Tips for a Tightwad Traveller

[MJ]

I'll be interested to see if you can get primary coverage from a CC company.

Rental Car Insurance: Which Credit Cards Have You Covered

Thanks for the website. It is late where I am so I will need to search out the difference between primary and secondary coverage tomorrow. Apparently Visa only has secondary coverage.

 

[Marita40]

I don't have much to add to what had been stated here. I manage to travel quite inexpensively but it takes some advance planning. I try to select budget hotels that are out of town but on public transportation (if I can help it I don't rent cars). Hotels with coffee in the room, a fridge, and breakfasts included are so convenient and often great deals. A restaurant meal at noon is usually much cheaper than dinner, then grocery items like fruit, etc. and a glass of wine from the fridge once returning home. I don't mind staying in lower-budget hotels if they are clean and safe and quiet--after all, I'm not traveling to hang around a hotel room. In Europe I opt for inexpensive pensions, often with shared WC--I go back to the same ones in Austria and Italy that I've frequented for years and know the landladies well by now. The most outrageous costs are flights, but because I am still working I often add a few vacation days to my business trip or conference and thus the flight is covered. For planning, I rely heavily on the tripadvisor site as well as the venere.com site--both are excellent!

 

[kramer]

I'll be interested to see if you can get primary coverage from a CC company.

Rental Car Insurance: Which Credit Cards Have You Covered

Nice link. Yeah, when I come to the USA I rent with my Visa card (which is USA-based) which covers damage to the rental car itself under most circumstances. In fact, it even covers you abroad in most countries for most rentals. But it is worth it to read through the exceptions on their web site (no coverage for a truck if I recall, rental periods over 15 days, etc).

Then what I do is I pay the daily fee for liability insurance through the insurance company (ouch). It is something like $13 per day and may be higher now.

I may lose my USA license next year and have to drive in the USA on my foreign license (Philippines license -- no international driver's permit required for short USA trips). I hope the coverage is the same through Visa driving on a foreign license, I have not checked. I am assuming MJ has maintained his USA driver's license.

Kramer

 

[haha]

Regarding our travel plans, they haven't been finalized but we'll probably fly to NY where I have friends and family. Stay around the area for 3 weeks. Then, we will fly out to Tucson to visit a dear friend. There, we'll rent a car to tour the southwest. Ideally we would like to drive to LA to catch our return flight.

Thanks for all the great advice. Keep them coming!!!!

I missed when this trip is to happen. But think twice about traveling in the SW in summer. It can be like a furnace, and so far this year seems to be shaping up as a hottie. This weekend it is even too damn hot in Seattle.

Ha

 

[LitGal]

For Future Reference.....

Unfortunately, this advice is too late for this trip, but I'll suggest it for future trips. Several years ago, we switched to a Capital One visa because we can use the points as mileage for any airline. Plus, the points can be used to reimburse us for other travel expenses we charged on the card (after it was done). So, we shop for the cheapest airfares, then get reimbursed for them with our points. We've also been reimbursed for car rentals, hotel charges........all after the fact, since they were all charged on the same card. A caveat: they won't reimburse you for a partial receipt. For example, if I had a car rental receipt for $400, but only 30,000 miles, they will not reimburse me $300. I can only get reimbursed for charges that would cost 30,000 mi. or less. (Hotel bills easily do that.)

Nonetheless, it's saved us a lot of $. True, to earn the points we have to charge a lot. DH put all our bills on Visa auto-pay (regular bills like utilities, medical, groceries, gas for the car, insurances), and we pay the bill off at the end of each month. The pts. add up quickly that way.

Plus, we've saved by using the other advice offered here. I don't mind hostels either, but DH likes a more hotel-like arrangement. So, I go for the hostels and pensions when travelling with girlfriends from college........ we never got over living out of backpacks. But DH never acquired that taste.....

Oh, here's something else that keeps me from running out of cash. I keep a little log where I record each day's expenses, then keep a running subtotal for the trip. It makes it easier to stay within the budget planned.

And, now that we're working so hard at purging for down-sizing, I will probably never buy another souvenir. I don't know where to put the brass rubbings and Impressionist prints from the post-college Europe trip, let alone other memorabilia picked up over the decades. No more posters to frame, beer steins from the Rhine, or dirndl skirts from Austria!

 

[Nemo2]

I don't know where to put the brass rubbings and Impressionist prints from the post-college Europe trip, let alone other memorabilia picked up over the decades. No more posters to frame, beer steins from the Rhine, or dirndl skirts from Austria!

As one of the ladies in Riyadh said "I don't want any stuff that I'll move from one basement to another".

 

[nphx]

Regarding our travel plans, they haven't been finalized but we'll probably fly to NY where I have friends and family. Stay around the area for 3 weeks. Then, we will fly out to Tucson to visit a dear friend. There, we'll rent a car to tour the southwest. Ideally we would like to drive to LA to catch our return flight.

Thanks for all the great advice. Keep them coming!!!!

You may consider flying to Phoenix instead of tucson - Fox rental car has what seems to be the lowest drop off fees for a different state (California LA). With fox - be careful of the car walk around and note any ding/defect/glass chip before hand.

