After carefully reviewing your cheap travel options and planning an affordable trip that includes cheap airplane tickets and discount hotel rooms or cheap vacation packages a trip can become much more expensive if you do not know how to wisely navigate around car rental insurance policies.
If a renter does not want any unanticipated accident expenses, he should consider buying the rental companys collision/loss damage waiver, commonly referred to as CDW. The problem though is that signing up for such a policy usually costs an additional $20, and often more, per day, often doubling the base rental rate.
The best alternative to signing up for such rental insurance is to rent with a credit card that includes collision coverage at no extra cost. All Visa and Diners Clubs cards offer this coverage at no cost, as well as almost all American Express and Discover cards and some MasterCards.
To make certain of your credit card coverage you should:
Contact your credit card company to confirm coverage.
Be aware that debit cards, even ones carrying MasterCard or Visa logos do not typically include CDW coverage.
Credit card CDW coverage is limited to a max number of rental days for each individual rental contract, usually between 14 to 30 days. If you need a longer rental, look into returning and then re-renting your car. Check with your credit card company since often they require a certain number of days between one rental and the next before coverage kicks in.
Most credit card coverage only pays what a renter cannot recover from his regular automobile insurance. Only Diners Club pays the entire amount. American express offers primary coverage for $25 per rental.
If you want/need to purchase car insurance, some companies offer primary CDW coverage for much less than car rental companies.
Credit card CDW only will be in force if you charge your entire rental on your card and read the fine print to make certain you have declined the rental companys CDW. If you pay cash for a minor extra such as a ski rack or GPS system, then the credit cards CDW is voided.
If there is any damage to the car you are given, you should point it out to the rental agent and take pictures of your rental car prior to driving it off the lot so that you have a way to prove that you did not cause that damage while renting it. www.cheapfares.com