VISA Card and Calling Canada collect

Here's what I do:

I make a digital and a paper copy of emergency phone numbers including banks that handle my ATM card and my credit cards. I also include key tel numbers of my siblings, my doctor, the air carriers I am travelling on, and my medical insurance carrier. The digital copy I store on my phone in a "Notes" file. The paper copy goes into a plastic pouch with my other documents (I am old and neanderthal, so I still carry a paper copy of reservations for my lodging and my rail/air travel and a picture of my passport home page).

I also use Skype credit to call home and it's available in an emergency. In the US, you buy in $10. increments. Then I can call both mobile and landline numbers back home whenever I have a decent internet connection. Call cost is very, very low. I also use Skype occasionally to make reservations when I am calling from the US to Europe. Others on this forum have recommended other Skype-like calling applications like Viper.

Of course, with a good internet connection, you can call from one Apple phone to another for free using Facetime, but calling a landline, such as your bank in the case of a lost or stolen credit card, is not possible with Facetime or Whatapp.

aname4me said:

Question: How does one make a Collect Call from Spain to Canada (without any Spanish) ?

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I'm not sure of all Canadian banks/Visa cards but my CIBC Visa card has an international number to call for when you are out of country. You could call this number free from any Albergue, hotel, etc. Worst case scenario, you could use open a Skype account and call from your cell phone if you buy a few dollars of credit (this allows you to call any other cell or landline anywhere in the world) it will be more than enough and will work anywhere you have wifi connection.

aname4me said:

Question: How do you get the phone number off the back of a Lost/Stolen Card ?

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I believe it was @trecile who came up with a good idea of creating a cell phone background image that included her emergency information, email address, etc. That would work in the event you lose your phone and someone else finds it so they can contact you to return it. It could also include the phone number of your credit card company, insurance company, etc.

Question: How does one make a Collect Call from Spain to Canada (without any Spanish)?

As a Canadian living in Spain, I have discovered that it is not possible to make collect calls from Spain. This simply is not an option from a landline, a mobile or pay phone. Be prepared to call direct by dialling 001 followed by the area code and the number you are calling.

You do not need to call collect. Install Fongo VoIP app, which is free, and get a Canadian number. As long as you are connected via wifi or mobile data, you can call any Canadian number across the country free of charge via the internet, as if you are in Canada. Sound quality varies, depending on your access upload speed, but it works.