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I just wanted to add one very imp. point regarding ASIA CONNECT card-there is a connection fee of 1£ each time you make a call(I came to know about it very recently). So if you are calling Delhi and your average call time is more than 10 minutes, then only you should use this card. If you make calls of duration about 5 minutes then better go for SAVERS card.
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I just wanted to share my experience with u people regarding the International Calling cards. I am currently in UK and often make phone calls to India. Here there are many companies providing International Calling Cards. At first point I was totally confused, that which one to use? Normally the cards come in denominations of £5, £10, £15 and £20. Here are a few tips for you people, if you are new in UK and want to buy any. A few companies providing these cards are: First National, Thangam, Savers, Asia Connect, Asia Planet talk etc. etc.(No limit). Each time I tested a new card and now can advice you which to use. There are large numbers of dimensions in which a card can be rated. Firstly lets rate them on basis of cost: You can get these cards from any newsagent shops, or wherever you see the board, but every shop has different rate for the same card. Normally £5 card is sold in £4.5-£4.75, depending upon the shop you are buying it from. These people always give some discounts. If you want to have a £20 card, then most of the cards can be obtained in just £14, and at times companies offer £5 extra on £20 card, i.e. you will pay £14 for a card whose worth is £25(very advantageous).
Most of these companies claim that they give about 40 minutes with £5 calling card although this is not true with all the companies. Also, card should be consumed fully within 90 days after first use, otherwise the card will expire. Till now everyone knows whatever I had told. Now lets explore the reality and note down the precautions while buying a calling card. Most of the cards have some other costs better know as the hidden costs. What exactly are these costs? a) Connection charge, i.e. each time you connect a call to India(or whichever country), a flat amount will be charged(this amount can be up to £1). b) Some cards also cut a surcharge per day from the day you started using it for the first time. e.g. Thangam cuts 3p surcharge per day. c) Normal procedure of making an international call is like this: Firstly you will dial a number been provided by the company(it is written on the backside of the card)(lets call it No.1). After that you will be asked to enter the Pin number(secret number provided on the back of the card). After that you have to dial your country code followed by city code and then the tel. no. Everything seems to be very straightforward, but depending upon the first number i.e. No.1 that you dialled, you will be charged differently. You can dial a Free phone, which is a free calling number, but you will get less minutes on dialling this number(i.e. surcharge will apply). There is another number called Local Access number, on which normal land line rate will be charged, but this amount wont get deducted from your calling card, and you will get more minutes. So whenever the companies are advertising they are telling the minutes you will get from Local Access number. So remember on Free phone number, surcharge will apply. This surcharge is about 3-5p per minute. For Asia connect calling card it is 3p per minute. The biggest problem with these cards is that if you talk for say 15 minutes, they will deduct 20 minutes. Thangam, asia connect, Asia Planet talk have got this problem. This can also be because of the surcharge they are charging. If you do not want any hassle better go for First national. No such problem will be there. Voice quality: First National is the best although it gives lesser minutes as compared to others. Some people hear eco with Savers others do not, so I am not very sure about it. Although this gives good number of minutes as compared to First National. In Asia Planet talk there is a lot of eco and as far as the minutes are concerned, it is more or less equal to Savers, so it is better to go for Savers. Normally these £20 cards give about 130 minutes of talk time.(Remember you get these in about £14) Now comes the card I heard very recentlyAsia Connect. Depending upon the city you are calling, it gives different minutes. E.g. if you are calling Mumbai, you will get 210 minutes, Delhi you will get 380 minutes and Calcutta you will get about 500+ minutes. I tried this card and I called Delhi each time. If I use to call for 10 minutes, it used to cut 15 minutes and so on, but still at the end of everything, it gives much more minutes than any of the above and the voice quality is also good. So I will recommend AsiaConnect specially if you want to call to Delhi/Calcutta.
Here are a few more tips: 1) If you are for a very short duration in UK, not sure when you may have to return and does not make calls very often then it is better you to go for a £5 calling card. 2) If you make calls very often irrespective of your stay in UK, you can go for a £20 card, as you will get this in £14. Remember if somebody is selling you any £20 card in £20 then better go to some other shop or if you want it urgently, go for a £5 instead. There are many more cards, and unless you use them you cant say about them. I hope this will be helpful for many people who are visiting UK for the first time. -Gaurav