Released April 24, 2001

Take advantage of free listings!

"Save up" your requests and ask for more than one listing where allowed. Before you call directory assistance, make sure you know all the listings you need, rather than calling for just one. If you discover a few minutes later that you need another listing, you pay the full fee all over again.

Use Internet Look Ups.

These are free, so use them whenever you can. They are also getting more accurate. A new FCC rule has made it easier for Internet DA to be updated more often.

Note from 10-10PhoneRates.com: Links and evaluations of free online white pages and yellow pages are available on our Related Links page.

Dial 411!

Use 411, whether national or local, whenever possible. It's almost always cheapest. Let's say you make 10 calls in a month, requesting one local directory assistance listing each time. In the Washington, D.C. area, using 411 will cost you $1.80. Using AT&T's heavily advertised "00" will cost you $14.90. Using 411 saves you $13.10! Get the chart to see the savings in other areas!

Call a Friend Instead.

Depending on your calling plan, it may be cheaper to call a friend for a number than using directory assistance. For example, if you are on a wireless phone with "unlimited night and week-end" calling, consider calling a friend who knows the number you are looking for, or who has access to a phone book. Or if you are on a calling plan that charges only $.05 a minute, it takes a 20 minute phone call before you spend as much as one DA calls costs!

Keep Numbers Handy.

Get a good phone directory system or use the technology that many phones offer. Most cell phones let you record in a directory the numbers of incoming phone calls automatically. Similarly, with new phones for home, they almost always have a speed dial function. These technologies can pay for themselves compared to the growing cost of directory assistance today.