back
to top
How do I register as a new customer?
Before entering your credit card information,
you need to login to your account first. If
this is your purchase at FirstPhoneCard.com,
you will need to setup your own login name and
a password in order to create an account. Please
remember to leave no spaces in your Login name
or you may not be able to login to that account
again. (For example, “phone cards”
is an invalid login name but “phonecards”
is valid.) If your login name has been taken,
you will be prompted to enter a new login name.
You must use an email address as your password
because all purchase related correspondences
will be sent to that email address.
back
to top
What is my billing address?
After successfully creating your account, you
will be prompted to enter your billing information:
name as it appears on your credit/debit card
and billing address. The billing address is
the address to which all of your credit/debit
card monthly statements are mailed. Entering
an incorrect billing address could prevent you
from receiving your instant phone card in a
timely fashion.
back
to top
Is my credit card transaction secure?
Because we prize the safety and security of
our customer's personal information, we employ
128-bit encryption technology to ensure that
all of your personal information, including
your credit card numbers, is transferred securely.
(To take advantage of our 128-bit encryption,
you may need to upgrade your browser to the
128-bit encryption version as well.) Please
refer to our Security
and Privacy Policy for more details.
back
to top
How do I use my instant phone card?
The instructions are very simple to use. The general
steps are:
- Dial
the toll free number or local access number
provided
- Enter
your phone card pin number
- Enter
the destination number
It's just like using a regular phone card, and
you can use your instant phone card from any telephone
in the home, office, school, etc. (Be careful
of special surcharges when calling from campus
phones or payphones!)
back
to top
How long can I keep using my Instant Phone
Card?
Unfortunately, these phone cards do not last forever.
Many of them have an expiration date (e.g. 60days,
90days, 120days, 180days.) As a result, your phone
card is only valid until the expiration date or
until all the minutes are used up, whichever comes
first. Please read the description to check the
expiration date.
back
to top
What is a connection fee?
Some of our low rate phone cards have a connection
fee associated with them. A connection fee is
charged against your phone card every time you
make a phone call. Typically, these types of
phone cards are best suitable for people whose
calls last more than an hour. However, the major
disadvantage of a connection fee is that you
may be charged a connection fee even if the
phone system is busy or your call is disconnected.
Regrettably, not all phone card companies would
refund such a connection fees under these circumstances
since it is very hard to determine if the disconnection
was caused by their system. Therefore, please
keep this in mind when considering any phone
card with a connection fee.
back
to top
What is a monthly (or weekly) service fee?
One way phone card companies lower their calling
rates is to increase the call volume. Therefore,
a monthly or weekly service fee are flat fees
charged monthly (or weekly) in order to encourage
you to use up the phone card as soon as possible
to avoid constant service fees. Usually, service
fees are applied after completion of your first
call.
back
to top
What is 1-minute rounding?
Typically, your phone call time is measured
in seconds. However, when your calls are completed,
the duration is rounded to the next second minute.
This is called 1-minute rounding or 1-minute
increment. Even if your call lasts less than
1 minute, your phone card will be charged for
1 minutes. Again, if your calls are very long,
the 1-minute rounding has little impact on your
pocket book so please select your phone cards
wisely.
back
to top
What are the taxes associated with a phone
card?
There are several applicable state and federal
taxes associated with phone cards. For example:
Federal Excise Taxes, California Communication
Service Tax, FCC Tax, Sales Taxes, Carrier Universal
Service Tax, Carrier Property Tax, State Gross
Receipts Surcharge, Universal Lifeline Surcharge,
Local Communication Tax, California High cost
Fund Surcharge B, and the surcharge for State
911.
back
to top
Can I recharge my Phone Cards?
Yes, we have four rechargeable phone cards
for you to purchase. They are Rechargeable
Phone Card, China
Call Back, Lovers
Phone Card and Success
Phone Card. With these phone cards, your
pin number will stay the same and the pin will
not expire as long as you recharge money into
it before the expiration period from first purchase
or last recharge. To recharge your phone cards,
please login to My
Account to find out more.
back
to top
Who handles customer support?
Our main goal is your satisfaction. Therefore,
our customer satisfaction consultants will contact
the service providers on your behalf in order
to rectify the situation. Typically, most problems
are corrected by the next business. One major
exception is lost minutes which takes a few
days more because the carrier must investigate
on a case by case basis in order to adjust lost
minutes.
back
to top
What is the return policy?
In our dedication to customer satisfaction,
we do everything to ensure your happiness with
your purchase. If you are still unsatisfied
with your purchase, we can usually exchange
your phone card for store credit or provide
a refund less a 15% restocking fee.
back
to top
How do I change my e-mail address?
If you would like to use a new email address,
please login to My
Account to change your email address. Please
double check your email address to make sure
that there are no errors.
back
to top
How does the rewards system work?
