In my last episode, I talked about the time when I spent $900 on a phone bill. I mentioned how Akira, a student then from Japan introduced my brother and I to International calling cards. Some of the phonecards I have used were African Dream, Hello Africa to name a few. These cards were purchased at the International Grocery Store, scratched off and then saved into our phones.

I have had instances where I was “flashed”- a situation where someone calls you for a few seconds and then hangs up. The times I ignore it, I would be called again with the caller saying please call me back, I do not have a lot of minutes to talk of the phone. If and when I call back, I have had to rely on calling cards and today, we have apps on our phones that enable us to purchase and call internationally from the app. Here are some of the apps I have used:

Ringo, Boss Revolution, Rebtel, Viber,

Rebtel

I used Rebtel for a long time but something happened that made me stop using it. I have to rethink why I moved away from Rebtel and then I will update this post.

Viber

I can purchase plans to call on this app, and I can pay via Google Play with PayPal. The rates are high for Nigeria. It uses Wi-Fi/ Data to call which can be a hassle sometimes.

Ringo

I love Ringo because it has the options for you to call with Wi-Fi/ Data or just use your phone minutes to dial. The rates for calling Nigeria were quite high so I have not used it for a bit.

Boss Revolution

This is my favorite. It has the lowest rates to call Nigeria and I love this because they have deals going on always- you get bonuses for purchasing and I believe first time users get a benefit too. For instance, I got an alert that if I purchase on mother’s day, I can get a percentage added to my purchase. I like that. The app also has options for one to send money overseas or top-up on a persons phone minutes etc.

One thing I do not like about Boss Revolution is that it uses Wi-Fi/Data. This can prove expensive if at a place that one has no wi-fi capacity.

Is there a calling card you often use and is there an app that helps you call overseas?