News from Caussi.com

How to set up your iPhone to minimize cost while in Europe

 I use my iPhone for everything--including Google Maps--while in France and use many of the tips in this article to minimize expense.  So I'm pleased to pass these tips on to Caussi visitors:

The article is by Tom Meyers, published on April 22, 2015 here:

http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/iphone-in-europe-tips-for-avoiding-a-billing-surprise.html

So, you’re planning to use your American smartphone during your upcoming trip to Europe. Great. But how can you ensure that you’re not going to accidentally blow through all of your data and come home to a $800 bill from your carrier?

Using data? Get a plan.

If you’re an AT&T, Verizon or Sprint iPhone customer and are planning, at any point during your trip, to use a data network to access the web or use emails, you are strongly advised to get some sort of plan. Otherwise, it will cost you. (AT&T, for example, charges a hefty $0.0195 per KB without a plan. Sure, that sounds like pennies, but it gets ugly quickly!)

Click through to read more about international data and phone plans for AT&T customers and for Verizon customers.

Sprint customers should first call the carrier to activate your phones for international roaming (and to make sure that your specific device will even work in the countries you’re visiting). You could then sign up for Sprint’s underwhelming international options, including their “Worldwide Voice” package that lowers per-minute charges for phone calls from $1.99 (without a plan) to $.99. Data packages run $40 (40 MB) or $80 (85 MB), and texts cost $.50 each to send.

T-Mobile customers who have signed up for one of the carrier’s “Simple Choice” plans are in much better shape, as the carrier offers free text messaging and data use throughout Europe, and much less expensive phone calls than its rivals (only $.20 per minute). Note that other T-Mobile plans are much less generous, so confirm that you’re on a “Simple Choice” plan before you fire up your iPhone and start Instagramming from Istanbul.

If you are a T-Mobile customer with a Simple Choice plan, congrats. You don’t really need to follow the rest of this article or change the way that your phone is set up. Just know that those phone calls will be billed at an additional $.20 per minute.

How much data do you need?

Let’s imagine that you’ve signed up for AT&T’s $30 passport plan, which comes with 120 MB of data transfer, unlimited texting, and “discounted” phone calls (still a steep $1 per minute). What exactly does 120 MB represent?

As I mention in this post, here are some data use estimates:

• Sending or receiving an email (without attachment): Approx. 20 KB per email; (with attachment) Approx. 300 KB per email

• Loading 1 webpage: 1 MB per page

• Streaming music: 500 KB / minute (30 MB / hour)

• Streaming video (standard quality): 2 MB / minute

I’m going to assume that we’re all steering clear of streaming music and video while traveling (when not connected to Wi-Fi), and that your data use primarily consists of checking emails, using Google maps and pulling up an occasional web page.

If you just stick to emails (and don’t open any large attachments), you could download or send more than 6,000 normal-sized emails with AT&T’s $30 120 MB plan! That’s, um, quite enough for me (especially while on vacation!).

But hey, everyone’s data needs are different. Check out AT&Ts handy data calculator to estimate how much data you require. This is especially handy if you plan to browse the web or (heaven forbid!) fire up your apps.

How to set up your iPhone for international travel

Okay, you’re ready to configure your phone. The following is how I set up my iPhone 5. Note that new phone models may have different locations for some of the settings listed below. A bit of detective work may be required to find them.

                       

1. Turn off data roaming.

First things first. Turn off your data roaming to stop your phone from hooking up with a data network while traveling.

Chances are your carrier doesn’t operate cell towers in the country you’re visiting. Thus, if you need to access a data network, your phone will need to roam around and find a network with which it can work. By turning this off, you’re effectively blocking your phone from joining these partner networks.

Note: When you do want to use your data plan and access these data networks, you’ll flip this button back on. But remember, as a default, it’s best to keep this off.

Go to: Settings > Cellular > Data Roaming. Turn off.

(To make it easy, the iPhone even says “Turn data roaming off when traveling to avoid charges when web browsing and using email and other data services.”)

