Just when I thought I knew everything about renting cars or driving in other countries, I got two rude surprises in one week.

First, the story about a Florida car rental.

Marlene and a girlfriend were going to Florida for 10 days. Since I’m a Hertz Gold Club member, and I had enough points for some free days, Marlene booked the car under my name. The quote seemed reasonable, $340. That was that taken care of.

Not so fast… When Marlene and her friend got there, Hertz wouldn’t honour the reservation. Why? Because I wasn’t there. She wouldn’t be able to book on my account with my rewards. Hmm, never thought of that, but OK.

So how much would Hertz charge for the car if Marlene rented it? I hope you’re sitting down… $790! Hertz, what is up with that? A $450 difference? It’s the same car, and you’ve got a customer standing right in front of you. But, nope, that little car was now $790.

So, what to do? Easy. All the car rental companies are right there. Down the counter was Enterprise. How much for a similar car? A cool $311, $29 dollars less than my fancy “Gold Card” rate and $479 less than the Hertz ridiculous rate.

I have to admit, I was lazy on that rental. Rather than check around for the best car rental price, as I had always done before, I figured with the minor bump in status (not a big car rental customer) and the points, I would take the easy way out and we’d simply book with Hertz. Never again.

It was a lesson in one of the major effects of loyalty programs – they’re designed to discourage you from comparison shopping. Obviously, right?

By giving you points to redeem, a few perks and a little elevated status, they want you to buy without thinking while possibly charging you more than the competition. So, in effect, you’re paying for your points.

It’s something to consider with any loyalty program whether it’s from a car rental company, hotel, grocery store or credit card. It always pays to shop around. There are price comparison sites for nearly everything, so from now on, it’s back to basics for me.

After our trip to Portugal in September / October of 2017, I wrote a post on how wonderful it was to drive in Portugal. Well-engineered highways with little traffic, delightful villages with tiny streets, spectacular views in the countryside.

I mentioned how you could park nearly anywhere in the villages as long as it was out of the way. There were no parking meters and no signs telling you not to park.

The parking situation is obviously different in the cities, but then we weren’t doing much city driving.

On our second last day, we drove into Lisbon to our hotel near the airport. We pulled up out front to drop the bags off, then parked in their parking lot.

And I guess, we shouldn’t have momentarily parked in front of the hotel. But then, where else?

Anyway, in May 2019, 19 months later, I got a parking ticket from Portugal for €30. There’s an address on it which lines up with the hotel location, so that must have been it.

Now comes the fun part. There doesn’t seem to be an easy way to pay this. There’s no online payment portal and they don’t accept credit cards. And unlike Italy, they didn’t automatically bill me through the credit card that the car rental company has on file.

I searched through online forums and found many other visitors to Portugal with the same issue.

It seems the only way you can pay your parking ticket is through your Portuguese bank account, at a Portuguese post office or your local Portuguese police station. Well, none of the above for me.

The ticket itself has instructions for Portuguese residents and European residents. That doesn’t help me either.

Furthermore, it seems that if the ticket isn’t paid promptly, it could go up to €150. Wow!

I called the Portuguese Consulate in Toronto. They usually deal with loftier issues such as visas and immigration. Short answer: they don’t know.

It’s tempting just to blow it off.

But apparently this type of information is now shared throughout the European Schengen Zone, the 26 countries that make up most of Europe. Does that mean it will show up the next time I try to rent a car anywhere in Europe? Or maybe from now on, only Marlene can rent?

Portugal, you’re making this unnecessarily difficult. Here are a few quick suggestions, no charge:

• Talk to the major credit card companies. I bet they’ll jump through hoops to get your business.
• Call the city of Toronto. Anyone from around the world can pay Toronto traffic tickets online with a credit card. We’re a friendly bunch in Canada and I’m sure the city would be happy to offer assistance.
• Then create a simple website that can be viewed in multiple languages. Just 2.8% of the world’s population speaks Portuguese. Help the rest of us in our own language and start collecting those Euros.

You’re welcome.

Resources

There’s nothing like having WiFi wherever you go. We rented a Teppy portable WiFi and carried it with us everywhere. With a Teppy, you can connect your phones, tablets, laptops and gaming consoles just like you connect to WiFi at home.

Use the apps on your phone including your favorite GPS apps without paying expensive cellular service fees.

It’s also perfect for uploading pictures, sending emails or just web browsing. We also used it for online work on the road including web updates and social media.

Teppy portable WiFi works around the world. Try it on your next trip.

Along with the websites and other travel planning tools, we still like to have a guide book handy. We’ve tried them all, and these days we prefer Lonely Planet books. Use our link to get 10% off your total order when you enter EARTHTRIPPERS10 during checkout, where it asks for the Discount Code. Please note, this offer is valid only in USA and Canada.

For hotel accommodation, we like Booking.com. Photographs show off the properties, and real reviews help you choose the hotel that’s best for you. You’ll find a great selection, current prices and pages that make booking easy.

Remember, popular destinations fill up fast, so book early to get the best selection and price. Click here, and you’ll get $25 off your next reservation on Booking.com

We’ve also rented Airbnb throughout Europe and North America. We wrote an article about renting Airbnb, 12 Tips for a Great Renting Experience to help you make the right decision. If it’s your first time renting Airbnb, click here to get the equivalent of $50 CDN off your first booking.

These days there are many things that can happen when you travel, aside from getting bumped from a flight. That’s why we always get insurance for our trips. It covers damage, loss or theft of our belongings, health issues and if necessary, emergency evacuation. Better safe than sorry.

Whether you’ve just booked your trip or are already underway, you can get covered by World Nomads. It’s one of the most popular insurance companies designed specifically for travellers. See if it’s right for you.

Portugal, outside of the main cities, is a wonderful country to drive. We rented a car for three weeks and the drives were one of the highlights of the trip. Watch where you park in the cities though. Here’s what you need to know for a great experience renting a car in Portugal.

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