Anyone who ever calls Delta, when you are done with the call, you get the request about cars and hotels. Also, as you can see from MY DELTA page, we also see the adds on our home page at Delta.

Now I am all for earning extra Skymiles and a discount on top of that would be great too as I am always looking to both earn more Skymiles and save a few bucks.

But when I looked to rent a car from Hertz in Sweden on this last trip, you can see that for a day rental the price was just a little high. But was it a good deal or not? So I went direct to Hertz to see.

Humm… Not seeing the BIG 15% discount Delta.com was promising here, but I would get a few extra Skymiles this way if I booked it so there is that, right?!

But you know what, Air France also has a deal going. They are saying I can save up to 24% off and when I use their link and code, as you can see from the above, the price DOES in fact drop a bunch. How nice and even a bigger car for the price (I also check other places like MouseSavers as well).

I would love to get feedback from readers if you have ever used the Delta codes and have found a good deal in both price and points due to the offer on the website. As for me, in the end I used my USAA discount and earned Hertz points and got a much better rate than any of the above. It does go to show that Delta.com links can be checked to see if they are worthwhile, but as most have found they are rarely the best deal to be had! – René

▲Delta▲ SkyMiles® Credit Card
RESERVE/PLATINUM/GOLD
from American Express®
Click here for more information

So I have reviewed both VISA and AMEX & MC. We have looked at the perks and drawbacks of them all. So what card will I use after spending so much time reading all the T&C of all the programs? First some info.

My wife is one of the smartest (& most beautiful) people on the planet. She made straight “A’s” in school and takes care of the dozens and dozens of credit cards I keep applying for every 3 months for both me and her. She does not complain (well much) and gives me so many good ideas when it comes to travel. One the best things she has ever said, on a trip one time, is this simple statement: “if it costs less that $25 to fix, it is NOT worth getting upset about“! What brilliance. Simple, clear, brilliance. I tend to obsess over many details of a trip and in the past got upset over the small stuff. Ya know, that is just DUMB and silly. Thank you my bride, yes, if I can fix stress for $25 on a say $3000 vacation, then it is NOT a problem.

Now fast forward to the summary of the first two posts from how to pay for your rental car. Several readers touched on the fact that both the United card and Diners Club card offer what is called primary protection. That means, unlike the other cards we have talked about, if there is an issue, then it pays out rather than your insurance. Sounds good right. Well, not so much. Here is why. They only pay for YOUR car – NOT – the other car or whatever it is that you hit. A bunch of traffic accidents involve at least 2 vehicles, so how good is insurance that covers only one vehicle when both will be involved in the crash! Plus, guess what, most of the got “got ya’s” like 15 days max rent or $50k or $75k max primary payouts and more still apply. So, this is NOT a dream solution.

But now the key part. You MUST check your personal car insurance. USAA  is just about the best car insurance on the planet and I doubt anyone will argue that point with me. They cover me on a rental, in the USA, just like it is my own car. The exact same coverage I have on my car. But also the same deductions.

But as you can see, ONLY in the USA (plus a few more US territories). When I go to rent a car say in Grand Cayman later this year, they will not cover me for one single Cayman dollar!

So, what do I do? Do I just pay the $15/day insurance coverage? No way. As some of my very smart readers touched on both days, AMEX has a program (Read the T&C here) you can sign up for HERE. They have a $24.95 package and one for $19.95 (in CA it is always $17.95).

The top package, that is charged just once when you rent, covers you for up to $100,000 and has so many less “got ya’s” than the std AMEX free policy. It is NOT perfect as you still are  LIABLE  for any other cars you hit. So we still don’t have PERFECT solutions, but we now have all the tools to make this all work. Here is how this will work.

Situation #1: You check your policy and it covers you in the USA. You then pay for the rental with your VISA card of your choice (or Diners Club) as between the VISA and YOUR insurance you are good to go under most situations if under 15 days. There is NO upcharge and you can be happy and say NO to the extra insurance costs. If over 15 days go to situation #2.

