5 Ways To Save While Travelling!

5 ways to save money on phone calls while travelling abroad.

If you are travelling abroad this season, don’t waste money on phone calls: talk as much as you like for free or nearly free.  If you use any or all of the ways to save described in this article you’ll have more money to spend on real fun.  All you really need is a free account with www.stanacard.com.

1. Accept calls from home with no roaming charges: StanaCard international forwarding service lets you avoid all roaming charges wherever you go. It lets you forward calls from your current phone to a foreign number in the most cost-efficient way. Your friends and loved ones who are calling to check-in will not have to pay a dime.  They don’t even have to know you are out of the country.  Read more about this feature here.

2. Make Mobile VOIP Calls: When you are in an area with Wi-Fi access for your smartphone, smart device, pc or tablet use VoIP (calls over the internet) to make cheap international calls with StanaCard. All you need to do is log in to your favorite mobile SIP app with your StanaCard login info. As always, StanaCard’s excellent quality and low rates apply, along with a chance to see real-time account reports on StanaCard’s site.

3. Make Cheap Direct Calls Home from a Local Phone: If you are travelling to one of the 50 StanaCard countries you can make local calls which we will seamlessly re-direct to any international destination. You will only need to pay StanaCard’s very  low rates. No roaming charges or high mobile provider’s rates. For numbers you plan to call a lot, like your wife’s or boss’, you may want to get StanaCard Numbers, which are free local numbers which will connect you directly to your destination. However, if your trip is short or you do not plan to call a number more than once, dial a StanaCard access number at your present location plus the international number you need to reach.

4. Free StanaCard Calls With Our Referral Program: Don’t forget to tell any new friends you meet while traveling about StanaCard, it will save both of you money. As soon as your friends join StanaCard, we will put the same amount of money in your account that your friends put in theirs, completely free of charge to you. You can use this credit anytime to make calls or you can cash out and get real money. The more friends you refer to StanaCard, the more free international calls you can make for free, so remember to be friendly on your travels!

5. Our Rates Are Unbeatable By Our Competitors: StanaCard’s low rates and lack of unnecessary extra charges such as Skype’s “connection fees” make it the most affordable service around. With us, what you pay for is what you get. Unlike many other providers with hidden charges and set credit expiration dates, StanaCard has absolutely NO hidden charges or exceptions. We are 50% cheaper than Skype, an average of 30% cheaper than our other competitors, and we are cheaper and far easier to use than a typical calling card, where you have to dial a series of complicated numbers just to place one call.

StanaCard’s near real-time reporting allows you to check your account right away and see all the great savings. Login now or open a free account today!

Service	Description	Device and Requirements	Your Charges	Avoided Charges
Stanacard Intl Forwarding	Accept calls from home while travelling abroad without paying any roaming charges	Any phone	StanaCard’s low rates, plus your cell providers rate for a local call	No Roaming, Your friends and family pay nothing to call you international
StanaCard SIP Phone	Make StanaCard calls from your favorite mobile SIP application or phone to make crystal-clear StanaCard calls	Any smartphone, SIP phone or computer Wi-Fi or regular internet access	StanaCard’s low rates, std. msg & data rates to your telecom	No Roaming
StanaCard Local Numbers	Use StanaCard’s local numbers from one of our 50 countries to make local calls that reach your international destination.	Any phone	StanaCard’s low rates, plus your cell providers rate for a local call	No Roaming
StanaCard Referrals	Tell your friends and family to sign up with your referral code and they receive double their first purchase and you receive the same purchase amount.	Word of mouth, business cards, email, blogs, twitter, Facebook or any way you want to get the word out	n/a	You don’t even have to pay StanaCard’s low rates.  Make calls for FREE
Stanacard Rates	Our rates are almost 50% cheaper than Skype and nearly 20% cheaper than other competitors.	Any phone, smart device, PC or tablet	StanaCard’s low rates, plus your cell providers rate for a local call	No Roaming
StanaCard also has near real-time reporting that allows you to see your savings instantly.

