National Tonkoon's Vacation

[flannj]

T minus eleven days, and here's a question for you: for our two-week road trip, I have rented a car with National Car Rental in the Loop.  The details they have sent me with my confirmation are scant but I can't see any reference to insurance.  In Europe, when you rent a car, comprehensive insurance is included in the price you pay, albeit normally with a pretty high excess, so that if the car gets nicked or written off, you're on the hook for (say) five hundred, but the rest of it is the car company's problem.  If you want to take out extra insurance to cover the excess, you can do that do but you don't have to, and are legally covered regardless.

I'm guessing that the price I have agreed with National in the US probably doesn't include any insurance, but does anybody know what their standard practice is?  And if that standard practice is no insurance, does anybody have a recommendation for how I should cover myself?  Take their insurance?  Organise my own?  Would the insurance be taken care of if I pay for the rental on a credit card (Chuck), maybe?

Insurance isn't typically included from my experience. It's usually sold as an extra.

Any chance you have an American Express card? If you use that to pay for the rental it's possible insurance will be included. I have two cards with them and both provide complimentary rental car insurance.

The rental will come with liability insurance.  Getting insurance from the rental company will run around $19 per day or so (that's what it is for Enterprise and National and Enterprise are owned by the same company).  For two weeks, that isn't cheap.  You'll be far better off checking with AMEX.  In any case, be prepared, in the case of an accident, to cover the deductible plus the daily rental cost of the car while it's in the shop.

I'm assuming that you have car insurance in Australia.  You may also want to check with your agent to see if they offer car rental insurance (my company does and I have it automatically) but, obviously, I have no idea how these things work in Tazmania, where you live.

Just don't fucking crash your car.

In as much as you actually care about how things work in Australia, which you don't: hire cars here come with insurance, so nobody has or needs it included in their own car insurance or credit card contracts.  I'm not hugely optimistic about having a back door to this one, but do hold out a sliver of hope for Amex, you know... being 'Murican, and all.

EDIT: Okay, I spoke to Amex and they said "Aha ha ha, fuck off".  So then I spoke to National and they'll provide me with bumper-to-bumper cover for $13.50 a day, which isn't as bad as I thought.  So unless anybody has a better idea, that's what I'll do.

You do realize you're going to have to learn how to drive on the correct side of the road.

[Tonker]

T minus eleven days, and here's a question for you: for our two-week road trip, I have rented a car with National Car Rental in the Loop.  The details they have sent me with my confirmation are scant but I can't see any reference to insurance.  In Europe, when you rent a car, comprehensive insurance is included in the price you pay, albeit normally with a pretty high excess, so that if the car gets nicked or written off, you're on the hook for (say) five hundred, but the rest of it is the car company's problem.  If you want to take out extra insurance to cover the excess, you can do that do but you don't have to, and are legally covered regardless.

I'm guessing that the price I have agreed with National in the US probably doesn't include any insurance, but does anybody know what their standard practice is?  And if that standard practice is no insurance, does anybody have a recommendation for how I should cover myself?  Take their insurance?  Organise my own?  Would the insurance be taken care of if I pay for the rental on a credit card (Chuck), maybe?

Insurance isn't typically included from my experience. It's usually sold as an extra.

Any chance you have an American Express card? If you use that to pay for the rental it's possible insurance will be included. I have two cards with them and both provide complimentary rental car insurance.

The rental will come with liability insurance.  Getting insurance from the rental company will run around $19 per day or so (that's what it is for Enterprise and National and Enterprise are owned by the same company).  For two weeks, that isn't cheap.  You'll be far better off checking with AMEX.  In any case, be prepared, in the case of an accident, to cover the deductible plus the daily rental cost of the car while it's in the shop.

I'm assuming that you have car insurance in Australia.  You may also want to check with your agent to see if they offer car rental insurance (my company does and I have it automatically) but, obviously, I have no idea how these things work in Tazmania, where you live.

Just don't fucking crash your car.

In as much as you actually care about how things work in Australia, which you don't: hire cars here come with insurance, so nobody has or needs it included in their own car insurance or credit card contracts.  I'm not hugely optimistic about having a back door to this one, but do hold out a sliver of hope for Amex, you know... being 'Murican, and all.

EDIT: Okay, I spoke to Amex and they said "Aha ha ha, fuck off".  So then I spoke to National and they'll provide me with bumper-to-bumper cover for $13.50 a day, which isn't as bad as I thought.  So unless anybody has a better idea, that's what I'll do.

