Best Value Way to Call Russia?

[visaveteran1 33]

I talk to my wife three times a day. I use a company called WDT. I think it's about 15 cents per minute but I stopped monitoring it. I accept the $100 per month phone bill as the cost of maintaining contact with her until we're together. Having to use pin numbers or sweating the fine print of hidden fees is not worth it to me. And there is value in just keeping it simple. What will I save bargain hunting? Maybe $10 or $15 per month shopping around. I look at this expense as nickel and dime compared to the costs for immigration fees and travel to Russia.

The calling has evolved from once a day to three times as the pain of missing each other has grown. Amazingly, my wife talks a lot given her limited English so we never lack for conversation. Talking frequently helps make the days go by faster and keeps us from getting too depressed as the immigration chaos and absurdly long process unfolds. Just hearing her voice puts me in a good place and we're actually developing our relationship and deepening our connection just talking on the phone. IMing or emails can't give that to me.

It would be nice to use skype but she is not good with computers so we're limited to the standard phone.

[slim 1,525]

I talk to my wife three times a day.

My wife is here and I don't think we talk that much.

We're a lot like the Russia forum, we handle business pretty quickly and then it's straight to the off-topic stuff.

[eekee 182]

Haha, I think that's what usually happens in a marriage once you're actually in the same country.

I talk to my wife three times a day.

My wife is here and I don't think we talk that much.

We're a lot like the Russia forum, we handle business pretty quickly and then it's straight to the off-topic stuff.

[Satellite 1]

I really don't like phone calls. I prefer to talk in face to face.

Add me here. Of course I already made my point about in person relationship building.

I talk to my wife three times a day.

Lucky, I suppose. When we were apart we talked like twice a month because I was and still am poor. Email was free so we did a lot of that instead and ICQ. Limited myself to two $5 cards per month; which still got me a total of 5 hours using:

http://www.uniontelecard.com/phonecards/2051/boss-usa/ at $0.04/m with no service fee.

[CARY 0]

I have the international plan with TWC. For $20 a month you call up to 3000 minutes a month. If you go over 3000 it sounds like they spank you and take away the service as they consider it abusive??

[slim 1,525]

TWC, is that Time Warner Cable?

If so, I need to check into that.

[eekee 182]

My mom got a cheap plan for calling Russia when I moved there through verizon. I don't remember how much it cost, though. I do know that she started getting a lot of junk mail written in russian.

[CARY 0]

TWC, is that Time Warner Cable?

If so, I need to check into that.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/centraltx/P...ernational.html

You will also need their digital phone plan. Reception versus Bell South is awesome. Without even telling my sweetheart I changed carriers for the first time her reponse was "Baby, I hear you so clearly today."

[slim 1,525]

Well I'll be dipped. We've had TWC the whole time we lived here and I've never even heard of this plan. Very cool. I'll be calling them later today. No more phone cards for us!

[CARY 0]

Well I'll be dipped. We've had TWC the whole time we lived here and I've never even heard of this plan. Very cool. I'll be calling them later today. No more phone cards for us!

For whatever reasons, they do not offer it in everywhere in the US. I hope your location is one of them!

[slim 1,525]

We have TWC. I didn't call yet (will Monday) but it should be offered here, I don't see why not. We get all the other garbage they offer.

I noticed at the bottom it said there's calling cell phones only offered in some countries. Russia wasn't on the list... can cell phones still be called?

[CARY 0]

Good catch! This is my first month on this plan so luckily I have only called her land line. It appears cell phone calls default to the normal rate of $.26 a minute.

Calls made on my cell phone I use

http://www.mobilecaller.com/

$.085 cents to a Russian cell phone. .08 cents to regular landline.

They have a good clear connection.

[mox 298]

Good catch! This is my first month on this plan so luckily I have only called her land line. It appears cell phone calls default to the normal rate of $.26 a minute.

Calls made on my cell phone I use

http://www.mobilecaller.com/

$.085 cents to a Russian cell phone. .08 cents to regular landline.

They have a good clear connection.

I use mobilecaller too. The only thing I don't like is that they won't give your call history to you very easily. You have to call them, and then they make you justify why you need it. But yeah otherwise it's good.

[slim 1,525]

Guys, when you take your call history to the interview, it's not really necessary to have an itemized, printed sheet of "proof" that you talk on the phone. Take a couple of phone cards or simply explain how you use SMS or web chat or instant messenger or whatever. They don't need a mountain of evidence.

I believe the best thing to do is have your plane ticket stubs, hotel receipts, etc. (proof of meeting) a dozen pictures or so, a couple hand-written letters, a couple printed e-mails, and a couple of phone cards/bills/print-outs/whatever. Couple the physical evidence with your new "letter of intent" and you're all set.

Don't sweat the evidence and "proof" of an on-going relationship too much. Simply paint the picture that they're looking to see. (And it can be paint by numbers, doesn't have to be a Picasso. Although I don't know if Picasso would help them see what they want to see anymore than a paint by numbers. But you get the idea. Rembrandt. We'll say Rembrandt.)

[Leedah 22]

I use Nobelcom. I call Gambia which is more expensive to call than most anywhere else in the world,...and I still get 2-4 hours of talk time.

I have a link on my profile that will give you 15 minutes to try it free (no credit card required).

Hope this helps.