Most companies will give you long-distance calling cards to use when you travel. Calling card rates are usually much higher than the rates you pay for the calling plan you select. When you select a long-distance company and a calling plan, be sure to carefully check their calling card rates, particularly if you travel frequently and will use the calling card. But you can keep those federal charges to a minimum by comparing them when you are comparing carriers' long-distance rates. When you make a change to another long-distance carrier, a service order charge will usually apply.
Some companies have a monthly charge for their lowest rates.
Once you have calculated your average number of minutes of intraLATA calling per month, you can calculate whether a monthly charge will save you money. There are several organizations that provide information to help consumers make choices about telephone service. You can also purchase individual copies of the Tele-Tips rate comparison charts. P.O. Box 27279, Washington, D.C. 20005. They also have information about high speed Internet access, as well as the Internet, information about medicine and energy that is of interest to consumers.