Situation #2: You have  NO  car insurance. Then, you get the AMEX policy for $24.95 or $19.95 that is a ONE TIME fee for up to 42 days of rental, AND, so VERY important, when you rent you DO say YES to ONLY the added liability charge/fee. You have full coverage for your car and stuff but must PAY UP for the liability in case more than just you are involved in a crash.

Situation #3: You are renting Internationally (not in Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, or New Zealand) . Then, you again get the AMEX policy for $24.95 or $19.95 that is a ONE TIME fee for up to 42 days of rental, AND again, so VERY important, when you rent you DO say YES to ONLY the added liability charge/fee. You have full coverage for your car and stuff but must PAY UP for the liability in case more than just you are involved in a crash.

That is it kids; it really is just that simple! If you need to rent longer that 42 days, on the AMEX plan, you can return the car, rent on a NEW contract, and be good for another 42 days. The only time you don’t fit in 1,2,3 is if you are in a country that AMEX will not cover you! The only way around this is to rent in a country next door and as you will have protection in those otherwise no coverage countries if you rented in another land (just how does one drive to Australia?).

AMEX, as others and I have talked about, is just the BEST when it comes to paying out on these types of claims. That IS peace of mind. A last thought about the above, when in the USA I have my own medical insurance, outside the USA, I like the added perks of the AMEX policy should I ever need it!

Some other bits of info to sum this all up. You will have to pay the AMEX International transaction fee as you still need to pay for the rental IN FULL with your AMEX so no points here unless they are Membership Rewards points. So what if it costs you a few bucks more; you are paying for peace of mind on a trip. Also, just about any AMEX card you have under your AMEX login will be part of this package. So, say you have BOTH a personal and business Delta Reserve card, you can pay with either one. If on a fun trip, use that card and you are set. If on business trip use that card and you are set and will be billed only when you use the card to rent a car! How great is that? – René

▲Delta▲ SkyMiles® Credit Card
RESERVE/PLATINUM/GOLD
from American Express®
Click here for more information

On Tuesday I had a post about using just about any VISA card to pay for your rental car to give you additional protection over and above from your normal insurance (please read that post to get some background). Today I will review choosing an AMEX card over a VISA card. In a final post this weekend, I will look at the last few options like an AMEX upgrade or a card that offers primary coverage; but for today’s post, this is just a standard AMEX card we are talking about.

Like VISA, almost ANY AMEX will give you protection. Having said that, just about each AMEX has different T&C as to what the exact benefits are for that card so you have to check. For example, depending on the card, coverage covers only cars with a mfg. suggested retail price of $50,000 for the Delta GOLD or PLATINUM or the RESERVE up to $75,000. VISA has no such firm numbers, but still it shows the importance of checking to see if a car is in fact covered (when the link is working as I was doing final checks and got the below):

For us, who are most likely to have Delta AMEX cards, here are some facts. Also, like with VISA, what are the “got ya’s” we need to know about?

#1) Not covered: expensive cars, which means cars with an original manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $50,000 or more when new.
Can you think of how many cars cost more than $50k MSRP? Big got ya!

#2) In no event shall coverage be provided when the Card member rents a Rental Auto beyond 30 consecutive days from the same Rental Company, regardless of whether the original agreement is extended, or a new written agreement is entered into, or a new vehicle is rented. Additionally, no coverage will be provided when the Primary Renter rents a Rental Auto for more than 30 consecutive days out of a 45 day period within the same geographic market/location (75 mile radius).
The PRO over VISA is you get 30 days NOT just 15 of coverage, but you can not just switch companies after the time is up. You could go Visa then AMEX then VISA I would think.

#3) NOT COVERED: Full sized sport utility vehicles, including but not limited to, Chevrolet/GMC Suburban, Tahoe and Yukon, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, Toyota Land Cruiser, Lexus LX450, Range Rover or full-sized Ford Bronco. [also trucks]
YIKES! Many of these are covered with VISA. My last rental in Salt Lake, had I paid with my Delta Reserve card, would NOT have been covered!

