Who pays for the long distance when call forwarding?

[TransferCutter]

First off, I have Vonage in Canada.

Okay, for when I travel down to the US,

I set my Vonage to call forward to either my MagicJack or a US cell phone number. Now my Vonage can call to the US as a local call (either MJ or Cell).

Now for the question

A local call comes to my home, it's forwarded to a number in the US.

Does the local call stay as a local call and my Vonage takes care of the forwarded call to the US?

or

Does the local caller become a long distance call because it's going to the US and they get charged for the long distance?

[tony]

A local call comes to my home, it's forwarded to a number in the US.

For the caller, their call terminates at your house so it's a local call for them. It's your Vonage service that takes care of the call after that and you bear any long distance costs if there are any.

PS. what US cell phone do you use in the US? For our trips to the US, we pickup a pre-paid Net10.com phone in a dept store or a drugstore. Lasts for 60 days and lets us set up 2 Canadian numbers so friends and relatives can call the Net10 cell phone toll free. Only problem is Net10's system only accepts US based credit cards and they won't ship phones out of the US. Bit of a pain to go searching for a place to buy them on arrival and do all the setup so Canadians can call the new cell phone. Always seeking any better alternative.

[TransferCutter]

I started years ago with a Tracfone. Still have it. Can buy a top up from callingmart or pinzoo, call tracfone and reactivate it.

But I switched over to Tmobile. Bought a SIM card on ebay and pop it in my regular phone when I cross the border. Have used it quite a bit over the last few years and once I had bought over $100.00, I have their gold reward status. Now, all top ups last 1 year. Even a $10.00 top up lasts a year.

I used to call home a lot and it cost me quite a bit but now with google voice and MJ, a $25.00 top up lasts me a year as all calls are 10 cents a minute and I can keep them as a US number.

Now with your info, (thank-you) I can make it easier for others to get a hold of me with no cost to them. I just learned the other day that with my tmobile listed with my google voice, I just have to call my GV#, press #2 and then dial the number I want to call. This works even to Canada. Gotta love VoIP. So a local call to GV is 10 a min and they make the call for me to Canada.

May I suggest you look into using GV for calling to Canada and look into Tracfone. Unless it's changed, once your phone expires and deactivates, all you need is a valid topup card, go online or call in to reactivate your phone. You'll get a new number but you can be up and running before you leave.

http://www.pinzoo.com/
http://www.callingmart.com/
http://www.tracfone.com/

[tony]

May I suggest you look into using GV for calling to Canada and look into Tracfone. Unless it's changed, once your phone expires and deactivates, all you need is a valid topup card, go online or call in to reactivate your phone. You'll get a new number but you can be up and running before you leave.

http://www.pinzoo.com/
http://www.callingmart.com/
http://www.tracfone.com/

Hi,
Thanks for the tips and links. Will check out Tracfone. I think Net10 is a division of Tracfone and the parent company may offer some more options. When I'm next in the US and connected by a US based IP address, I'll sign up for a GV account. I've requested an invitation.

Agreed, VOIP is good.

[update] Just checked out pinzoo.com, they take paypal so it's a way for people with non-US based credit cards to buy Net10 airtime.

[TransferCutter]

Tony, I double checked Pinzoo. They also sell topups for Net10. If you have an old phone of their, call them and ask if you can activate it again if you buy a new topup. You might be able to be up and running before you go next time.

[tony]

Tony, I double checked Pinzoo. They also sell topups for Net10. If you have an old phone of their, call them and ask if you can activate it again if you buy a new topup. You might be able to be up and running before you go next time.

Hi,
Thanks. I checked their website too, $30 for 300 minutes. Unfortunately, I checked with Net10 and apparently the SIM card on my phone has "expired' whatever that means I can't re-activate the phone until I get a new sim card. Net10 has offered a free replacement sim card, but Net10 won't mail out of the US. I've had them mail the sim card to a relative in the States.

Weird thing is I can buy a new Net10 phone from one of their retailers for $19.99 and get 300 minutes included!! If they would only open their market to north of the border, they'd do better business--compared to me buying a $20 phone on each trip instead of re-using ones I already have!

[TransferCutter]

Oh, yes, the SIM. My old Tracfone is a CDMA. No SIM. I can reactivate over and over. You did the right thing. Mail to a relative and then have them mail it to you. Now you'll be ready to go. Just buy your top-up, throw in the new SIM, and you're ready to travel. Good stuff

If you ever need more info, check out http://www.howardforums.com/. They have a whole forum for Net10/Tracfone