Cheapest International Calls NZ

International Phone calls

There are numerous deals now for cheap international phone calls. These can be either with phone cards through your home phone or deals operated through the internet.

If you don’t want the hassle of using international calling cards or the internet then telecom still has some deals that you may not have heard about.
Save money on International Calls with Telecom.
If you’re happy with Telecom and don’t want to change phone companies or use other phone cards, Telecom has a number of services to save you money on your international phone calls.
Note: But remember you can usually get even better deals with other companies.
0161 International Calls on Telecom
Telecom has a international calls service called 0161. They seem to keep this service quiet!
It is meant to be a lower call quality but from when we have used it we haven’t noticed any difference.
The difference in price compared to standard Telecom rate is amazing!
eg Call Australia
Peak Rate during the day 8am-6pm weekdays:
Standard Telecom rate: 65c/min
0161 rate: 13c/min!!!
Off Peak Rate (6pm-8am weekdays and weekends)
Standard Telecom rate: 47c/min
0161 rate: 8c/min!!!
It is simple to use:
Just dial 0161 before the international number you want
ie If dialing Australia on 0061 you call 016161 instead.
This can save you a huge amount of money on your international calls.
Remember when Telecom has special offers they dont include 0161 calls.
To find out more go to the 0161 page to see the price they offer.

 

$3 & $6 International Talkathon

 

This service offers calls to:

Australia for $3 for up to 2 hours and

UK, Ireland, USA or Canada for $6 for up to 2 hours (after this charged at very expensive call rate)

Calls from weeknights 6pm to 8am Monday to Thursday and 6pm Friday evening to 8am Monday morning and National Statutory Holidays.

 

You can only call landlines with this rate. Check it out for more information.

International Phone cards in New Zealand 

There are numerous phone cards now available in New Zealand so you have to check out which is the best value for the country you are calling as one card can be cheapest for one country but isnt necessarily the cheapest for another.

For calling cards you just dial into local access number & then dial international number. These access numbers often cost money for payphones & mobile phone but not from landlines. There is however a solution with the V8 mobile phone card, which we will tell you about below.
There are 2 big companies fighting it out for cheapest international phone card in New Zealand

1. CardCall

The site allows you to select the card you need based on use of your calls and to which country.

2. Compass Communications

A good site for comparing international calling cards is at:
We’re not sure what they are like to buy from but they are useful in listing the prices for different destinations. Note they don’t list all the phone cards!

For phoning the UK for example, the following is often the cheapest (rates in NZ cents/min +GST) :

Meihua Card
Tends to be the cheapest phone card for a number of destinations Currently 1.5c -China & UK. 2.5c – OZ, NZ landline (check for mobile rates)

International calls from your NZ mobile
This phone card seems to be the best on offer if you’re using the phone whilst travelling.
Calls start from 5 NZ cents/min (UK, OZ etc) + 19c connection fee (per call)
You can also use the internet to make calls abroad using VOIP.
VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol).
VOIP is where you use the internet to make phone calls. This area is developing all the time but is relatively new in New Zealand and there are relatively few suppliers compared to abroad.
The few companies that offer VOIP services in NZ are:
With the above services they offer a service where you can plug your normal phone into a section internet adapter and then you make your calls through your broadband service. If you call abroad often, this can save you alot of money compared to normal Telecom prices.
Computer to Computer Phone Calls
One of the biggest companies to offer this is Skype. This is particularly useful for free international calls. These costs can mount up over time but you can even do it across New Zealand.
With Skype you call between computers anywhere in the world over the internet for free.You need the Skype Program on both computers with each having speakers or headphone (to listen) & microphone (to talk to each other) and when you are both online you click on a button to call each other. If you have a webcam you can even make video calls!