We treasure our customers at FirstPhoneCard.com.
Therefore, we reward our returning customers
with discount programs based on total purchases
made over time. The more you purchase the more
discount you will get next time. You could get
up to 10% off through this discount program.
back
to top
If I have a coupon, how do I use it?
After you select the "Buy Now" option for your
phone card, you will be taken to a login screen.
- If you already have an account, just login
as you normally do.
- If you do NOT have an account, then please
click on the "Open Account" button, and follow
the instructions to create an account.
In the next step, there will be personal information
that needs to be entered and/or verified. Between
the Phone Number box and the Purchase Agreement
selection button, you will find a Coupon Code
box. In this box, please enter the EXACT coupon
code. (Please double check your spelling.) With
a correct coupon entry, your order will be accordingly
discounted.
back
to top
What is the “100%
Satisfaction Guaranteed” label
for?
Our "100% satisfaction guaranteed" label is
our assurance that you will be happy with your
purchase. That is, you will receive high quality
connections and no loss of minutes. Look for
our satisfaction guarantee on select international
phone cards. Usually, these phone cards have
the highest rating (5 stars). Our rating system
is based on a combination of actual, tested
usage in combination with customer feedback.
Thus, use the rating system as a guide in purchasing
phone cards.
back
to top
How do I view my Calling Details Record
(CDR)?
Online CDRs are made available for Green
Asia phone card and First
Phone Card. Please look for the Online CDR
Available in the phone card note for additional
phone card with online CDR. To view your calling
record, please follow these steps:
- Login into your account at My
Account and click on "View CDR"
link;
- Find the PIN # you want to check the CDR
for
- Click on this PIN # (This link is available
only for phone card pins with online CDRs)
- Please wait for the record to load (it can
take up to a couple of minutes so please be
patient)
- View your calling record
back
to top
How do I exchange a phone card?
As part of 1stPhoneCard customer satisfaction
guarantee, if for whatever reason you are not
satisfied with your phone card due to quality
or convenience, we will gladly exchange it to
a new phone card of your choice. You will receive
credit for the remaining unused portion of the
phone card at the time of actual exchange toward
the purchase of the new phone card. Please send
e-mail exchange request to
service@1stphonecard.com with the following
information:
- Old pin number
- A written promise not to use the old pin
number anymore
- Name of the new phone card you wish to exchange
for
- A written statement to charge the difference,
if any, to your credit card
- Reason why you want to exchange the phone
card
Typically, an exchange request will be processed
within ONE business day.
back
to top
What is the difference between local access
and toll free access?
Local access numbers are the phone numbers
in your area in which you can use your phone
card. Typically, these numbers carry no long
distance charges which make the calling rates
for local access numbers cheaper. That is, you
can get more minutes from your phone card by
using a local access number. However, during
heavy usage periods (like holidays), these numbers
can be overloaded.
Toll free access numbers are the phone numbers
that start with 1-800, 1-888, 1-877, 1-866,
etc. By using a toll free number, you are charged
a slightly higher rate because your phone call
is routed using the least busy line. Therefore,
you have slightly fewer minutes but usually
have less busy signals from the toll free access
number.
back
to top
If there is no local access number from
a particular phone card in my local area,
how else could I use the local access numbers
from this phone card at other area codes?
It is VERY important to check with your local
phone company that there are no long distance
charges for calls made with these local access
numbers. If you could not find any local access
numbers in your local area, you can still use
local access numbers if you have a cellular/mobile
phone or home phone with free domestic long
distance. Here, you can place the call with
your cell phone to a local access number and
avoid long distance charges. However, please
be aware that you may have to pay for your air
time depending on your cellular phone contract.
back
to top
What is Pin Skipping or Pinless Call feature?
Pin Skipping or Pinless Call is making a phone
call with a prepaid phone card without the having
to enter your pin number. This phone card provider
charges your call according to your home or
cell phone number. A brief setup process is
required to use this feature.
back
to top
How do I set up the Pin Skipping ?
To set up the Pin Skipping feature, please
login to My
Account and click on the Pin Skipping link.
After you complete the setup, all you have to
do is call our local or toll free access number
from the telephone number you registered.
If you purchased the Lover's
Phone Card, Clear
Phone Card, China
Call Back card, or Toll
Free Phone card, you could also set up the
Pin Skipping on your phone before entering the
destination number:
1. Dialing the Toll Free or local access number
from the phone you want to set up pin skipping
feature;
2. Enter your phon card pin number and then "#15##"
(This will automatically assign your Pin number
to the caller ID of your phone). All future calls
to the phone card access numbers will be billing
toward the pin number.
back
to top
What will happen if my phone card has expired
or used up with Pin Skipping? How do I remove
this feature from my phone card?
