I've seen this topic come up in different spots, and thought it may be helpful to give it a thread of its own.

After research and trying out different companies, we use PT - 1 Communications to call Spain from the US. They charge $0.16 a minute always, with no minimum, no fees of any kind, no signing up. The charges appear on your regular phone bill. The calls are always crystal clear, and we've never had a problem connecting. To use it, dial 101-6868-011-country code (34 for Spain) - the number. They have incredibly low rates to other countries as well.

Their web site is supposed to be www.pt-1.com , (although I just checked it and it's not working.). Their customer service number is 1-888-660-5377.

Apparently this company does a lot of business with calling cards. I don't know how that works, but if you are interested, you may want to give them a call.

Has anyone else found a good deal?

[Diana, the "comma" immediately after the URL made it UNclickable - fixed it! ]

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 09-27-2000).]

wow, that's a great rate! I pay $3 a month to get a 17cents a minute rate to spain... maybe i should drop it and go with the one you recommend!

I pay 9 cents a minute with the MCI International Plan during weekends, 17 cents during the week (plus taxes). The monthly fee is 7 $, which includes cheaper rates for inter-state calls in the US and Canada as well. What is excellent is that they do not have an extra charge for calls to cell phones. I found that charges from calling cards can be crazy if you call a cell phone, 1 $ per minute or similar prices.
From Massachusetts, I think the best calling card to call to a regular phone is Mass Local Access, they have no connection fee, are good for a year, and the price is something around 10 cents (unless you call to a cell phone) including taxes if you call from your private phone.

[This message has been edited by connie (edited 09-28-2000).]

ok, so i guess i have a silly question. i've never called another country before. i'm leaving in like 9 days and i don't know how to tell people to call me there. the phone number i got was 91-xxx-xxxx. i understand that i have to call that 9 digit number when i am in spain, but what does one do from the US? i don't think you can just dial 1-91 etc. what is this about a country code? can somebody help to clear things up?

btw, for those of you who read about las doce uvas, i've decided to do that for new year's. a little spanish culture never hurt any of my friends!

There are no silly questions here! And yours is a very good one!

To call you direct from the USA to Madrid, the caller needs to dial 011-34-91-xxx-xxxx.

The 011 is the international access code, and the 34 is Spain's country code. 91 is Madrid's area code. If you're somewhere else in Spain you'd have a different area code, and it might be 3 digits.

Have a great time!

Dear ocho pendientes aka A.S.: Diana is right. And when you need to call the U.S., the cheapest way is often using a Master or Visa Card on public phones. Check out the internet places, too, for cheap communication. And feliz anyo nuevo with your doce uvas. Me too! I'm off to Spain Wednesday. By the time you get there I'll almost be good. Suerte, Amy, and keep in touch. Tu profesora.

I just signed up for EconoPhone (the one that Ben Stein has been advertising on the radio) a month or so ago, and I get 7.9¢/minute to Spain and most of Western Europe...what's more, NO monthly service charge. I also get 5.9¢ domestic long distance with no monthly charge either. Just in time for my holiday phone calls!

You can find them on the web, I just haven't done the searching for you...they also have very good calling card rates for travellers who would call to their country from Spain (I think it's 11¢/minute or something...)

CaliBasco, sounds like a great deal. Have you made calls to Spanish cell phones with your new contract yet? Do they take surcharges for that?

Hi Everyone

I hope everybody had a fabulous New Year's!
I use www.hottelephone.com its the only internet phone company that lets you call Spain free. Others like dialpad only allow for domestic calls. Although if you are in Spain you can call the States using dialpad.
All you need is the headset which runs about 25 dollars.Go to the website and register. Start calling for free.


