Calling Jamaica

[guyingb]

i know that some of you call negril. what is a cheep calling card or online service. seems to me that i am paying to much for this. i get a card for $25 and get about 65 minutes. there must be something cheaper. thought i would as the experts

[monk]

skype.

[Rob]

There is the Digicel international plan. A lot of locals have the plan - it costs ja$1 a minute - which is less than a penny and a half per minute us$. That is about as cheap as it can get...

[Jamerican71]

Try www.pennytalk.com

We have found it the rates to be cheapest to call family in Jamaica.

[MissBlue]

www.Ringyard.com

[beccajean_ca]

There is the Digicel international plan. A lot of locals have the plan - it costs ja$1 a minute - which is less than a penny and a half per minute us$. That is about as cheap as it can get...

What is the cost of this plan and is it available on pre paid? Thanks.

[shellyk]

If it will be lenghly I go online to Digicel top up and it costs me less than a 10th to top up the phone ( add minutes) of who I want to speak and I send them a text to call me $12.00 gets me atleast an hour vs what my long distance bills were and any of the other methods I tried.
Verizon long distance had a 30 cents a minute JA plan a few years back but i think last I checked it went to 60 or 80.

[monk]

There is the Digicel international plan. A lot of locals have the plan - it costs ja$1 a minute - which is less than a penny and a half per minute us$. That is about as cheap as it can get...

you can send the top up to the person online at the digicel website, then they can purchase the international plan with that amount.

if you sign up to digicel they will also alert you to all kinds of double bubble promos, but that is for local calling.

[Ohio_Buckeye_1]

As others point out, it is cheapest to top-up friends/family in JA and have them call you after they turn them into international minutes. That costs them $1J/min to call you. I think they need a minimum balance on their phone of $1000J to convert them to international minutes by dialing some ext - no need to visit a store. Those $1000min are good for up to 30days - expire after that.

For times I need to call to JA - I have an account with http://www.nobelcom.com/.
No need to get a physical card, can setup pin-less dialing, automatic re-charging, etc. Variety of plans for different rounding times, connection fees, etc. I think they all do that now.
For me, a $40 re-charge usually lasts me 2-3 weeks - but many times I call and talk for the 2 min they are going to charge me regardless - and have my fiancee call me back with her cheaper minutes.

For all these cards, watch out for teaser prices. They all, including one I use, seem to have low prices listed prominently, but those are to land-lines in JA - very few PEOPLE have landlines, but is good for calling hotels and other businesses. Calling a cell phone in JA has a higher per min charge.

[monk]

As others point out, it is cheapest to top-up friends/family in JA and have them call you after they turn them into international minutes. That costs them $1J/min to call you. I think they need a minimum balance on their phone of $1000J to convert them to international minutes by dialing some ext - no need to visit a store. Those $1000min are good for up to 30days - expire after that.

I used to use the nobel, too, but it would up being just cheaper to get the international plan.

one thing you bring up ohio is the 1,000J, but you have to make sure you make the purchase so that they actually get the full 1000, because there is tax and nonsense. digicel tells you how much the recipient will get when you top them up, so you have to make sure you are actually sending them more than the 1,000. otherwise they will be short and will have to (maybe) make it up on their end.