After your phone card is used up and/or expired,
your telephone number will still be assigned
to your Pin number for Pin Skipping. However,
if you purchased a new phone card, you don't
have to remove the pin skipping to the old phone
card. You just need to set up the pin skipping
feature with your new phone card in My
Account.
If you purchased the Lover's Card, Clear Phone
Card, China Call Back card, or the Toll Free
card, you can remove Pin Skipping before the
pin is completed used up by:
1. Dialing the Toll Free or local access number
from the phone number;
2. Enter #16## (This will automatically disassign
your Pin number from this phone number )
back
to top
How do I update my new phone card with Pin
Skipping?
You can always reconfigure the pin skipping
feature to a new phone card by logging into
My
Account and click on the Pin Skipping link
back
to top
What is Follow-Me Speed dial?
A follow-me speed dial is a special feature
of a prepaid phone card where you only need
to press the same 2 keys to call any domestic
or international phone numbers from any phone.
This will make your phone card use much easier
and it will save you time and effort as well.
back
to top
How do I set up the Follow-Me Speed Dial
for my phone card?
To set up any phone number (0118610612345678)
into speed dial "1" of your phone
card,
1. dial any local or toll free access number
for your phone card;
2. enter your Pin number
3. Press "#2#1#0118610612345678#".
Here, the 4th key "1" is your speed
dial number. To store your second Follow-Me
speed dial number, just enter "#2#2#0118610612345678#".
To make a phone call with a number saved into
speed dial 1 of your phone card, simply replace
the destination number with "1#" to
complete your call. There are up to 25 speed
dial available for most of the phone cards.
back
to top
How many phone numbers can I register using
this Pin Skipping feature?
You can register up to three phone numbers
to be billed directly to your phone card Pin.
When your minutes is used up, you can purchase
another card and repeat the procedure. To avoid
this inconvenience, please purchase the Rechargeable
Phone Card. You can set the Pin Skipping feature
just one time and keep the same pin number.
It will never expire if you recharge these cards
every 89 days. If you need a rechargeable card
with 180 days expiration date, we recommend
you to purchase the Success Phone Card, Lover's
Card, or the China Call Back
back
to top
After I set up Pin Skipping and Speed dial
on my phone card, how fast can I make a call
using my telephone?
With both the Pin Skipping and Speed dial
features setup on your phone card, you can complete
your calls within 3 seconds.
It is recommend you purchase a rechargeable
phone card because this allows you to setup
these two features just one time. All you need
to do is recharge your phone card periodically
within their expiration period. With this convenience,
there's no need to reconfigure these features
every time you purchase a new phone card. If
you have a cell phone with free domestic long
distance, you can dial any California Local
access number and you can get more minutes from
your phone card.
back
to top
Which phone cards has the features of Pin
Skipping, the Speed dial, and Rechargeable?
Currently, the rechargeable, pin skipping
and the speed slot feature is available for
Rechargeable Phone Card, China
Call Back, Lovers'
Phone Card, and Success
Phone Card.
back
to top
How can I save money by getting only the
local service from my phone company?
You can save up to 60 % on your long distance
costs by getting only the local service from
your phone company and by using the Business
Phone Card. A typical long distance service
would cost you between 4-10 cents/min with additional
monthly service fee from a long distance service
provider. With the local service from your phone
company, you could make domestic long distance
calls for 2 cents/min using the Business Phone
Card. That is a minimum savings of 60%!
In addition, you can make international long
distance calls at even bigger savings than your
long distance provider. For example, calls to
Canada charges 1.5 cents/min, China 1.9 cents/min,
or the UK charges 2 cents/min. Even better,
you can set up both Pin Skipping and Follow
Me Speed dial and use the Business card from
your home phone or cell phone.
back
to top
How do I find out a prepaid phone card that
could be used outside of United States?
Go to www.1stPhoneCard.com
and look for "Search for Phone Cards".
The pull down menu, on the right of "To
Call From", lists all available countries
and regions, in which a phone card is available
for your travelling need.
back
to top
How can I reach Customer Service?
If you have any questions and would like to
speak to Customer Service, please feel free
to contact us Toll Free at 1-800-495-8598 or
1-800-861-0530.
If you are outside of the USA, you can use
our International Toll Free Customer Service
Number. Simple dial 001-617-819-3231 (1-617-819-3231
if you are in USA), wait for two rings, and
then hang up your phone. (Since you are not
connected, you will not be charged for the initial
call.) Our Customer Service Representatives
will call your phone within a minute during
business hours. We are available Monday through
Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard
Time.
You can also go to Customer
Service Center and fill out the online form.
You will receive an email reply within 4 hours
during business hours or within 24 hours on
weekends and Holidays.