[This message has been edited by Guapetona (edited 01-04-2001).]

hottelephone.com doesn't work with AOL ,firewall doesn't let it ((

HotTelephone.com didn't seem to work for me either... Or the FAX machine in Spain I was using to test the application was busy.... at 3am??! And I don't even have/use AOL (nor would I EVER! Blech! )

Guapetona-thanks so much for sharing the hottelephone website.What a gift!.I admit that sometimes you are put "on hold" and bombarded w/ads but you do eventually get through-I actually talked w/out a mike,I have something built into my computer.My friends said the reception was great!Same response from friends in Germany.
Thanks again,no more searching for deals on calling cards!
I use AOL_no problem......

Does anyone have information on the best call back service to use to call Spain form the US? Our daughter is studying in Madrid this semester with St. Louis U. and we are trying to find the most inexpensive way to call her. The 10-10-*** dial around numbers don't work for us because we are on a rural telephone coop. Also our long distance carrier is Alltel and we don't want to change to MCI or AT&T. I have found one service called GlobalTel with a .19 per minute rate to Spain and no monthly surcharge. Has anyone used this company and, if so, what were your experiences with it? We have never used a callback service, only the prepaid phone cards you can purchase at gas stations, etc. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Hey!!!! FINALLY! It worked! I successfully placed a FREE call to Madrid using the HotTelephone.com service! It's pretty annoying that they have two self-refreshing banner ads slowing down the transmission/connection and causing worse voice quality, but those with a fast connection (unlike me -- cable/DSL isn't available in my area yet -- ARGH!) shouldn't have any problems.

jss5200: As for the best way to call back to the US from Spain, go to one of the easyEverything cybercafes in Madrid & Barcelona. There, their (FAST) connection fees are cheap-ish and you can "plug-in" to their headphone/microphone jacks and thereby call the USA for FREE using DialPad.com or Microsoft Phone. I use DialPad myself.

Saludos, MadridMan

Madridman,

What do you recommend for the average traveller who just wants to call home (the USA) and can't find a cybercfae handy?

Chip

The best deal for a quick call from a payphone is this: just use your credit card at a public phone outdoors. Half the time it says "tarjeta no valida" "card not valid," but you just poke around for a while and one of them works. I called US from Spain and talked 10 minutes and the cost was two dollars!!!! so, seemed reasonable to me.

Hi guys,

So glad hottelephone is working out. I know it can be a pain in the #$% sometimes.
Dialpad from Spain is a little better.
Well, happy calling and glad I could offer some help for calling alternatives.
And when it gets frustrating just think.."a caballo regalado no se le mira el diente.."

At the present time, we use MCI for calls to Spain. It costs us $3 a month, and 9 cents a minute on weekends.

Since that's the best time for us to call, it works out nicely.

Wolf

I was all set to call Italy to make reservations, but both 101-6868 and the toll free number are out of service. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I used 101-6868 to reserve for my last trip to Spain and 6-7 calls totaled less than $2.

Just to let these of you know that are using MCI which is what I use since I call also to Germany Switzerland and Spain. I get milage so that paid for my trip from Frankfurt to Madid in March. If you are with MCI check on this feature. Maybe you can make it back to Spain sooner then you had in mind. Good luck Mecky

Caminante, I've been using 101-6868 a lot in the last few weeks, the last time just a few days ago. I've had no trouble connecting (although, in all honesty, a few of the connections to Spain were not terribly clear). You may want to keep trying - maybe it was a temporary problem.

When I was in Spain I did not called to California because it was easier for me to send an email, wherever I went I found an internet cafe. I stoped there typed all I wanted to say and send it, the next day I got an email with the answer. I checked and send emails daily. In Barcelona I founded an internet cafe that works 24 hours
and I paid 3 dollars for 1 or 2 hours of using the internet, with only 3 dollars I used the internet all the times I needed in the 3 days I spend in Barcelona and I had some time left.

Rafael

Diana, I still can't get 101-6868 to work and the 800 number listed is disconnected. 101-6868.com doesn't work either. All signs point to its disappearance. If you can use it let me know.

Caminante, I used 101-6868 to call Spain today, and it worked. I'm stumped as to why it won't work for you.