You do realize you're going to have to learn how to drive on the correct side of the road.

Aha, no, I won't: here in Australia we drive on the same side as you do.  No doubt you Yanks have found some way to make it more fucking complicated than necessary, though.

[CBStew]

T minus eleven days, and here's a question for you: for our two-week road trip, I have rented a car with National Car Rental in the Loop.  The details they have sent me with my confirmation are scant but I can't see any reference to insurance.  In Europe, when you rent a car, comprehensive insurance is included in the price you pay, albeit normally with a pretty high excess, so that if the car gets nicked or written off, you're on the hook for (say) five hundred, but the rest of it is the car company's problem.  If you want to take out extra insurance to cover the excess, you can do that do but you don't have to, and are legally covered regardless.

I'm guessing that the price I have agreed with National in the US probably doesn't include any insurance, but does anybody know what their standard practice is?  And if that standard practice is no insurance, does anybody have a recommendation for how I should cover myself?  Take their insurance?  Organise my own?  Would the insurance be taken care of if I pay for the rental on a credit card (Chuck), maybe?

Insurance isn't typically included from my experience. It's usually sold as an extra.

Any chance you have an American Express card? If you use that to pay for the rental it's possible insurance will be included. I have two cards with them and both provide complimentary rental car insurance.

The rental will come with liability insurance.  Getting insurance from the rental company will run around $19 per day or so (that's what it is for Enterprise and National and Enterprise are owned by the same company).  For two weeks, that isn't cheap.  You'll be far better off checking with AMEX.  In any case, be prepared, in the case of an accident, to cover the deductible plus the daily rental cost of the car while it's in the shop.

I'm assuming that you have car insurance in Australia.  You may also want to check with your agent to see if they offer car rental insurance (my company does and I have it automatically) but, obviously, I have no idea how these things work in Tazmania, where you live.

Just don't fucking crash your car.

In as much as you actually care about how things work in Australia, which you don't: hire cars here come with insurance, so nobody has or needs it included in their own car insurance or credit card contracts.  I'm not hugely optimistic about having a back door to this one, but do hold out a sliver of hope for Amex, you know... being 'Murican, and all.

EDIT: Okay, I spoke to Amex and they said "Aha ha ha, fuck off".  So then I spoke to National and they'll provide me with bumper-to-bumper cover for $13.50 a day, which isn't as bad as I thought.  So unless anybody has a better idea, that's what I'll do.

You do realize you're going to have to learn how to drive on the correct side of the road.

Aha, no, I won't: here in Australia we drive on the same side as you do.  No doubt you Yanks have found some way to make it more fucking complicated than necessary, though.

A little known exception to the  rule in most Eastern and Mid-western states:  When simultaneously arriving at an intersection you yield to the car on your right unless you are driving a grey car and the car on your right is white, blue, or red, and the name of the month has no letter "r" in it. 

[Bort]

T minus eleven days, and here's a question for you: for our two-week road trip, I have rented a car with National Car Rental in the Loop.  The details they have sent me with my confirmation are scant but I can't see any reference to insurance.  In Europe, when you rent a car, comprehensive insurance is included in the price you pay, albeit normally with a pretty high excess, so that if the car gets nicked or written off, you're on the hook for (say) five hundred, but the rest of it is the car company's problem.  If you want to take out extra insurance to cover the excess, you can do that do but you don't have to, and are legally covered regardless.

I'm guessing that the price I have agreed with National in the US probably doesn't include any insurance, but does anybody know what their standard practice is?  And if that standard practice is no insurance, does anybody have a recommendation for how I should cover myself?  Take their insurance?  Organise my own?  Would the insurance be taken care of if I pay for the rental on a credit card (Chuck), maybe?

Insurance isn't typically included from my experience. It's usually sold as an extra.

Any chance you have an American Express card? If you use that to pay for the rental it's possible insurance will be included. I have two cards with them and both provide complimentary rental car insurance.

The rental will come with liability insurance.  Getting insurance from the rental company will run around $19 per day or so (that's what it is for Enterprise and National and Enterprise are owned by the same company).  For two weeks, that isn't cheap.  You'll be far better off checking with AMEX.  In any case, be prepared, in the case of an accident, to cover the deductible plus the daily rental cost of the car while it's in the shop.