European Freeze Shuts Down Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Holiday travelers in Europe have run into some serious problems this week, as flights are down in many of the continents busiest airports, and there is currently no end in sight.  Even many trains – which seem like the safer alternative in winter weather – have been cancelled across Europe.

Only a few flights managed to make it off the ground at London-Heathrow, and over a third of flights in other travel hubs like Frankfurt and Paris have been grounded.  Perhaps the city hit the worst by the freeze is Brussels, whose airport has cancelled every flight until at least Wednesday because they were not prepared with de-icing liquid.  European train companies with services between UK, France, and Belgium have also canceled or delayed several of their scheduled services. 

Paris has just gotten another round of snowfall, shutting down their bus system, slowing down traffic, and worst of all for many young Parisian’s, forcing Lady Gaga to cancel her show at Bercy Stadium.  Berlin had to shut down their commuter trains and many of their roads, while Dutch authorities decided to enforce a 50 km/h speed limit on many of their highways.  Italian airports at Pisa and Florence just reopened today after being shut down all weekend. 

Need a better idea of how bad things are?  In Moscow – one of the coldest and snowiest places in the world, where over 9,000 snowploughs clean the streets – numerous city roads have been shut down by authorities until further notice.   

This string of unseasonably cold weather has been hitting Europe since late fall, and as we’ve mentioned before, this has caused an influx in holiday travel reservations, especially out of the UK.  Unfortunately, it appears for now that many of these hopeful holiday travelers literally cannot escape the freeze, as the Met Office in Britain has warned of even more snow and ice in the coming week.  Temperatures got as low as -19.6 degrees Celsius in the UK, and radar only shows more snow and below zero temperatures. 

Have any relatives who may be stranded in European transit hubs?  Looks like they’re going to have plenty of free time on their hands, so why not give them a call?  With Stanacard’s call forwarding technology, you can simply dial their local number and pay absolutely nothing, and they will only pay our service’s super-low rates.  So go ahead and spread the holiday cheer, but whatever you do, do not complain about how badly you want a “White Christmas.”

By @StanaMark

Freezing Temperatures Drive International Travel

It’s that time of year again.  It finally feels like winter here in New York City, as temperatures have crept down to the low 20’s, and city dwellers have yet again begun to wonder why they put up with winter after winter.  Though we think we have it bad here, we still have a lot less to complain about than many places in the UK.  This is UK’s coldest December so far since 1981.  Some Britons have already been putting up with sub zero temperatures for weeks, and many have had enough and decided to head to warmth.

Many travel sites such as Lowcostholidays, Travelmatch, and TravelSupermarket have reported spikes in holiday travel reservations out of the UK this year.  These websites say that holiday travel from the UK to warm-weather destinations such as Egypt, Turkey, Spain, Dubai, Thailand, and the Canary Islands have grown significantly since last season, most likely due to the extreme cold.  Perhaps the most popular destination has proven to be Miami, Florida, which Hotels.com has reported having a 700 percent increase. 

The British aren’t the only people trading in their boots for sandals this winter season.  Canadian travel to popular sunny destinations like Florida, California, Jamaica and Mexico has also significantly risen this season, as about 55 percent of Canadians said that they plan to take a vacation in the next three months, as opposed to only 6 percent who are planning a “staycation” close to home. 

Luckily for all of you British and Canadian folks who plan to get out of your freezing countries around the holidays, Stanacard has a great rate for almost any sunny destination you want to soak it up in.  Check out our rates below for the countries that are popular this season in the UK and Canada. 

UK to…………………………………………...Egypt: 11.88-14.28 cents per minute

          …………………………………………..Turkey: 3.0-8.9

          …………………………………………..Spain: 2.32-21.38

          …………………………………………..Dubai: 13.99

          …………………………………………..Thailand: 2.28

          …………………………………………..Canary Islands: 2.39

          …………………………………………..Miami, FL: 3.12

Canada to………………………………………California/Florida: 3.12 cents per minute

                ………………………………………Jamaica: 9.99-19.99

                ………………………………………Mexico: 2.70-10.99

Traveling to or from somewhere else this winter?  Check out all of our super-low rates here.

