I recently rented a car for 3 days to go to the south of Portugal. The price was $8.77 total. That was the second cheapest option because they also had a $6 one. One thing that was additional was the collision damage waiver which reduces or eliminates what you have to pay in the case of an accident. However, there are many credit cards that have this benefit. Two that I have are the SPG card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP).
Check the fine print and exclusions
Both had similar wording, but the SPG terms said that you have to be a permanent resident of the US. I think I am, but since I am in Lisbon for school at the moment I was not sure. However, I read the CSP terms and they did not include such language so I booked with that card.
The booking conditions said you do not need an international driver’s permit if your license is in the Roman alphabet, but you would need one if you are from USA or Canada. However, I had read information that you wouldn’t need one. So I called to make sure and they said just my license would be fine.
What I did neglect to read was there was a $25 fee for a full gas tank. Fortunately it was only $25. However it brought my rental to $34, not bad, but maybe not as good as I could have got.
When to skip
When you download software you often have to scroll down a text mountain and click that you agree with the terms and conditions. I once heard on the radio that if you read all those it would take days of your life each year. In that case you can probably skip. Be aware that you will still be bound by the rules, but they are likely common things like don’t pirate the software, use it to commit crimes, and other things.
Conclusion
When you are banking that in an accident you will be covered by your card then it is good to read the fine print because it may save you thousands of dollars and lots of stress. The same idea goes for mortgages, job contracts, and anything important. Keep working hard everyone!
This article is only meant to share my experiences and I am in no way a professional advice guru and I’m especially not a lawyer. If I was a lawyer I would probably say you have to read everything because your liable or better yet, you should pay me to read it. You can stop reading now.