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Make sure that your credit card does, in fact, include collision coverage. Never assume you\'re covered.
确认你的信用卡包括了车损险，永远不要想当然地假设投了这部分保险
If you\'re planning to rent a car as part of a fall trip, you need to make sure to avoid a few price gouges that the rental companies have in store for you if you aren\'t careful. As usual, the most vexing questions deal with insurance.
　　如果你计划为你的金秋之旅租一辆车的话，你可千万要注意避免落入租车公司为你准备好的一些价格陷阱之中。和往常一样，最让人烦心的问题就是租车保险。
The easiest—and by far most expensive—way to avoid insurance hassles is to buy the rental company\'s \"collision/loss damage waiver,\" or CDW. These days, that coverage is likely to set you back at least $20 a day, maybe more—often as much as the base rental rate. You can easily avoid this charge by renting with a credit card that includes collision coverage at no extra cost. All Visa and Diners Club cards offer this feature, as well as almost all American Express and Discover cards and some MasterCards. But you have to be careful:
　　最简便的也是迄今为止最为昂贵的避免保险纠纷的方式就是购买租车公司的“车损险”（CDW）。目前，这个险种可能每天至少要收你20美元，或许更多——经常和基础租车费率相当。你使用附带车损险服务的信用卡租车可以很容易地避免发生这笔费用而且也没有额外的费用。所有的维萨卡和大莱卡都提供这项服务，另外几乎所有的美国运通卡和发现卡以及一些万事达卡也提供此类服务。但是，你一定要小心：
• You must make sure that your card does, in fact, include this feature. Never assume you\'re covered; ask, if you aren\'t already sure.
　　• 你一定要确认你的信用卡确实附带此项服务。永远不要想当然；如果你不确定，一定要落实清楚。
• Even if they carry a MasterCard or Visa logo, debit cards typically do not include CDW coverage. Don\'t use a debit card.
　　• 有些借记卡卡面也有万事达和维萨的logo，但借记卡通常有不附带车损险。不要使用借记卡。
• Credit card coverage is limited to maximum rental periods for each individual rental contract: 30/31 days for AmEx, some elite MasterCards, Discover, and Visa on rentals outside your home country; the limit is 15 days on most MasterCards and on domestic Visa rentals, and it\'s 45 days for Diners Club. If you plan a longer rental, you can return and re-rent, but only after allowing a gap of several days (check with your card for specifics).
　　• 对每一次单独的租车协议而言，信用卡附带的车损险是受最长租车时间限制的:美国运通卡、某些精英万事达卡、发现卡和维萨卡（租车地不在母国）都是30或31天；大多数万事达卡和国内租车可用的维萨卡都是15天；大莱卡是45天。如果你计划租期长些，可以采取还车并重新租车的办法，但中间要有几天的间隔期（和发卡行联系落实其详细的规定）。
• Most credit card coverage is secondary, meaning it pays off only what you can\'t first recover from your regular automobile insurance. Only Diners Club offers blanket primary coverage—the card pays the entire amount—but you can buy extra-cost primary coverage from AmEx for an additional $25 per rental. I strongly recommend going for primary if you can.
　　• 大多数信用卡附带车损险都是副险，也就是说当你常规的汽车险种不能涵盖全部损失时，该副险会帮你付清差额。只有大莱卡提供一揽子主险——这种信用卡会帮你付清所有费用——但是如果你是美国运通卡的持有人，你也可以额外买主险，每次租车另付25美元。如果可以的话，我强烈推荐你买主险。
• If you\'re buying a travel insurance bundled policy, some companies offer primary CDW coverage at a much lower rate than the rental companies charge.
　　• 如果你想买一种旅行捆绑保险的话，某些公司的车损险主险比租车公司的收费执行的费率要更低一些。
Credit card CDW works only if you (1) charge the entire rental to the card and (2) make sure you decline the rental company\'s CDW. That can be harder than it sounds: Some companies issue contracts with the insurance box pre-marked as \"accept\" and you have to enter your decline specifically. Also—and I\'m indebted to Bob Bestor, publisher of the excellent \"Gemutlichkeit\" online travel newsletter for this one—make sure you don\'t inadvertently pay cash for some minor extra such as a ski rack, GPS system, or license sticker: That extra payment voids the entire rental requirement.
　　信用卡的车损附带险只在下述情形有效：（1）该信用卡支付全部租车款，而且（2）确认你拒绝了租车公司的车损险。说着容易做起来更难一些：一些（租车）公司发布的合同模版中，保险一栏的是预置为“接受”的，如果选择拒绝，则要特别输入。另外，务必小心：不要漫不经心地使用现金支付一些诸如雪板架、GPS或者牌照贴之类的零星费用。这些不起眼的小支出会违反使用信用卡支付全部租车费用的约定。有关这一条建议，我要特别感谢鲍勃•贝斯特，他是优秀在线旅行邮件杂志《社交》（Gemutlichkeit）的发行人。
Renting outside the U.S. entails some additional traps:
　　在美国之外的地区租车还会遇到其它一些陷阱：
• AmEx, most MasterCard, Diners Club, and Visa cards all exclude some countries from CDW coverage: Ireland, Israel, and Jamaica on all cards (except some high-premium MasterCards), and some combination of Australia, Italy, and New Zealand on other cards; Discover doesn\'t work at all in most overseas countries. If you plan to rent in one of those countries, make sure that either your card works or that you rent in a different country and drive across the border.
　　•美国运通卡、大多数万事达卡、大莱卡和维萨卡的附带车损险都不包括一些国家：爱尔兰、以色列，而牙买加上述各卡皆无效（一些高品位的万事达卡除外），另外其它一些卡的车损险对澳大利亚、意大利和新西兰等国有选择性地有效；发现卡在大部分美国以外的国家都根本不附带车损险。如果你计划在那些国家租车旅行的话，务必确认你的信用卡有附带车损险服务或者你是在一个不同的国家租车并驱车穿过了边界。
•Many supposedly \"inclusive\" overseas rentals claim to include CDW, but they typically carry a very large deductible. Rental companies offer zero- or minimal-deductible \"super CDW\" at extra cost, but if you\'re relying on your credit card, buying that extra may void the entire rental requirement. The last time I checked, some cards take the position that if you can\'t avoid paying some CDW, they will honor the coverage as long as you don\'t accept any optional coverage, but other cards don\'t. Check your card(s) carefully.
　　•据说许多提供“全包的”海外租车服务费都声称包含车损险，但是它们通常都有很大的免赔额。租车公司会提供（具有诱惑力的）零免赔额或者最低免赔额的“超级车损险”，但该费用需要额外付费。如果你平时过于信赖你的信用卡，稍不注意用卡结算了这笔额外的费用，那么你也许就违反了全部租车费用约定。我上次做调查时发现，一些信用卡（发卡行）采取的立场是，如果你无法避免（在租车公司）买车损险，只要你不接受任何其它非强制的保险，他们便会认可这个保险，但是其它的卡不一定也这样做，所以请你了解清楚你的信用卡。
One final suggestion. These days, when just about every wireless phone has a camera, take pictures of your rental car before you drive it off the lot. That way you can prove that you didn\'t cause any damage to the car after you rented it.
　　最后一条建议：当今这个时代，每部手机都有一个摄像头。在把租来的汽车开出存车场之前为车辆拍些照片。当你还车时，以此证明你没有损坏这辆车。
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