 

---

 

2. Turn off Cellular Data.

When I’m traveling in Europe, I usually turn off my cellular data, as well. Even if I’ve been assured many times by AT&T that I only need to turn off Data Roaming, I still turn off cellular data, just to make sure that my phone is blocked from using data until I want it to use data. (Apple also suggests turning both off when traveling abroad.)

By turning off your cellular data, you effectively block your phone from accessing all data networks, restricting its use to placing calls and sending SMS text messages, although you can use all of your other features (apps, email, Internet, iMessage) when you connect it to a Wi-Fi network.

Note that if you flip the order of #1 and #2 here, turning off your cellular data first, your data roaming will also turn off. You can’t roam for data if you’ve already turned off your phone’s access to data.

As with data roaming, if you want to use your data package, you’ll need to turn cellular data back on, then turn on data roaming.

Go to: Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data. Turn off. (Note that “Enable LTE” will also disappear as soon as you turn off Cellular Data.)

 

---

 

3. Cut off your apps’ cellular data connection.

Your apps can’t work without a data connection or a Wi-Fi network. Even so, you should go in through your cellular settings and manually turn your apps off to prevent them from hogging your data plan.

But wait, if you’re planning to already turn off your cellular data (by following the two previous steps), isn’t this a bit redundant? Not necessarily.

Don’t forget that many of us allow our apps to send us push notifications and to run on their own in the background. If you keep all of them activated, the moment that you turn on your data roaming in Paris to check your emails, they could kick into gear, tearing through your data allotment.

To prevent this, take a moment to scroll through your list of apps and turn off their data connection, one by one. (Note that you’ll need to do this prior to turning off your cellular data, as turning off your cellular data makes these buttons inaccessible.)

Once these apps have had their cellular data access turned off, they will still be usable over a Wi-Fi network. If you wish to use cellular data for these apps (for example, using Google Maps over cellular data, which I do all the time from abroad), simply turn them back on when you need them!

Go to: Settings > Cellular > Use Cellular Data For. Turn off apps, one by one.

 

---

 

4. Reset your statistics and monitor your data usage.

This one is fun and essential. At the very bottom of the “Cellular” page is a simple little link that states, “Reset Statistics”. Once you’ve arrived abroad, click this link and start tracking your international data usage. You’ll see your total data usage and your telephone usage at the top of the “Cellular” page (under “Cellular Data Usage”).

Keep track of your usage here and you shouldn’t come home to any unpleasant billing surprises, especially if you’ve purchased the right data package for your trip.

The only hiccup with this, unfortunately, is that the stats aren’t always totally up-to-date. It turns out that AT&T can have delays in reporting international data usage (as international carriers are actually providing you with the network and then, later, reporting it back to AT&T). I’d suggest erring on the side of caution here.

Go to: Settings > Cellular > Reset Statistics. Click it.

 

---

 

5. Turn “Fetch New Data” to “Manual” to stop automatic email downloads.

When I’m traveling, I also turn off my phone’s ability to automatically check and download emails. Even if my data roaming is almost always set to “off” (preventing me from accessing emails), I still don’t like my phone automatically fetching anything the moment I turn the data roaming to “on”.

Go to: Setting > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data. Switch “Push” to “Off” and click “Manually” at the bottom of the screen under “Fetch”.

Once switched to “Manually”, you’ll be able to check and send emails by turning on your data roaming and cellular data, then opening your mail program. Simple.

A Guide to Ordering Coffee in France

Finally!  A wonderful overview of how to order coffee in France from one of my favorite websites:

The Bonne Femme Cook Book     This terrific web site has recipes, travel tips and much more. Check it out! (no affiliation)

From the Bonne Femme:
Frankly, it took me quite a few trips to figure out exactly how to order coffee in France. Let me save you some time. Here is how to get what you want in France (or at least, drink coffee like the French…and I say, “when in France…”).

Part I: Coffees You Order Just About Any Time of Day

Cafe Express. (What we call espresso.)
1. Café Express is espresso. Certainly a French waiter will understand you if you order an “espresso,” but the French call it cafe express (pronounced as it looks). This is enjoyed any time of day, but quite commonly after lunch or dinner.

 
Une Noisette. Espresso with a touch of milk.
2. Une Noisette (pronounced: nwahzette). This is pretty much a macchiato in Italy or a cortado in Spain. It’s espresso with a dab of milk. Generally, you can order this whenever you want, though again, after dinner, the French usually drink their coffee black.