 

[MJ]

I missed when this trip is to happen. But think twice about traveling in the SW in summer. It can be like a furnace, and so far this year seems to be shaping up as a hottie. This weekend it is even too damn hot in Seattle.

Ha

Good point that's why we are heading to NY in September stay 1 to 2 weeks and then head to Tucson. It should be cooler by then. Remember, we are coming from Thailand so the SW dry heat should be comfortable enough.

 

[MJ]

I did some research regarding CDW and spoke the a visa benefits rep.
I live in Thailand and I have a Thai driving license.
I was told by Visa the following
(1) if your Country of Residence is not US, then you are covered up to 30 days per rental agreement. I did notice that my CC showed my Country of Residence to be US so I'll be changing it to play it safe.
(2) if you do not have auto insurance coverage in the US, Visa provides primary coverage for collision and theft.

I will definitely have to get liability insurance. I'll either get it from the rental agency or get a 30 day policy from a reputable insurance co if I wind up renting the car for 3+ weeks.

My driver's license expired this year when I turned 65. That's another reason I am heading to Tucson. I will try to get another AZ driver's license or at least an Id so I can continue to apply for future bank accounts.

Here are 2 useful websites regarding your CC benefits .
This one is for all visa CCs
This one is for all CC's , just put in the 1st 10 CC numbers. The BoA cust rep provided this site to me.

 

[MJ]

Regarding insurance, is anyone familiar with worldnomads.com? They have what appears to be very good and reasonably priced travel insurance which includes either $1,000,000 or $5,000,000 liability insurance which is what I really want.

 

[travelover]

I did some research regarding CDW and spoke the a visa benefits rep.........

Thanks - good information for anyone researching this in the future. I'm renting a SUV for an upcoming trip (certain vehicles not covered) and this helped clarify coverage.

 

[MichaelB]

The last three times I rented a car I initially reserved more than 1 month in advance, went back and checked the prices weekly, found with the same rental company lower prices which I was able to take advantage of by simply cancelling the existing reservation and entering a new one. No lock in, no guarantee was needed, the most recent the total price came down by 1/4.

 

[travelover]

The last three times I rented a car I initially reserved more than 1 month in advance, went back and checked the prices weekly, found with the same rental company lower prices which I was able to take advantage of by simply cancelling the existing reservation and entering a new one. No lock in, no guarantee was needed, the most recent the total price came down by 1/4.

I do the same. Like airline tickets, car rentals jump around and sometimes you can find a bargain just before you are ready to leave.

Southwest lets you change air line tickets for free, so you can also game them somewhat.

 

[Sarah in SC]

MJ I always use World Nomads for our travel coverage. A great company. Good service, good reviews from other travelers, and good prices.

 

[MJ]

MJ I always use World Nomads for our travel coverage. A great company. Good service, good reviews from other travelers, and good prices.

Thanks for the confirmation.
Although they are reasonably priced at under $6 a day, they are offering a lot more than I need. I really only need liability insurance when I rent a car and certainly don't want the expensive insurance the rental companies offer.
Anyone have any alternative suggestions?

Just aside note, World Nomad has the option of choosing single or couple. If you select couple, it is 2x the single price less $2 and I assume the coverage would be shared. It would seem that a couple who wanted this insurance would get 2 single policies so that each would get full coverage.

 

[Meadbh]

I really only need liability insurance when I rent a car and certainly don't want the expensive insurance the rental companies offer.
Anyone have any alternative suggestions?

Check with your auto insurance company. When renewing my auto insurance I was recently able to purchase (for $21) a rider that covers use of my own vehicle outside the country as well as rental cars in Canada and the US. This was in British Columbia, Canada, so YMMV.

BTW, Happy Canada Day!

 

[Sarah in SC]

We have a couple policy--from what I understand, it is the same as if we'd gotten two single policies as far as coverage, but was cheaper than getting the singles. I bought ours back in November, though, so the details are hazier at this point!

 

[MJ]

Check with your auto insurance company. When renewing my auto insurance I was recently able to purchase (for $21) a rider that covers use of my own vehicle outside the country as well as rental cars in Canada and the US. This was in British Columbia, Canada, so YMMV.

BTW, Happy Canada Day!

I live in Thailand and have no auto insurance.

 

[kramer]

WorldNomads seems to be OK. It is strictly travel insurance, in that when you are stable they want you shipped back to your country. Unfortunately, it comes with a bunch of stuff only backpackers care about, travel and trip insurances with low deductibles, something I would rather not have included. But the main benefit to you is that it is not age-rated.

You are better off getting health coverage as short term health insurance from a USA company with an extensive network in the USA. Assurant Health offers this coverage. And you can buy it for exact dates (not by the week like World Nomads) and with your option of deductibles and max out of pocket. Unfortunately, I think you said you were 65 and so I don't think you are eligible.

All that being said, I got World Nomads for my current trip to the USA (where I am located right now). I didn't want to mess with the faxing requirements for Assurant Health (cannot apply online) and I was in a rush.