#4) No coverage for Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, and New Zealand.
Again, you have to check, that is one of the most frustrating things as depending on your card, these terms may or may not be there.

#5) Membership Rewards redemption certificate, in which case, the participating Car Rental Companies mean Hertz, National and Budget, only.
With American Express Membership Reward points, you can see you are limited to only a few car rental companies. There is a clear advantage with Chase Ultimate Rewards, as you can use them with many more rental car companies.

I could really go on and on with the “got ya’s” like the fact that if your statement is past due you will not be covered but there are exceptions in some states to that. Also, you have to pay for the rental in full so don’t use say 1/2 Ultimate Rewards points and 1/2 AMEX to pay. The bottom line on these is you must read with the card you have just what your perks are and are not. This is one of the hardest parts about this post as there is no way to cover all the points as they are different over infinite circumstances. The same thing goes for Mastercard. You have to check with each card. Some have NO coverage some have similar to VISA or AMEX. So, you just have to check.

To be fair, there are some big things that are perks over VISA like personal property in a car up to $1000 and up $2000 with others in the car. There is life insurance up to $200,000 plus $20,000 per passenger. If you check you will find some others. But for me, the “legalese” and differing conditions for differing cards, even inside the Delta family of cards, really bothers me. To me, the perks of this program do not outweigh the drawbacks. To me, VISA is simple and straight forward across all the VISA products.

Some final personal thoughts. What are you trying to get? Do you want your deductible covered if you have an accident? That is what I am looking for. I am not looking for extra coverage in case of damage to my stuff. I have life insurance so I don’t pay with my AMEX to protect my family if I were to die in a wreck (would they even know to check for this?)! I have never rented a car for more than two weeks, but others I know do. I love so much of what AMEX offers with Delta, but when it comes to this perk, I will NOT have “peace of mind” if I were to choose AMEX to pay for the rental.

So what do you think. Are you surprised by this information? Let me know and check back on Saturday for the final post on this topic! – René

See the FINAL post in this series HERE!

▲Delta▲ SkyMiles® Credit Card
RESERVE/PLATINUM/GOLD
from American Express®
Click here for more information

I have rented a few cars this year and have got some killer deals. The first, from Advantage rentacar was just $6.49 a day base rate. Loved it and did get the “hard push” that I should take the full coverage for the car since I would have to pay my deductible if anything went wrong like “with the paint” (the paint? really? ok then). My next rental this year with Enterprise I got a soft push for the full coverage as well but in both these instances I said NO because between my USAA car insurance, that does cover me when I rent a car, and my Chase Sapphire card or even my Marriott card I am 100% covered (or so I thought).

As you can see by the graphic from the Chase site, they flat out tell you to “decline the rental company’s collision damage waver coverage“. Well that sounds very nice. But, do you notice the little ” * ” by those words. Humm…. The card member agreement, HERE, does not talk about it much.

So the little star takes you to the above page. It says to take you to your “Guide to benefits” to find out more information. OK so what does THAT thing say? Here is where you need to understand the card benefits.

The rental coverage is NOT, again NOT, from Chase but from VISA itself. As we all know, there are many companies that use the VISA logo. The good news is that almost ANY VISA will do to get this perk. “This benefit is available on all Visa Standard Credit, Visa Rewards Credit, and Visa Premium Rewards cards.” You can download HERE a PDF of the full info I will be touching on next.

There are a BUNCH of “got ya’s” that you MUST think about. Here are the big ones:

1) “Any additional drivers permitted by the auto rental agreement are covered”
Make sure if you let ANYONE drive they are on the contract as an authorized driver (not that you ever let anyone else drive it anyway right).

2) “Only vehicle rental periods that neither exceed nor are intended to exceed fifteen (15) consecutive days within your country of residence or thirty-one (31) consecutive days outside your country of residence are covered. “
Only 15 days in the USA and 31 days outside the USA! If you rent longer, you should switch to another company or it may just be considered to exceed 15/31 days (but even this has risks – there is another tip I will cover later).