Though the milk in une noisette should be hot, foamed milk, annoyingly, some barmen just pour a touch of cold milk in the espresso for you (resulting in a tepid, boring drink). This happens to me especially in the Southwest of France. So generally, when traveling there, I just order espresso.

Part II: Coffees Mostly Enjoyed at Breakfast (with an exception)

Now things get confusing—but stay with me here, and you’ll get exactly the coffee you want to order:

Cafe au Lait. Order it at breakfast only.
1. Café au Lait: If you’re staying in a hotel that serves breakfast, you can order café-au-lait. This is strong, dark-roasted brewed coffee (not espresso) served with milk. Generally, the milk and coffee are served in two separate pitchers, and you mix them to your taste. And though I rarely drink sugar in coffee, I always do so in France. It just tastes better that way.

You can, of course, order café noir (black coffee, without the milk). But I really don’t think French breakfast coffee tastes great that way. And my theory is that the only way the classic French breakfast (croissant and bread-butter-jam combo known as tartine) can sustain you through the morning is if you get the protein that the milk provides.

Un Grand Crème: Espresso with Milk (basically, a latte)
2. Un Crème:This drink, mostly served in cafés, consists of espressowith steamed milk. It is not the same as café au lait, which is made with brewed filtered coffee (not espresso).

You see, most French hotels won’t have an espresso machine, so they’ll serve you café-au-lait; conversely, many French cafés don’t monkey around with brewed filtered coffee, so if you want a milky coffee, they’ll serve you un crème.

If you want a double, order un grand crème. Otherwise, the standard size is simply un crème. Whenever I order un grand crème, however, I always specify “avec le lait à part” (with the milk on the side, pronounced: ah-vehck luh lay ah par); otherwise, they can fill that big cup up with too much milk. Ugh.

Another point: Though the French do not drink “un crème” after lunch, it is not a faux-pas to order it other times than breakfast; say, in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon at a café.

A few more things to keep in mind:

1. Coffee with Dessert?:Don’t go there. If you have coffee at lunchtime or dinnertime, it will come after dessert, not with it. Try it: You will find that having your café express after dessert works as a digestif—it helps you digest your food, and wards off that sluggish feeling a fine meal can bring.

2. Cappuccino? Some cafés will serve this, but it’s not France’s specialty. The closest thing to order is un crème. Yes that’s more like a latte, but generally, not as milky as lattes we get over here. And please don’t order it after lunch or dinner.

It’s just not done.

3. American black coffee? The closest thing in a restaurant or café is un café allongé—espresso elongated with water.

4. French-press coffee?:Some restaurants might have it, but I’ve rarely seen it outside a private home.

 

Everything You Need to Know About Travel Insurance

We recommend travel insurance to all Caussi renters...you just never know!  Here is a terrific overview on the topic reprinted with permission from one of our favorite online newsletters:  FRANCE On Your Own     FRANCE On Your Own is always filled with interesting tidbits, events, and even a regular column on nearby Narbonne...check it out!

A Travel Insurance Review by Damian Tysdal

While carriers and travel suppliers assume almost no financial responsibility to travelers for cancellations that occur due to events beyond their control, travelers can protect themselves by having the right travel insurance plan.  Here are five reasons you may want to take a second look at travel insurance.

1.  You might have to cancel your trip - or abandon it and return home to handle an emergency.

One of the most popular reasons travelers buy travel insurance is to have coverage if they have to cancel their trip, and it's a very valid reason because even if your trip to France has to be delayed a few months, you still may want to take it.  After you add up the cost of prepaid airfare, tours, and accommodations, a trip to France can start out costing thousands of dollars.

What most travelers don't know is that trip cancellation coverage is also bundled with trip interruption coverage, which is similar to cancellation except that it covers the unused portion of a trip if a traveler has to suddenly return home.  Trip interruption coverage also reimburses a traveler for unexpected return airfare costs and lodging should they need it on their return trip.

