For International Visitors - Chicago with Kids - page 285

cards in denominations up to $50; these can be the least expensive way
to call home. Many public phones at airports now accept American
Express, MasterCard, and Visa credit cards. Local calls made from public
pay phones in most locales cost either 25¢ or 35¢. Pay phones do not
accept pennies, and few will take anything larger than a quarter.
You may want to look into leasing a cellphone for the duration of your
trip.
Most long-distance and international calls can be dialed directly from
any phone. For calls within the United States and to Canada, dial 1 fol-
lowed by the area code and the seven-digit number. For other interna-
tional calls, dial 011 followed by the country code, city code, and the
telephone number of the person you are calling.
Calls to area codes 800, 888, 877, and 866 are toll-free. However, calls
to numbers in area codes 700 and 900 (chat lines, bulletin boards, “dat-
ing” services, and so on) can be very expensive—usually a charge of 95¢
to $3 or more per minute, and they sometimes have minimum charges
that can run as high as $15 or more.
For reversed-charge or collect calls, and for person-to-person calls, dial
0 (zero, not the letter O) followed by the area code and number you
want; an operator will then come on the line, and you should specify that
you are calling collect, or person-to-person, or both. If your operator-
assisted call is international, ask for the overseas operator.
For local directory assistance (“information”), dial & 411; for long-dis-
tance information, dial 1, then the appropriate area code and 555-1212.
Telegraph and telex services are provided primarily by Western Union.
You can bring your telegram into the nearest Western Union office (there
are hundreds across the country) or dictate it over the phone ( & 800/
325-6000 ). You can also telegraph money, or have it telegraphed to you,
very quickly over the Western Union system, but this service can cost as
much as 15% to 20% of the amount sent.
Most hotels have fax machines available for guest use (be sure to ask
about the charge to use it). Many hotel rooms are even wired for guests'
fax machines. A less expensive way to send and receive faxes may be at
stores such as The UPS Store (formerly Mail Boxes Etc.), a national chain
of retail packing service shops. (Look in the Yellow Pages directory under
“Packing Services.”)
There are two kinds of telephone directories in the United States. The
so-called White Pages list private households and business subscribers in
alphabetical order. The inside front cover lists emergency numbers for
police, fire, ambulance, the Coast Guard, poison-control center, crime-vic-
tims hot line, and so on. The first few pages will tell you how to make
long-distance and international calls, complete with country codes and
area codes. Government numbers are usually printed on blue paper
within the White Pages. Printed on yellow paper, the so-called Yellow
Pages list all local services, businesses, industries, and houses of worship
according to activity with an index at the front or back. (Drugstores/phar-
macies and restaurants are also listed by geographic location.) The Yellow
Pages also include city plans or detailed area maps, postal zip codes, and
public transportation routes.