3) “For the benefit to be in effect, you must: Initiate and complete the entire rental transaction with your eligible Visa card, and decline the auto rental company’s collision damage waiver (CDW/LDW) option, or similar provision.”
I reached out to VISA about this, and they said, points or cash is all fine with Ultimate Rewards so either way is AOK. But I would to be sure pay something with your card to show points and card was used.

4) “You must make every reasonable effort to protect the rental vehicle from theft or damage.”
Even after a wreck, keep in mind you are responsible for THAT CAR!

5) “Theft or damage due to intentional acts, or due to the driver(s) being under the influence of alcohol, intoxicants, or drugs, or due to contraband or illegal activities.”
It is totally stupid and criminal to drink and drive but if you do, and crash, don’t expect VISA to pay for anything!

6) “Confiscation by authorities.”
I have been told nightmare stories from Mexico and other places. Watch out, outside the USA or if you are dumb enough to do worse things covered in point #5 while you have the car!

7) “Theft or damage from rental transactions which originated in Israel, Jamaica, the Republic of Ireland, or Northern Ireland”
Along with point #6 this is good info to know!

8 ) “expensive, exotic, and antique automobiles; certain vans; vehicles that have an open cargo bed; trucks; motorcycles, mopeds, and motorbikes; limousines; and recreational vehicles.” – “However, selected models of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, and Lincoln are covered.” – “This benefit is provided for only those vans manufactured and designed to transport a maximum of eight (8) people including the driver and which is used exclusively to transport people.”
Be careful what type of vehicle you rent. It may not be covered. To be safe, you can call VISA to see if your car is covered before you get there. If the company offers you another car, VISA is open 24/7 so to be rock solid sure you can call and confirm that your rental is in fact covered.

9) “You, the cardholder, are responsible for reporting your claim to the Benefit Administrator immediately, but in no event later than forty-five (45) days* from the date of theft or damage, or your claim may be denied.”
This sounds simple but they had better be one of the first people you call. And I would write down who you talked to and the reps employee “ID” number too!

10 ) “A copy of the accident report form.” – “A police report, if obtainable.”
This is important. I would always call the cops. Even in a “no fault” state, get a report to be safe.

So there you are. This is a great perk from VISA and if we know the above, we should be able to enjoy saying “NO” to the additional insurance when they ask you and say that it is covered by my card! But, is this the BEST choice? Should you use your VISA to always rent a car? Or, is say your DELTA AMEX RESERVE card a better choice or maybe a MasterCard? I will cover all this on Thursday! – René

PS see the next post in this series HERE & HERE!

▲Delta▲ SkyMiles® Credit Card
RESERVE/PLATINUM/GOLD
from American Express®
Click here for more information

I really like Frontier Airlines. Not because I have ever been on one of their jets, but because they came to SBN and thus Delta had to compete with them on fares. I was able to find a great redemption from my buy-one-get-one-free companion certificate that is a benefit of the Delta Reserve AMEX card so Lisa & I both flew out to Denver for under $200 all-in. I earned both MQM’s and RDM’s (2x RDM’s since I am Platinum Medallion) and Lisa earned nothing on the free ticket.

First some tech stuff about the trip. As you can see, since I always use online check-in, I was prompted to offer up my seat. All the flights were full but not over so no joy there.

The next bit is that these certs have the restriction that you may not ever get an upgrade. If you are GM+ you can pick EC (economy comfort) seats but that is it. The web site still allows you at check-in to request a medallion upgrade, but it does not work. In the past you could split the PNR and get the paid seat upgraded and the free one not. Also, in the past, you could get agents in the Skyclub or at the gate to override the lockout for the upgrade list and you would then have a chance at an upgrade. I can tell you all the old ways are done and Delta’s “outstanding” IT department has successfully locked down all these workarounds (now maybe they will have time for the award calendar bugs – nahhh).

The phone app is also a bit confused as it seems to let you choose a medallion upgrade on the certs and tells you that you can pick a first class seat, but then when you try it you get an error and it will not lock your seat in.