The covered reasons for trip cancellation and interruption vary from policy to policy, and it's important to understand the covered reasons to fully understand your options should you have to cancel.  For example, you may have to cancel or interrupt your trip in the event a family member develops a serious illness or dies, but that family member has to be listed as a covered family member.  Beloved family pets don't count, unfortunately.

2.  Medical emergencies can happen anywhere, anytime.

Tourist buses crash, flu viruses attack, people get hurt - it happens all the time and a medical emergency can be quite costly when you consider emergency transportation, physician's expenses, medicines, X-rays, and more.

France has a strong network of medical practitioners, so you will have no problem finding a doctor even in a very small town. The standard of medical care in France is extremely high.  To find a doctor, ask any local resident or step into a pharmacy and inquire.  If the patient is too sick to move, a doctor will make a visit to their accommodations.  Ask your host to contact a local doctor.  The cost is slightly higher than a visit to a doctor's office (cabinet du médicin), and the payment and refunding expectations are the same.

The standard principle of the French health service is to pay first, make a claim and be reimbursed (except with hospital treatment).  Visitors from the European Union countries are advised to be sure they have health insurance coverage before traveling to France.  The same is true the US visitors to France, although many make the mistake of believing their existing health insurance plan will protect them overseas.  In truth, their health insurance generally stops at the border, and Medicare always stops at the border.

Some US health insurance companies will reimburse a traveler's overseas expenses at out-of-network rates and with proper documentation; and some Medicare supplement plans provide travel medical coverage up to a relatively small limit.  Should you, or your spouse or traveling companion become seriously ill or be seriously injured, however, it may not be enough.

While trip cancellation and travel medical emergencies are the primary reasons ...

3.  Continued economic woes could incite action causing further strikes and defaults.

As the Greek financial crisis continues to dominate the news and the European Union works to find appropriate strategies to cope with it, further laws and reforms could cause unexpected, short-notice strikes, leaving passengers caught off guard.

Some travel insurance plans allow you to cancel your trip for a full refund if flights are canceled due to an unexpected labor strike.

4.  Natural disasters like volcanic eruptions cause widespread disruptions.

French tourism was nearly crushed in 2010 with the pension reform strikes in the fall and then volcanic eruptions that affected most of the transportation systems in the spring.  Nature remains a powerful and unpredictable force that can cause all kinds of trouble for travelers.

Some travel insurance plans cover pre-departure trip cancellations due to natural disasters.

5.  Lost or stolen passports could bring your France trip to a quick halt.

If a thief were to steal your passport the week before your trip to France, could you get a replacement in time?  If not, would you lose all your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs?

What if your passport were lost or stolen while you were traveling in France - could you get a replacement copy in time to get back home?

Some travel insurance plans cover pre-departure trip cancellations if your passports are lost or stolen (you'll need to make a police report and provide a copy with your claim).  If your passport is lost or stolen while you are traveling, travel insurance assistance services can help you navigate the bureaucracy to get a replacement passport, and often they'll pay the fees (up to the plan limit).

The best way to find a good travel insurance plan is to use a comparison site that lets you filter the coverage you need and price-shop a lot of plans at once. 

Damian Tysdal founded Travel Insurance Review in 2006 on the belief that travel insurance should be easier to understand.  We thank him for this informative article.

 

Local Winemaker Gets Accolades from Kermit Lynch

We were excited to see Kermit Lynch celebrate Domaine Léon Barral, a winerie in hearby Lentheric.

After founding the domaine in 1993, which he named after his grandfather, Didier Barral decided fairly quickly that biodynamic practices were the best choice for farming his vineyards. Deep in the heart of the Languedoc, in the Faugères appellation just outside the hamlet of Lenthéric, Domaine Léon Barral is a beacon of revolutionary winegrowing. Didier farms thirty hectares of vineyards, and this is no small feat. Incorporating biodynamic practices into a vineyard means working the soil rigorously, and with so much land to farm, it is fortunate that he has so much help. His workers of choice? A team of twenty cows, horses, and pigs that graze the cover crops in and around the vineyards. The simple act of grazing cultivates healthy microbiotic activity in the soil, bringing mushrooms, ants, ladybugs, earthworms, and other essential life forms, which add important nutrients while aerating the soil. This is the concept of sustainability at its finest, where the ecosystem creates interdependence between the animals and the vineyards.Read more in Kermit Lynch

Maps and Guide books for Caussi

In the house in Caussi is a basket filled with maps, maps, maps.....many of them vintage.....probably all that you'll need for your stay.  Walking maps, city maps, etc.

