I was reading an article in the May edition of International Living about credit card and debit card use abroad and it reminded me of an incident that took place while I was in Belize. I had reserved a rental car with Budget using my American Express card because AmEx covers the CDW and, depending on the country and rental agency, can save you $15 - $25 per day on your rental. In the case of the car I was picking up in Belize City, I would save $90 in total.
At least that was the plan. In my last minute packing I decided to minimize the potential for any problems if I lost a credit/debit card, so I chose to bring only one credit card and one debit card. I have a CitiBank card that earns me miles on America Airlines and chose my secondary checking account debit card to bring with me. Duh. I ended up having to use my debit card because not only did I not bring the AmEx, I forgot to pay off my CitiBank card prior to the trip. Dumb, dumb and more dumb.
OK, I learned a couple of lessons. But in the meantime I came across a great new card. I opened a self-directed trading account with Merrill-Lynch and a cash management account to go along with it. The CMA comes with a debit card that works the same way the AmEx card does to waive the CDW when renting a car. The beauty is that there is no annual fee. I probably won’t get rid of the AmEx because it is the oldest card account I have and is good for my credit rating, but it is good to know there are alternatives.
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