Where to Buy Phone Cards

Location, location, location

From virtual obscurity only a few years ago, there are now a huge variety of locations where you can purchase phone cards in North America. These include convenience stores, fuel-filling stations, department stores and major discounters, flea markets, grocery stores, and a vast array of online retailers. You can even get them from your telephone company and many financial institutions.

In general, there is no particular “best” place to buy a phone card, since the phone card issuers themselves rarely have reservations about selling through multiple and competing channels. So even if you have a particular card brand or a particular fee structure in mind, you may be able to find the same or nearly-identical cards at a convenience store or gas station as you would at a department store or other major retailer.

Many online phone card stores may have a broader selection than would likely be available at most retailers. This is due to their low overhead and ability to maintain a large stock of cards. In many cases, since the “phone card” purchased from an online phone card store is really just a Personal Identification Number (PIN) and access telephone number, the sellers don’t even have a physical item in stock. They simply order a series of access codes from a card issuer, and then mark them up and sell them to you, the customer. Although this may sound unfair, it should be noted that online stores are buying many more cards than any consumer could possibly use. This allows them to sell the cards at what would still be a reduced rate compared to the price consumers would pay to a card issuer on an individual basis.

As with other types of purchases, there are places where you should definitely NOT purchase phone cards. If a stranger on the street offers to sell you anything, you should not purchase it - or if you do, be prepared to lose whatever value you pay, as stolen phone cards are easily deactivated by the issuer. There have also been cases of phone cards being sold as new when they have already been used; so remember, if you don’t trust the seller, don’t make the purchase. Avoid buying phone cards in any establishment that does not guarantee their products - if you make a purchase from such a vendor, you do so at your own risk.