But if you'd like to be certain of having the right maps and their most recent versions  and even want to study up a bit before departure, here are the maps and guides that I recommend:

1 For the "big picture" Michelin Regional Map 526 (Languedoc/Roussilon) covers all the major roads and cities.....Order from amazon.com

2. For getting around the Faugeres region from village and village around Caussi, up into the mountains and so forth, Michelin Local Map 339 Gard Herault 1/200,000  is fabulous.  You'll find your way on that beautiful back road from Faugeres to Pezenas, past several vineyards and a castle without problem, for example.  Or see exactly how to climb up to Douch to start the walk to Mt. Caroux.

Order from: www.maptown.com

3. And, of course, the Michelin Green Guide to Languedoc-Rousillon gives you details on all the sites, castles, cities, and background information about the region.

 

 

 

 

 

Using credit cards while in Caussi

We've never had a problem with our credit card or ATM card in Languedoc (although it is best to know your card's PIN number as that is widely requested in Europe).   But here's the New York Times' Practical Traveller on the topic (next to a beautiful street scene taken in Caussi this summer by Kathleen Collins!).

---

August 24, 2010

Advice on Using Credit Cards While Traveling Abroad

By SUSAN STELLIN

I WAS driving to the Los Angeles airport in April when apparently I did something suspicious: I stopped at a gas station and filled up the tank.

By the time I returned the rental car and got to my gate, I had a fraud alert message from my credit card company, U.S. Bank. Since I don’t own a car and rarely buy gas, it seems that $13 fill-up raised a red flag.

Such is the state of credit card security, a continuing battle between card issuers and criminals who steal account numbers, with consumers caught in the fray. Whether travelers are more likely to become victims of credit card fraud is debatable, but we’re certainly more likely to get tripped up by efforts to combat fraud, especially overseas.

Here are some things to watch out for if you plan on paying with plastic, which isn’t quite as widely accepted as the ad campaigns for credit cards would have you believe.

Avoiding a Freeze on Your Account

Most travelers know it’s a good idea to call your credit card company before a trip to a foreign country, so your purchases in Bangkok or Barcelona don’t trigger a freeze on your account. Banks rely on antifraud software that monitors customers’ spending patterns, which means that any time you stray from your usual habits — like buying groceries in another state instead of at a store in your home ZIP code — your bank might become concerned.

I was surprised that a cheap gas purchase in California could also freeze my account, so I called U.S. Bank to find out if travelers need to start alerting their banks about their domestic travels, which seemed like overkill to me.

It probably is, said Dave Leiker, a senior vice president with U.S. Bank. He told me that besides watching for unusual spending patterns, banks also monitor where criminals use stolen cards, places like automated payment kiosks in metropolitan areas.

“We may have been seeing a trend where the bad guys were out there using stolen credit cards at gas pumps,” he said.

That would explain why I didn’t get a fraud call when I bought gas more recently in rural Pennsylvania. But it also reinforces an important point about traveling with plastic: carry more than one card, in case one is declined.

Overseas, it can be much more of a hassle to unfreeze a card, especially if you don’t have a cellphone with international service.

Rejection of Cards Abroad

For globe-trotting travelers, another issue is that many countries in Europe, as well as Japan, Canada, Mexico and other nations, have adopted a type of credit card that has a chip and requires customers to enter a PIN instead of the ones with a magnetic stripe on the back that we still use in the United States.

Merchants that accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express are supposed to let customers pay with either type of card. But employees at some retailers outside the United States don’t always know what to do with the magnetic version.

There are also automated kiosks that accept only the “chip and PIN” cards, particularly in European train stations, parking garages, gas stations and some tollbooths. In those cases, Americans with magnetic stripe cards usually have to wait in line to pay with cash or have a clerk swipe their cards. Travelers say those lines can be long, which is especially frustrating if you’re trying to catch a train. And at unattended tollbooths, you may get stuck if you don’t have coins you can pay with instead.

