The cards work on land, too, at pay phones. With prepaid cards, telephone service is purchased in advance. Users dial a toll-free number and enter a personal identification number to activate their accounts. A familiar retailer's name on the front of a card is no guarantee that the distributor is dependable, as Kmart customers found out last year when the store's distributor ran into trouble. Cards on sale at federal facilities are safe because telephone carriers supply them directly to the government.
Cards sold at federal installations often feature illustrations to warm a fed's heart.
MCI has custom-designed a series of five cards to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force, for example. Some business travelers already swear by another new type of phone card-the enhanced calling card. The Worldlink card from Premiere Technologies, for example, enables travelers with e-mail accounts on Compuserve to scan their messages and forward them to any fax machine to be printed. Travelers can save up to 70 percent on international calls and avoid hotel access fees and surcharges by using enhanced calling cards, reports Sato Travel's TravelLine newsletter. Savvy international travelers have discovered they can exchange money at more attractive rates than offered by banks and travel agencies by simply using ATMs overseas.