But since then I figured this out (how to fax easily from overseas near my home) and will probably apply for Assurant Health for my next trip. Unlike World Nomads, their coverage is age-rated. my coverage would have cost about 20% more for a 47 year old. The big advantage besides the extensive network is that you have coverage for your dates, you don't need to go back home to finish the job at a hospital in Thailand.

If I were mid-50s or higher, then I would probably go with the non-age-rated World Nomads due to the higher costs for Assurant.

 

[kramer]

I live in Thailand and have no auto insurance.

Yes, I think you are stuck with paying for the daily liability insurance from the rental company. This was my conclusion after studying this issue.

There is such a thing as non-owners insurance (not necessarily easy to find), but you need a USA address, true residence in the USA (I think), and you would need to drive long enough in the USA to make it worth your while. You probably don't meet any of these conditions.

I was paying around $13 per day for the liability which is pretty good coverage, like 1 million per incident. That, combined with protection of the car you are driving (if damaged or stolen) via your Visa card, is very decent coverage.

So you should also be pricing liability insurance when you are getting prices for your car rental. I don't know if it can be discounted for a longer rental, say 1 to 2 weeks, but I have not heard of that.

 

[Sarah in SC]

kramer, I was able to purchase the World Nomads policy for 2 months, instead of by the week. And I DEFINITELY want to get back home as soon as I am able to travel. Hmmm, let's see...which would I choose...recuperate in Kazakhstan or in South Carolina?

But my situ is different than the OP, who wanted health coverage, not travel coverage. Different mammal for sure. I'm happy that World Nomads covers lots of what most companies call "extreme sports" which happens to be some of the stuff we do on vacay.

 

[kramer]

Here is a thread with more information:

Bogleheads • View topic - Need Health Insurance Reccomendations, for travel

Even though there are 5 links on there, I really think there are just 3 companies:

IHI (Bupa) -- this is WorldNomads
Assurant Health
IMGlobal (also Protext)

When I applied for the last one to get coverage for my USA trip (or at least to price it), I was ineligible because I did not have health insurance in my country of residence (Philippines).

The other two options I discussed in my previous post.

In fact, for a true perpetual traveler (unlike MJ and I), who has no home or permanent residence outside of the USA, it is not even clear if World Nomads works because they want you state the country of your permanent residence in the application (if I recall, that is the term that they use).

If anyone has other options for US citizens coverage in the USA for travel purposes, please post them. Thanks.

 

[Texas Proud]

Nice link. Yeah, when I come to the USA I rent with my Visa card (which is USA-based) which covers damage to the rental car itself under most circumstances. In fact, it even covers you abroad in most countries for most rentals. But it is worth it to read through the exceptions on their web site (no coverage for a truck if I recall, rental periods over 15 days, etc).

Then what I do is I pay the daily fee for liability insurance through the insurance company (ouch). It is something like $13 per day and may be higher now.

I may lose my USA license next year and have to drive in the USA on my foreign license (Philippines license -- no international driver's permit required for short USA trips). I hope the coverage is the same through Visa driving on a foreign license, I have not checked. I am assuming MJ has maintained his USA driver's license.

Kramer

Just as an FYI, if you choose to buy the insurance from the rental company, the CC will not cover ANYTHING...

Found out when someone from our company was in a bad hail storm and the car was damaged... for some reason, our receptionist had opted for the insurance with a $6K limit.... the damages were more than that... we put in a claim and the CC refused... also, the drivers insurance refused even though they are considered 'primary' most of the time....

 

[kramer]

Just as an FYI, if you choose to buy the insurance from the rental company, the CC will not cover ANYTHING...

Found out when someone from our company was in a bad hail storm and the car was damaged... for some reason, our receptionist had opted for the insurance with a $6K limit.... the damages were more than that... we put in a claim and the CC refused... also, the drivers insurance refused even though they are considered 'primary' most of the time....

Yes, but (just to be extra clear) this is for like kind of insurance. For instance, he can purchase liability insurance from the rental company but refuse the other insurances, and be totally covered with the Visa card for damage to the rental itself (or if it is stolen), within their coverage parameter list.

 

[kramer]

kramer, I was able to purchase the World Nomads policy for 2 months, instead of by the week. And I DEFINITELY want to get back home as soon as I am able to travel. Hmmm, let's see...which would I choose...recuperate in Kazakhstan or in South Carolina?

But my situ is different than the OP, who wanted health coverage, not travel coverage. Different mammal for sure. I'm happy that World Nomads covers lots of what most companies call "extreme sports" which happens to be some of the stuff we do on vacay.

Hi Sarah, yes I think that is a different situation. Actually, I am happy with the level of coverage provided by World Nomads even in the USA. It's just that for someone still in their 40s visiting the USA Assurant is probably a better deal for me.

I wanted to buy the insurance by the day. I ended up having to choose whether to cover my last partial day in the USA for $36 (price for an additional week), since you can't buy by the day, and my cheapo instincts kicked in and I opted not to do that. With Assurant, I was pricing coverage for my trip plus one or two days, figuring if something happened I might have to stay a day or two beyond my trip length.