So how common is this problem? In a study last September, the research company Aite Group found that nearly half of American cardholders who have traveled abroad in the past few years have had some problem using a debit or credit card, and 16 percent said their card was rejected because of this issue with magnetic stripe acceptance overseas.

“I think many cardholders assume when they travel abroad that it is much like being in the United States,” said Ron Shevlin, a senior analyst with Aite Group, pointing out that in addition to the chip versus magnetic stripe problem, merchants in other parts of the world often have higher minimum-purchase requirements to use a credit card or simply don’t accept the cards because they don’t want to pay the fees that card companies charge retailers.

He also suggested checking your credit limit before a trip, since banks have reduced credit limits for some cardholders; travel expenses can push up against those maximums.

Chip Cards in the United States?

As for whether banks plan to offer chip and PIN credit cards to their American customers, Mr. Shevlin said the cost of issuing new cards is a hurdle, especially given the banking industry’s other financial challenges.

“It should be more of a concern among card issuers than it is,” he said. “But I would not expect to see a lot of movement before the end of 2011.”

There is one financial institution that is moving more quickly: the United Nations Federal Credit Union, which plans to offer its members credit cards with both a magnetic stripe and a chip beginning in October.

Merrill Halpern, card services manager for the credit union, said that with Canada and Mexico now embracing chip and PIN cards, along with Europe and many other parts of the world, it was time to make the switch. Another motivation is that the chip and PIN cards are more secure because there is a unique key encrypted in every card, whereas magnetic stripe cards are relatively easy to clone — that is, to steal the data and copy it onto another card.

“It’s going to save us money on fraud losses,” Mr. Halpern said. “The trend seems to be that more fraud is coming to the U.S. because we’re the one last holdout in magnetic stripe cards.”

Despite that concern, the major credit card companies do not have imminent plans to offer chip and PIN cards to their American customers, even though they provide them to cardholders abroad. When I asked about this topic, representatives from Visa and MasterCard e-mailed me statements saying they’re working with issuers to evaluate the feasibility of offering cards with the chip technology to customers who travel internationally.

Desiree Fish, a spokeswoman for American Express, said the company doesn’t plan to add the chip technology to cards issued in the United States at this time. But she emphasized that customers should be able to use their magnetic stripe cards abroad, even if a clerk tells them they cannot.

“A card member can insist that, yes, in fact, they can swipe the card,” Ms. Fish said.

Of course, communicating with store employees who may not speak English isn’t always easy, which is why carrying plenty of cash is a good backup, especially in rural areas and developing countries.

American Express, Visa and MasterCard also suggested that customers report any trouble they have using a magnetic stripe card abroad. Taking the time to make that call may help pressure the industry to come up with a solution for this problem.

Renting a car for your Caussi trip

We always reserve from the US, using the europacar web site, and have picked up cars for our Caussi trips in Barcelona or in Montpellier.  I think that Beziers maybe a pick up option as well.  We've dropped off in Aix en Provence (at the TGV station where we took the train to Pair), at Beziers or Montpellier, and in Spain as well.  Never a problem (other than that one fateful encounter with a cement post in a Barcelona underground parking garage that took out the side of the rented car...see article below with help on that!)

See helpful tips in the article below from The New York Times (August 10)

When Renting Cars Abroad, It’s Renter Beware

By SUSAN SPANO

I ONCE rented a car at an agency in a garage under the Villa Borghese in Rome. The parking structure was tight and poorly lighted, and before I even exited I put a dent in the vehicle, thanks to a low concrete barrier I couldn’t see in the rearview mirror.

I’m a careful driver at home with a clean record. But renting abroad poses special challenges, as well as the risk of unintended encounters with foreign objects, which in my case have included an ill-placed guardrail at a tollbooth in Switzerland, a milk truck in Jamaica and hedgerows all over England.

