What is the difference between area and postal codes?

Answer 1

A postal code is part of a mailing address, used for routing "snail mail."

An area code is part of a telephone number, used for routing telephone calls.

Answer:No, a postal code is usually a 5 digit number signaling where you live, an area code is the first three numbers in a phone number. Answer:This is a better explanation if you know very little about area and postal codes.

An area code is different from a postal code in that the postal code helps route mail as was used in the first half of my reply. An area code has always to do with your phone number. Unless you know how a countries phone service is set up it can sometimes be hard to tell what the area code is. But in general it is the first three numbers at the beginning of a phone number. Not all places require the area code be used if you are calling or phoning from within the general area like a city or town as mentioned in postal codes. But many large cities may have several 'area codes'. If you live out side a particular area code for your location it is usually a must, to dial the area code first, then the actual phone number of the place you are calling. If you know the phone numbers of several people or businesses in a close area they will all have the same first three numbers, then the actual phone number of that household or business follows the area code. The United States and Canada are the same in their calling systems for the most part. If you are far enough away, you may have to dial 1 or 0 first to make the call. In this case it becomes a long distance phone call and cost much more money. There are country codes as well when it comes to long distance phone calls to Another Country. Such as North America calling Europe. The country code is required so the phone system knows which country to route your phone call too. People usually learn early in life what the phone system is for their country. When I was a child if I called a friend in my neighborhood, I only had to dial the actual phone number for that household. As I grew up, the city I lived in got much bigger and we eventually had to dial the area code first, then the actual number. My city got to the point where for the phone system to handle all the phone calls it had to add a new area code for the city. People didn't like it as half the city was changed to a new area code. Like a line was drawn down the middle. That was when we had to start dialing 10 numbers instead of 7 numbers. But for everyone in my half of the city the first 3 numbers are the same. The split came because the city got so big there was not enough phone numbers for every household. When they divided the city they now could actually use the same numbers all over again. But it was no problem and nothing got mixed up when calling someone because each side of the city had a different AREA CODE. There are many places that within that particular town you only have to dial 7 numbers, because it is still small. But in bigger cities it's 10 numbers to dial a phone number, because it's so big. When calling some one long distance you must know the area code to make the phone call. Like a postal code for routing mail to it's location, you can tell where in a country someone generally lives by their area code. So they can both be used to tell where someone in general lives by knowing their addresses postal code or area code of their phone number.

Answer 2

No, they are very different, although many people mistakenly use them interchangeably.

A ZIP Code is a postal code for a street address or P.O. Box in the United States. (Some other countries have postal codes, but it is incorrect to call them ZIP Codes.) It is used for mailing letters and packages.

An area code is a telephone prefix that identifies telephone numbers in a part of a country.

For example:

Joe Fictitious

1234 Nonexistent Street

Bogus, UT 99999-1234

Tel. (311) 555-0123

In this example, 99999 would be the ZIP Code, and 311 is the area code.

Answer 3

An area code is a numeric prefix for telephone numbers in a particular part of a country. A postal code is a numeric or alphanumeric code for mailing addresses in a particular part of a country. Postal codes generally cover much smaller areas than telephone area codes.