So we were off and on our way from ATL after visits to the xpress spa, Chili’s and Skyclub in the A concourse. I love booking enough time between flights to enjoy the travel day so it become part of the vacation rather than stress!

Our 757-200 had the configuration where we could select the 2 seat EC exit row (seat Guru as this as avoid but they are wrong). These seats have as much leg room as BE (business elite) seats on an internationally configured bird. I could not reach the seat in front of me with my leg stretched out. Just perfect!

Once we arrived, we went out the doors to the shuttle bus to Advantage car rental. I was a bit worried after having read about this company’s ratings, and walking into the rental office it did feel a bit “low rent” but I was very pleasantly surprised by the rental. Sure the rep pushed the fact that my auto insurance did not cover things like tires and paint, but I am a big boy and can say NO to extras. Plus I paid with my Chase Sapphire for additional auto protection. There was a line but my wait was no more that 10 min. They did not have the tiny 2 door car I had requested (they warned me that is what I had requested – I said as long as it runs it is fine) and I was put in a 4 door Toyota Corolla. They want you to do the inspection and I marked all the places on the car that had issues very carefully. Drop off was quick and easy and I rented the car for 3 days for $37 ALL IN! WOW (Tip: code DC31133 gets you 10% off)! My gas was more than that. I will be trying these guys again!

On to the SPG Sheraton Denver Tech Center hotel. Overall it was a great stay, but there were some issues. I booked the room on SPG points, 14,000 for the 3 days for a club level room. When you look at what 3 days would have cost on the club level you can see the value.

At check-in I was not recognized as a GOLD Starwood preferred guest and had to ASK for my GOLD bonus (a drink or 250 SPG points – I went with the SPG points). I also was hoping for a chance to upgrade to one of their Atrium rooms on the top floor (one of the main reasons I picked this place over the Aloft at the airport for 1/2 as many SPG points) but they were all full. I was put in a king room on the 9th floor.

The room was fine and the A/C worked and the bed was soft and nice. I have no real room issues other than the fact that the bathroom was just about the smallest one I have ever been in. I mean I have been in airplane bathrooms bigger that this (I kid but not by much)!

The wifi was free but restricted to 1.5mbs and worked fine but made running my home PC via Logmein a bit hard and frustrating. If GOLD SPG’s get the same free wifi as everyone else what is the point of it as a perk?

The other reason I love Sheraton hotels is their lounge on the club level. This one did NOT disappoint. It was great. Breakfast each day was very nice. Both the morning and evening staff were cheerful and kind and seemed so happy to see us. Love that!

There were lots of hot and cold choices and it was much more than a basic continental breakfast each day. At night, the snacks were a mini-meal and they offered free wine and beer! This is great value to me as we had big lunches each day and after a full day of skiing just wanted a little bite before bed.

So off to the ski resorts. The drive all the way from Denver was under 2 hrs each day and even though long was spectacular and truly a fun drive through the mountains (if you enjoy that sort of thing). One scary scene on day two as we passed a truck going the other way enveloped in a cloud of smoke from breaks overheating on the way down the 6% grade.

Our first day was at Vail. The place is nice, the runs are wide, everything is uber-expensive. I had never been to Vail and was happy I went there and did enjoy the skiing but will not go back.

The next day was Breckenridge. It was big, the prices were a bit less than Vail, it was a Friday so crowds were bigger. Again I was happy I went and the skiing was nice until late in the day when it got very icy and but again I will not go back.

Please don’t let this short summary of Denver skiing put you off on a visit. You can get a discount on lift tickets to many spots if you buy more than a week before your trip online. For me, having been skiing Salt Lake for years, that is the best snow on earth HANDS DOWN. The prices are MUCH better; the snow is better. The traffic moves better; the restaurants are better. They have the quick start program that gives you a FREE pass the day you fly in! To me, Salt Lake is just better and I will be going there next month and every year I can!

