bpistr@ciba-geigy.ch (Joseph C Pistritto) (07/27/90)
A couple of years ago I got an AT&T Calling Card for using USA Direct from Switzerland (the rates are about half the PTT's here). Anyway, its one of the ones billed to my VISA card, and the number on the card bears no relation to a US phone number, (I don't have one...). When I got it, the operator I spoke with said that it was a 'restricted' calling card, and that I could not use it IN the US, just on USA Direct. Well, always being one to test these things, I had the chance to use it while in the Bay Area a couple weeks ago. In an AT&T 'CardCaller' phone no less. I used it sucessfully to make an international call, as well as several long distance calls in the US, obviously using AT&T as my carrier. So what gives? Has this restriction been phased out, or was it just a load of crap from the beginnning? An annoying thing is that those 'card caller' phones (you know, the ones with the fancy green CRTs in them), don't seem to allow international calls without operator assistance. I tried from several in the SFO Airport with no success. On the other hand, the operator (always AT&T) completes these calls without asking any questions charging normal card call rates. Is this international restriction true from all payphones in the US? Joseph C. Pistritto (bpistr@ciba-geigy.ch, jcp@brl.mil) Ciba Geigy AG, R1241.1.01, Postfach CH4002, Basel, Switzerland Tel: +41 61 697 6155 (work) +41 61 692 1728 (home) GMT+2hrs!