Eventually I decided that dings, dents and scrapes are an almost inevitable consequence of driving in unfamiliar territory, and I resigned myself to buying comprehensive accident protection from rental car agencies. When I travel abroad, I routinely take out a collision damage waiver (which generally covers damage to the rental car, theft, towing and loss-of-use expenses incurred by the company while the vehicle is being repaired), and liability (for injury to people and damage to property outside the rental). These two plans alone can cost up to $30 a day, but allow me to drive away knowing that, whatever happens, I’m covered.

Are You Covered?

People who refuse rental car agency protection plans might call me a sucker. Many of them think that peddling insurance is a deep profit center for big rental companies, most of which have their own repair shops and sometimes don’t bother to fix dents and dings. (For this reason, inspect a vehicle before you take it off the lot to avoid being charged for pre-existing damages.)

Others assume they have adequate coverage through policies that insure their cars at home and generally extend to rentals in the United States. But personal auto insurance from most companies, including Allstate and Travelers, rarely applies to vehicles rented abroad.

However, other kinds of insurance can come into play. Some health and home policies may help cover injuries and theft. Those who take out trip insurance are likely to be covered for damage to rental cars abroad, according to Vikki Corliss, a spokeswoman for insuremytrip.com, a travel insurance aggregator. And many credit cards (but not debit cards) provide auto insurance that extends to rentals abroad at no extra cost, though according to Ben Woolsey, director of marketing and research for creditcards.com, an online catalog of credit card offers, only 10 percent of cardholders are aware of the benefit.

MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express generally offer collision damage waivers for foreign and domestic rentals, but the coverage is a patchwork, with myriad exclusions and claim requirements that vary from card to card. “It is incumbent on consumers to find out exactly what is covered by calling the toll-free number on the back of the card,” Mr. Woolsey said.

In most cases, the rental must be booked and paid for using the card. Vans, expensive or exotic cars and long-term rentals are usually excluded. Claims stemming from accidents in which the renter has been cited for speeding or drunken driving are rejected. Moreover, the plans are inoperative in certain countries because of statutory issues and difficult driving conditions; Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica and Mexico often make the list.

Card coverage tends to be secondary, meaning that if the renter has any other applicable insurance it must be tapped first to pay for damages, with the card picking up deductibles and extras like towing. One exception to this is Premium Car Rental Protection, available only to American Express cardholders, which provides primary insurance with no deductibles for a flat $24.95 per rental of any length.

Drivers who have no other form of insurance must pay for repairs out of pocket and then file a claim for reimbursement with the credit card company. The procedure is not onerous, but the time limit for generating a claim is strictly enforced.

Imad Khalidi, chief executive of Auto Europe, a rental car consolidator based in Portland, Me., says people who hope to use a credit card plan to cover the cost of an accident abroad must call the card company immediately and do exactly as instructed. Paperwork from the rental company will most likely be required; police reports are necessary only in the event of major accidents.

Mr. Khalidi recently discovered another useful tool for expediting claims: the photo function of his BlackBerry. Three months ago, when his rental car was rear-ended near Avignon, France, he took pictures of the accident scene, the damage and the license plate of the vehicle that hit him, which the rental company was glad to have when he returned the bashed-up car.

“How Protected Are You?“ (at hertz.com) is a resource for understanding the ins and outs of rental insurance. At the very least, travelers should make sure they know precisely what coverage they have before landing at a rental car counter in Palermo or Puerto Vallarta and trying to communicate with a clerk whose English language skills may be shallow.

Local Conditions

Beyond that, it behooves travelers to seek information on driving rules and road conditions in the countries they plan to visit. “We Americans drive roads that are very forgiving, but there are places without shoulders and guardrails where rules differ from those at home,” said Rochelle Sobel, president of the Association for Safe International Road Travel, a nonprofit based in Potomac, Md. The organization’s Web site, asirt.org, has driving reports for 160 countries.

It’s all too easy to underestimate the differences between driving at home and abroad, especially if you fly to a place, rent a car at the airport and then hit the road. Suddenly you may be confronted with a perilously short highway entrance ramp, or — surprise, surprise — the fact that you’ve rented a vehicle with a manual transmission.

“Don’t assume that the vehicle you rent will have an automatic transmission, air-conditioning, power brakes and windows,” said Neil Abrams, founder of the car rental industry consulting company Abrams Consulting Group. “When renting abroad you must request these thing specifically.”