A few final bits. We chose to decline room cleaning (MAKE A GREEN CHOICE – 500/day) and will get 1500SPG points back and 250SPG for my GOLD bonus. Thus the total SPG cost was 12,250 points but it saved me $559. We had a great value from our AMEX cert flying Delta and I earned 3548 MQM’s and 7096 RDM’s and saved $200 for Lisa’s ticket. We got a great deal on a rental car and had a nice stay at the Sheraton and got a few days of turns in before my long trip next month. I love the value of points of all flavors and with work how great travel can be! – René

▲Delta▲ SkyMiles® Credit Card
RESERVE/PLATINUM/GOLD
from American Express®
Click here for more information

The other day, my fellow BoardingArea.com blogger Gary from View from the Wing had a post about AutoSlash. I do not rent cars very much and just don’t think I will use the service he talked about. But what I did see was Advantage Rent A Car. This little company is owned by Hertz but has, let’s just say, not even close the outstanding reputation that Hertz has.

But, with a rate of under $7.00 a day, even under $14.00 a day with tax, for my ski trip to Denver on my Delta Reserve AMEX buy-one-get-one-free trip, I just have to try them. I have to ask (cringe). Have you readers ever had experience with these guys? Are they as bad as people are saying or will I be OK! Please let me know – René

PS – you still have time to win 1 of 7 gift cards HERE btw!

▲Delta▲ SkyMiles® Credit Card
RESERVE/PLATINUM/GOLD
from American Express®
Click here for more information

If you need a weekend car rental here are a few deals. The Hertz one is nice as you may be able to use coupons to make it even lower, but not when booking.  Also keep in mind that if you pay with your DELTA AMEX RESERVE BUSINESS card that is part of the OPEN saving program you will get 5-10% off your bill at checkout – Sweet!

The Enterprise one is nice and keep in mind that it does not work at airport locations, but you can always take a free hotel shuttle to a hotel nearby the location and give the driver a nice tip!

Don’t forget to enter for a chance to WIN a seat for the
MegaDO with Randy! – end SATURDAY NIGHT!
and
If you are going to the Chicago DO,
check out my host hotel room giveaway!

▲Delta▲ SkyMiles® Credit Card
RESERVE/PLATINUM/GOLD
from American Express®
Click here for more information

Join the 1000+ Delta Points daily e-mail subscribers

I don’t rent cars often. I rent like 2 or 3 times a year and that is it, but I needed one for my Hungarian family reunion trip. For the past 10+ years I have rented each and every time from Alamo. Why? Price and just because I always do. Guess what, not any more after this part two, the perfect rental, following after my perfect trip with Delta part one.

This time, thanks to the Hertz #1 club gold (free for anyone right now btw) I got from the AMEX PLATINUM card , a benefit just having the card get’s you along with SPG GOLD status free, free GOES and $200 in incidental airline fees and free lounge access. So, I tried Hertz for the first time.

Now some of what I am about to say many of you will just laugh at and say that is the way it is, but to me this was a BIG DEAL and I am like the kid who for the first time ever tasted an ice-cream sandwich!

I was able to stack my USAA insurance code with an online $25 discount code resulting in a 4 day full size car rental for $101 all in! And it got even better as when the final bill was printed it was only $92 all-in. Crazy good price! [EDIT: 10% off was due to my DELTA Business AMEX OPEN automatic discount I did not know about at the time!]

Now this is more than about the price. When I landed, I got a nice text from Hertz telling me my car was in slot 122 and that the paper work was either in the car or at the guard gate. They told me the car type and color (it was a Chevy Captiva SUV and I loved it)! No counter, no person to push “junk” I do not need, just take the car and go. HELLO ICE-CREAM SANDWICH.

I so loved this. Seriously! I smiled for like an hour after pickup. I have never in my life looked forward to renting a car, but can not wait for my next Hertz experience and I want to make sure this was not a fluke and that every Hertz rental is this good (I know you frequent renters are just laughing at me like a 4 yr old but that is AOK).

