Speaking as someone with a very talkative elderly aunt who lives alone in a city several hours away from the rest of the family, I was thrilled to discover this money-saving plan for making it a lot less painful to open my phone bill!
YAK for 5 Cents/Minute
YAK charges just 5 cents per minute for long-distance phone service — anytime — anywhere in Canada or the USA. The international phone rates are also pretty decent.
To access the service, you just dial 10-15-945 or 10-10-925, then immediately continue to dial your long-distance number as usual, including the prefix 1 and area code. There’s nothing to sign up for, you’re charged only for the minutes you use, and it appears on your regular phone bill. Yak is available in the United States as well as Canada.
38 Minutes for a Looney
Canadians can also take advantage of a LooneyCall, also from Yak Communications. To connect with LooneyCall, just dial 10-15-565 then your full long-distance number, anytime of day, any day of the week, inside Canada and to the States. Under this deal, you can get 38 minutes for $1 flat rate.
The LooneyCall rate works out to 2.63 cents per minute. If you talk longer than the 38 minutes, it goes to 5 cents a minute after that. If you don’t talk for the full 38 minutes, or if you reach a voicemail when you call, you will get charged for the full dollar. Of course, there’s no charge if all you get is a busy signal — the call actually has to be connected for it to count.
Yak Communications president Charles Zwebner recommends doing this to get the best long-distance savings:
Use Yak to call someone to make sure they’re home (that’s 5 cents for a one-minute call). Then call back on LooneyCall at the 2.63-cent rate. (Just watch your time to avoid jumping into the higher rate after 38 minutes. It’s cheaper just to call back for another 38 minutes of discounted rates.)
Now, the deal I’ve had with my local telephone for the last couple of years was running me 10 cents a minute, and I had to call on evenings and weekends. Not bad, but these new options should make life a good bit easier around here — and be easier on the wallet, too!
I am now using YapOn for all my long distance calling. I use it on my cellular as well as my landline. Not only is it a reliable, high quality phone service, it is really easy to use and saving me a LOT on money! I can even call my friends and relatives who are overseas with my cell phone for pennies. There are no connection fees, hidden OR monthly fees, I get everything I pay for! And without having to change my cell phone provider or rate plan!