By @StanaMark

Spending a Plane Ticket's Worth in Int'l Calls: Crazy Roaming Fees!

Are you planning on going away this holiday season?  Or ever?  Here are some quick statistics on long-distance calling from another country based upon three popular service providers, a 2-week trip, and an average calling time of 20 minutes per day.  You'd be surprised!


StanaCard has come up with a great way to get rid of those nasty roaming charges! Interested? Click here

The rates shown are for the cheapest available through the listed providers.  For a more in-depth example, check out the step-by-step calculations for Mexico below the chart!

For AT&T Customers:

The standard roaming rate is 99 cents.  That’s without a plan.  If you get the World Traveler Plan, you need to pay $5.99 per month for the service.  After that, you will be paying $.59/minute for calls from Mexico.  Let’s say you use on average 20 minutes per day on that plan – a couple quick calls here and there.  Let’s also say you’re only there for 2 weeks. 

You are still charged the monthly $5.99.  Then, 20 minutes a day at 59 cents per minute for 14 days comes out to be a grand total of $171.19.  Oof!  This is the plan for people who travel most often to more places.  And this is in addition to your existing plan!

Now, they have a Mexico-specific plan, as well.  You activate the service with a $4.99/month surcharge.  After that, the standard rate is again $.59/minute.  Same math is involved.  You spend 2 weeks, 20 minutes a day, etc.  The final total is a mere dollar less than the World Traveler Plan: $170.19.

For T-Mobile Customers:

For those with Smart phones, the option of calling over Wi-Fi is available and costs the same as a local call from a local number.  However, for those who do not: the roaming rate for Mexico with a prepaid phone plan is $1.49 per minute and that rate “doesn’t include local tolls or long distance charges.”  They have no extra plans to sign up for besides this one rate, so let’s do the math.

2 weeks x 20 minutes per day x $1.49 per minute = $417.20.  Holy cow!

For Sprint Customers:

The international roaming charge to Mexico (sans hidden fees) is $1.69/minute.  There is a bundle for international roaming, but Mexico does not qualify.  So with the same math that we did previously, the final roaming costs for your 2-week stay in Mexico would be… $473.20!  Depending on where you’re coming from, that’s about the same cost as the flight!

StanaCard has come up with a great way to get rid of those nasty roaming charges! Interested? Click here

Need to Call Home While you're Away?

Hello all! It’s Autumn once again. The World Cup 2010 is here and I know a lot of you guys are travelling. StanaCard wants to make sure that you stay connected to your friends and family so you can gloat cheaply and easily so we have launched four new access numbers in South Africa. You can use these access numbers with any phone.


If you already have an account with us and are planning to travel, you can recommend our service to your friends and family. They will receive double their purchase and you will receive the same amount. You can of course use this to make free calls or cash out and purchase some much needed football gear. Everyone has a personal referral code, please login to your account and find yours under the referral manager tab. Once your relatives have an account they can add you hotel number, number where you will be staying or the cell number that you will use while you travel. This way they can stay connected cheaply and easily.


We have local access number all over the world. For those of you traveling to South Africa for the World Cup you can use our access numbers in Capetown or any of our other local access numbers. Here’s how it works:
1. Dial our local access number from any phone you choose.
2. Enter your 14 digit pin code
3. Dial the international number you wish to call
4. And that’s it.


Remember guys you can use access number at any time, whether you are away on a business trip for a day or you decide to stay at the beach for a month. You can take StanaCard with you everywhere.

I would just like to add that I am completely jealous of anyone travelling to see the World Cup. I wish I was there with you and don’t forget to call me and tell me all about it.

Happy Calling
The StanaCard Support Team