Brent and Michael's Secret Travel Hacks, Part 12
Learn how to sleep in airports, why you shouldn't insure your packages, how to avoid car rental rip-offs, and how to find the best local tour guide!
One more edition of our unique travel hacks!
For other travel hack columns, go to Part Ten and Part Eleven and Part Thirteen and Part Fourteen and Part Fifteen and Part Sixteen and Part Seventeen and Part Eighteen and Part Nineteen and Part Twenty and Part Twenty-One and Part Twenty-Two and Part Twenty-Three and Part Twenty-Four.
Here are our latest hacks:
If you’re stuck somewhere dangerous with a dying phone, change your outgoing message, telling people where you are and how to help you. That way, even if your phone dies, help may still come your way.
Worried you’re going to leave your passport behind in the hotel safe? Put something essential inside the safe with it, like your phone, car keys, or a shoe.
I was recently standing in line at a car rental company, and I heard the clerks strongly pushing the idea that you should buy gas from them because it’s cheaper. Worse, I heard person after person agreeing to do this.
This is insane — an outright con on the part of the car rental company.
Here’s why it’s a con. When you buy from the car rental company, you are buying a full tank. Always. It is not the case that you return the car, and they fill it up, and you only pay for the gas they add.
Again, you’re always paying for a full tank of gas. But you will almost certainly not return the car with a completely empty tank. Who’s this efficient? And you shouldn’t ever be driving on an empty tank anyway.
It doesn’t matter if they say their gas is twenty or fifty cents a gallon cheaper than surrounding gas stations. You’ll still almost certainly end up paying much, much more per gallon.
Maybe you want the convenience of not having to stop at a gas station before you turn the car in. That’s fine. But never take this deal to save money. You won’t be.
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