, cell phone)

[virgo]

Anyone have recommendations for a phone card for a land line? I would like to buy one for an elderly lady who has a land line, but does not have long distance service.

Was a time when a person could use the 1010 numbers for an occasional long distance call (once or twice a year), make the call, and get the charges on the next phone bill. Now, you have to sign up with the company first and go through a credit check in order to use their 1010 number. I don't want to put her through all that. Plus, the "best rates" change from month to month between the various companies, and I would not want to have her locked into one company when another company might be lower

Any input would be appreciated as well as recommendations for a card.

Many thanks and Merry day after Christmas!!!!

[Flamingo13]

I'd like to know of phone cards also. A long time some had posted about Costco selling cards for something like .02/min. but I don't belong to Costco and haven't seen phone cards for sale in the last couple years.

[VegasGrace]

I did this for my mom before she died...bad idea. Those cards....elderly people usually can't read those tiny numbers and try to enter in all those digits w/o messing up...and not transposing them....

A prepaid cell phone would be best....a $15 dollar phone, put $10 on it.

[smartygurl]

Originally Posted by VegasGrace

I did this for my mom before she died...bad idea. Those cards....elderly people usually can't read those tiny numbers and try to enter in all those digits w/o messing up...and not transposing them....

A prepaid cell phone would be best....a $15 dollar phone, put $10 on it.

I agree. A prepaid phone would be better. Tracfone is pretty good with rates especially for someone who would probably not use it alot.

[virgo]

Thanks for the input, folks. I'll keep searching. I may find a card/plan where the minutes don't expire. That's been one of the toughest challenges along with sifting through the sheer volume of plans/cards available.

With this little lady, I would be the one entering in any access numbers and then handing her the phone, so she's covered in that respect. She lives very close to me, and I see her quite a bit.

She only needs long distance to return calls (max of 2, if they call) that she misses at Thanksgiving/Christmas when she is at someone else's house. If she is at home when the calls come through, then she answers the phone, talks, and is done with long distance for another year.

I'm of little help to her because I use computer/email, but I will try to find something for her where it's not a use it/lose it proposition.

I did a little research on using something like Tracfone, but I need to see what the deal is about possibly losing your phone number if you let your minutes expire.

Again, thanks for the input.

[virgo]

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

I'd like to know of phone cards also. A long time some had posted about Costco selling cards for something like .02/min. but I don't belong to Costco and haven't seen phone cards for sale in the last couple years.

I am a Costco member and did not remember to check their site until you said something. I briefly looked at their site for a phone card:

Costco - Verizon 700 Minute Prepaid Long Distance Phone Card

The minutes supposedly never expire, but the reviews that are posted don't look good with regard to rates. Next week, I will read all of the reviews and read the fine print about the card. The card may be perfect for someone with a land line who rarely makes a long distance call (higher rates and all), but lousy for someone who is using the card with their cellphone.

Thanks for responding.