In general, it helps to rent a car as similar as possible to the one you drive at home so you can venture with confidence into a new country — and the occasional hedgerow.

 

Money Saving Tips for French Travellers

From FRANCE on Your Own Newsletter (Sign up -- it's a great source of free information about France):

There are hidden credit card fees and money-saving tips that every traveler should know about before boarding a plane for a foreign destination.  If you plan ahead, you will save yourself money, time and aggravation. the most important phone call you may make before departure is to your credit card issuer.  Ask them what coverage you have if you use the card to rent a car.  If you will have full coverage, do not take the rental agency insurance. It could cost you as much as the car rental fee itself, and if you take the agency insurance, your credit card insurance will be invalid. and, tell the person at the credit card company that you will be out of the country, what countries you will visit and the dates of departure and return so they will not put a hold on your card believing it was stolen.  check with your homeowner's insurance carrier to find out what they cover when you are traveling.  Some policies cover your personal belongings no matter where they were when they were stolen.  Your car insurance will most likely not cover such occurrences. rent your car from home either by phone or online.  Get a written confirmation sent to you while you are still home.  Take it with you to the rental counter when you pick up your car to be sure you and the agent know the agreed upon price.  Be sure to initial and/or sign the rental agreement noting that you will not take their insurance if your credit card covers you. most credit card issuers (banks) tack on fees when you use your card internationally.  These can go as high as 4% of each purchase, and you receive nothing in return.  These are in addition to the currency conversion fees.  There is a 2% or 3% fee for the privilege of using your card overseas, and there is another 1% charged by both VISA and MasterCard added to that.  If you are away for several weeks or longer, you will come home to a credit card statement quite a bit higher than you expected. Capital One does not charge any fees for using your card in a foreign country, and they absorb the 1% VISA and MasterCard fees as well.  Charles Schwab Bank offers a VISA card with no transaction fees and puts 2% into a brokerage account for you.  These cards are very much worth considering before you travel. Capital One has no annual renewal fee, you earn a mile for every dollar spent, the miles have no blackout dates or seat restrictions, and you earn 2 miles for each dollar spent if your monthly balance is over $1000.  There is no limit to miles you can earn, and they don't expire.  New accounts are now being offered 0% APR until January 2011 according to the CardRatings.com web site.  For more information on the Charles Schwab Bank VISA card visit Bankrate.com. using ATM machines for cash advances also generate fees for 'borrowing' the money on a credit card, and a foreign exchange fee on either a debit or credit card.  However, this is the least expensive way to get cash advances.  Avoid change kiosks and exchanging money at airports! using ATM machines for cash advances requires a pin number for both credit and debit cards.  Note that you cannot use either of those cards in an ATM machine in Europe if your pin number is longer than 4 digits. some card issuers also charge you a fee if you make a purchase from home from a web site that uses a foreign bank.  When purchasing rail tickets, for example, we suggest you use the Rail Europe web site in your home country.  In the US it is http://www.raileurope.com.  From there you can find the web links to Rail Europe sites in Australia, New Zealand and other countries.  You will pay for your tickets in your native currency, and tickets can be sent to you at home before your departure. take some euros to France, if only to have enough money on hand for your first day or two for the taxi from the airport, a quick trip to the local grocer or for a cup of coffee at a brasserie on your first day in Paris, for example.  Hold onto some euros at the end of one trip to take with you on your next visit.  Not everyone accepts credit cards. This is common in the countryside at bed and breakfasts, for example; find out in advance so you are prepared with enough euros on hand. Travelers checks are not always welcomed, and, personally, we haven't seen anyone using those in a long time, although they probably are.  always purchase Trip Cancellation and Medical Evacuation insurance!  It is inexpensive and probably the best investment you will make before traveling.  Most policies cover lost luggage and expenses involved in delayed flights as well. All the major travel insurance companies have web sites where you can compare the coverage and prices of different policies online. We hope this information has been useful, and we suggest you do your own research on the credit cards you plan to take to France on your next trip. [Our apologies to readers outside the US for whom some of this information does not necessarily apply.  We have no interest, financial or otherwise, in the credit cards suggested above nor with Rail Europe.]