Road Tripping in the USA!

Maccy said:
I’m not posh enough to have an Amex, so I played the game of guessing how much to pre-auth in store before filling up :)
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This is what I ended up doing, gave up trying to get my clarity to work at the pump. We did come across one ‘gas’ station that also didn’t take credit cards, only debit or cash. But even if your card charges a fee it’s normally still cheaper to pay it than getting cash before you go due to the rates you get at foreign exchange kiosks. We only took about $2-300 for 3 weeks which was more than enough.


Amp34 said:
And prepare to get people amazed at chip and pin. Perhaps not in Florida, but there’s a fair chunk of the US that it’s still a novelty!
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This 100%, they also implement it in a different way too. You hardly ever seem to need to enter your pin, just insert and it’s authorised. I never established if there was a limit but it was way higher than the £30 for contactless here and seemed to vary.

Someone also managed to get my card blocked because they insisted on swiping it loads of times before trying chip...
 
[TW]Fox said:
Because you used a Halifax clarity and Olly was talking about Amex...
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Ahh yeah, didn’t see he was talking about one specific card. Unless you have a card that specifically doesn’t have foreign transaction fees then you’re going to get them, fuelling up or not...

[TW]Fox said:
Me neither. Ended up just taking the hit on Amex as it was less hassle.
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I can only assume it must be regional or specific (fuel station) companies then.

I’ve used both visa and MasterCard cards, in fact the only card I don’t use is my Amex as that’s the only one that has transaction fees.

So “OP”, try it at the pump first. It may work, it may not.
 
As the US moves to chip readers in gas pumps it might not be such an issue going forward, lots of them have the readers installed but with the chip reader disabled at the moment. Hopefully in the next couple of years things will improve...

If it makes you feel any better it's just as much of an issue using US cards in pumps abroad. Canadian gas pumps never accept my cards and in the UK Tesco block international cards, Asda only allow you to draw £40 if you use a Visa/MasterCard.
 
I’ve never tried an international card in the UK but have again had no issues using a Clarity card in Canada (when I first moved, and occasionally when my family come over).

Obviously hit and miss.

Back on the US side of things, I’ve also found quite a few US stations are just swipe, with no pin or zip code requirement. Rather insecure. As you say though, hopefully with the increased prevalence of chip and pin in the US things will get more consistent.

The only places I’ve ever really had consistent problems with my cards are in the Philippines and Southern Africa, primarily because lots of places don’t accept MasterCard (Visa reigns supreme).

The other thing I have to smile at in the US is when they require a signature after you’ve used chip and pin (in shops and restaurants).
 
Finally booked my flights so have my travel dates - any particular sweet spot for booking a hire car or best to just book it now? (Travel in September)
 
Amp34 said:
I’ve never tried an international card in the UK but have again had no issues using a Clarity card in Canada (when I first moved, and occasionally when my family come over).

Obviously hit and miss.

Back on the US side of things, I’ve also found quite a few US stations are just swipe, with no pin or zip code requirement. Rather insecure. As you say though, hopefully with the increased prevalence of chip and pin in the US things will get more consistent.

The only places I’ve ever really had consistent problems with my cards are in the Philippines and Southern Africa, primarily because lots of places don’t accept MasterCard (Visa reigns supreme).

The other thing I have to smile at in the US is when they require a signature after you’ve used chip and pin (in shops and restaurants).
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My debit card has a pin but you just hit cancel when it asks for the pin so it runs it as a credit card and then just sign instead. I’ve had the card 6 years and I still haven’t set up a pin. My physical Apple Card approves without a signature or pin.

Our US credit card has a chip but requires a signature so it caused all kinds of chaos when we went to the UK
 
I always give 90210 when anyone asks for a Zip Code. Also had no issues using a foreign Amex at pumps. I cried a little when I brimmed my A6 for £100 after filling up for $35 in Texas the week before :(
$2.20 a gallon is insane
 
Just noticed that my original Avis quote was ex VAT, and I ended up paying £75 more than the amount stated in my confirmation email. Is this normal for US rentals booked in the EU?
There was no mention of VAT/GST in the email at all. Not even that it would be subject to GST. Cheeky *******.

Avis also declined my Quidco cashback as well to rub salt in the wounds. ********.
 
Did you book through the US site?

If you book through the UK site it’s net of all tax and fees. Normally has the CDW and a reasonable/no excess built into the price too.

The last time I booked it was way cheaper to book through the UK site than it was the local one.
 
acemastr said:
Tax is always added after here, it varies by county
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Yeah that I know, but I didn't book on their US site.
b0rn2sk8 said:
Did you book through the US site?

If you book through the UK site it’s net of all tax and fees. Normally has the CDW and a reasonable/no excess built into the price too.

The last time I booked it was way cheaper to book through the UK site than it was the local one.
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No, it was booked through one of Avis EU sites, which is why I'm miffed. Perhaps it's because it was the pay later rate, whereas the Pay Now rate included VAT..
 
If your going to do that then just fly, done and dusted in a couple of hours. You’ll arrive in a sensible state and not completely shattered after 10 hours driving. Ditch your car in Vegas and just get another in SF.

But as fox quite rightly points out, Death Valley and Yosemite are well with taking 3 days instead of one. SF is over rated IMO compared to the above two locations on the way.
 
Going to Boston mid April. I have 6 days spare for a bit of a road trip - what would people suggest.

I like to be active, I'm not just looking to drive somewhere day one, then stay there for 5 days before driving back to the airport.
 
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