So if you don’t have Hertz #1 club GOLD, get it some way and try them. Is anyone else in love with this company? Maybe it is just first date infatuation; gosh I hope not as this is the koolest thing since… well you know! – René

PS – tomorrow I cover my hotel stay.
It was less than perfect like the air and car!

▲Delta▲ SkyMiles® Credit Card
American Express – RESERVE/PLATINUM/GOLD
Click here for more information

It is EZ to sign up for a credit card bonus deal. You get the card and then buy what ever you want with the card.  Not rocket science and not much to keep track of other than spend (X-$$$) inside of (X-months) = points.

But there are a bunch of other deals that take just a little more time and entering of you data and then following up and the Delta points rewards can be big. Look at some of the ongoing deals right now:

Marriott has a deal where you can earn up to 50,000 points. (note you can ONLY register if you pick skymiles as your rewards for stays).

Hilton has one where you can earn 2012 points per stay.

Hertz up to 3,400 with rentals

You gotta eat, so Skymiles Dining can earn you a lot and 1,200 bonus points.

Both Wyndham and La Quinta stays can earn 1,000 each.

There is a new survey site that many have already been e-Mailed about called Whiteboard.

Also you can still get points for Fedex Shipping

And all of these can be found on the official Delta.com web site.

So please take some time now and then to make sure you are maximizing your Skymiles earnings for all your activities you can and naturally pay for them with the card that get’s you the most points as well! – Rene

Get ready for LEAP DAY TOMORROW. We will giveaway THIS!
To a DeltaPoints.com e-Mail subscriber

▲Delta▲ SkyMiles® Credit Card
American Express – RESERVE/PLATINUM/GOLD
Click here for more information

I really don’t want to jump into the debate concerning whether or not the new law forcing airlines to post the full price is good or not for us as flyers, but it does cover an interesting point that is talked about here in the MSNBC news video:

Recently I had a great rental experience with Enterprise during my last ski trip to Salt Lake talked about in this blog post unlike the horrible one with Budget in RSW. I loved the Dodge car, the price and the service by the staff was exceedingly professional and everyone was nice, well dressed, and had smiles on their faces and thanked me over and over for my business. Seems perfect right?

But there were a few “curve balls” tossed at me that thankfully my quick thinking mind dismissed or were prepared for. What am I talking about amidst this idyllic rental experience and in regard to the MSNBC piece? I had my reservation in hand. I had filled out that I did not want their collision coverage as I have USAA and full coverage on my vehicles and they extend the same benefit to me when I rent. This is where the reps got sneaky on me. They hit me with two good sells that I said no to and I think you should too (keep reading to see why).

# 1 was – what is your deductible, $500, oh, we can sell you a small rider to cover that so you do not have to pay anything out of pocket if something happens!

#2 was - if you pre-pay now, the price per gallon is 20 cents off per gallon over the price in the area.

Now when you quickly hear these two, they sound reasonable. It is brilliant marketing and kudos to the one who came up with this pitch. But both are bunk. Here is why. At the bottom of  my “Best Point Cards” link page I have links to Visa, MC and AMEX benefits. Now they DO VARY by card issuer so you must make sure of what your card includes. But, I paid for this rental with my Capital One Visa card. Look at this part you can reference here:

“If you have personal automobile insurance or other insurance covering this theft or damage, the Visa Auto Rental CDW benefit reimburses you for the deductible portion of your personal automobile insurance”

So, I would have been paying twice for the same coverage. Now the gas. 20 Cents off sounds like a really good deal right? If you tell them you will bring it back full and then don’t, they upcharge you a crazy per gallon fee. But think about this. If the tank is say 18 gallons, you are talking about $3.60 savings. Thus, if there was just 1 gallon remaining in the tank I was break even. 2 or 3 gallons and I was loosing money big time.

The trend to upsell is everywhere. Car, hotels you name it. So be ready. Be smart. Know your credit card features IN ADVANCE. A little planning can save you money and that is a good thing. – René

▲Delta▲ SkyMiles® Credit Card
American Express – RESERVE/PLATINUM/GOLD
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