Anything your own car insurance does not cover, it is likely that your credit card will. In some cases the credit card coverage is as good as or better than your auto insurance; in others it is intended to be secondary insurance to help cover anything your auto insurance does not.
Of course, you will need to pay for your car rental using that card; just having a qualifying credit card does not give you any protection.
Always compare rental agencies – including some less common ones.
Just about everyone knows the big brands – Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, and so on – but there are a lot of less obvious brands that may offer better rates. Budget, Sixt, Thrifty, and Fox are just a few of the available ones.
To cover all your bases, you can book through an online travel agency website – like Hotwire or Priceline- to compare a few different rentals. Read more on car hire in Cuba
Avoid Airport Surcharges
Airports typically charge a premium for the convenience of picking up your car right after your flight and dropping it off right before the departure flight. Sometimes the convenience for us is worth the fee, but sometimes it’s not. Many times the car rental offices located inside the city offer lower rates so weigh your options if its worth it for you to get to the city first and then rent.
We did this recently in Calgary when we found out Enterprise was charging a $50 fee for airport pick up. The cab ride in cost us $25 – so we saved $25! Plus we didn’t need a car the first night in town since we arrived late, so we saved there too.
Prepay to save upwards of 20 percent.
If you’re checking out your options online, you’ll notice that most car rental companies offer two different rates: one for prepaying customers, and a higher one for customers who wish to pay when they pick up the car. My boyfriend and I are headed to Michigan the weekend before Christmas to see his family, and looking at rental cars on Hertz, prepaying is definitely our best option. We could get a Ford Focus for $28/day if we prepay, but if we wait to pay in person, we’ll be spending $34/day. For a three-day rental, prepaying will save us $20, and these savings get bigger the better the car you rent. More details on rent a car in Faro
When you return your hire car, the rental company might claim that some damage on the car wasn’t there before your rental and that you will have to pay for repairing the damage.
Tips for avoiding trickery on new damage
When you pick your car up, the rental company staff will usually go through a ‘check-out form’ with you. This form includes notes on any damage already in the car before your rental starts. Before you drive away, check that there’s no more damage to the car apart from what’s written in that form.
Take photographs of the car when you pick it up, and also when you return it. If you’re not in a rush when you drop it off, wait for the rental company agent to check over the car and get a copy of the ‘check-in form’ that they’ll complete.