I'm assuming that you have car insurance in Australia.  You may also want to check with your agent to see if they offer car rental insurance (my company does and I have it automatically) but, obviously, I have no idea how these things work in Tazmania, where you live.

Just don't fucking crash your car.

In as much as you actually care about how things work in Australia, which you don't: hire cars here come with insurance, so nobody has or needs it included in their own car insurance or credit card contracts.  I'm not hugely optimistic about having a back door to this one, but do hold out a sliver of hope for Amex, you know... being 'Murican, and all.

EDIT: Okay, I spoke to Amex and they said "Aha ha ha, fuck off".  So then I spoke to National and they'll provide me with bumper-to-bumper cover for $13.50 a day, which isn't as bad as I thought.  So unless anybody has a better idea, that's what I'll do.

You do realize you're going to have to learn how to drive on the correct side of the road.

Aha, no, I won't: here in Australia we drive on the same side as you do.  No doubt you Yanks have found some way to make it more fucking complicated than necessary, though.

A little known exception to the  rule in most Eastern and Mid-western states:  When simultaneously arriving at an intersection you yield to the car on your right unless you are driving a grey car and the car on your right is white, blue, or red, and the name of the month has no letter "r" in it. 

Except in any county with a "U" in the name.

[CT III]

T minus eleven days, and here's a question for you: for our two-week road trip, I have rented a car with National Car Rental in the Loop.  The details they have sent me with my confirmation are scant but I can't see any reference to insurance.  In Europe, when you rent a car, comprehensive insurance is included in the price you pay, albeit normally with a pretty high excess, so that if the car gets nicked or written off, you're on the hook for (say) five hundred, but the rest of it is the car company's problem.  If you want to take out extra insurance to cover the excess, you can do that do but you don't have to, and are legally covered regardless.

I'm guessing that the price I have agreed with National in the US probably doesn't include any insurance, but does anybody know what their standard practice is?  And if that standard practice is no insurance, does anybody have a recommendation for how I should cover myself?  Take their insurance?  Organise my own?  Would the insurance be taken care of if I pay for the rental on a credit card (Chuck), maybe?

Insurance isn't typically included from my experience. It's usually sold as an extra.

Any chance you have an American Express card? If you use that to pay for the rental it's possible insurance will be included. I have two cards with them and both provide complimentary rental car insurance.

The rental will come with liability insurance.  Getting insurance from the rental company will run around $19 per day or so (that's what it is for Enterprise and National and Enterprise are owned by the same company).  For two weeks, that isn't cheap.  You'll be far better off checking with AMEX.  In any case, be prepared, in the case of an accident, to cover the deductible plus the daily rental cost of the car while it's in the shop.

I'm assuming that you have car insurance in Australia.  You may also want to check with your agent to see if they offer car rental insurance (my company does and I have it automatically) but, obviously, I have no idea how these things work in Tazmania, where you live.

Just don't fucking crash your car.

In as much as you actually care about how things work in Australia, which you don't: hire cars here come with insurance, so nobody has or needs it included in their own car insurance or credit card contracts.  I'm not hugely optimistic about having a back door to this one, but do hold out a sliver of hope for Amex, you know... being 'Murican, and all.

EDIT: Okay, I spoke to Amex and they said "Aha ha ha, fuck off".  So then I spoke to National and they'll provide me with bumper-to-bumper cover for $13.50 a day, which isn't as bad as I thought.  So unless anybody has a better idea, that's what I'll do.

You do realize you're going to have to learn how to drive on the correct side of the road.

Aha, no, I won't: here in Australia we drive on the same side as you do.  No doubt you Yanks have found some way to make it more fucking complicated than necessary, though.

There are very few roundabouts. And in the few cities where they've tried to adopt them, nobody knows how to use them.

[Tonker]

Okay, so we've pretty much got everything sorted: accommodation, money, SIM cards, CTA passes, hire car, car seats, taxi from the airport.  We arrive Monday afternoon and will be in town for a week before leaving on our road trip.  If you're around in Chicago next week and would like to meet up for lunch or something, let me know.

EDIT: also, if anybody has four tickets for the Giants series (6-9 August) that they don't want, let me know.  Otherwise, I'll walk up and see what I get.

EDIT EDIT: Stubhub has four tickets for the Friday day game, Upper Box infield, row 1 (seats which I love) for $225 all in.  Unless anybody has a better idea, I'll just do that.

[InternetApex]

Okay, so we've pretty much got everything sorted: accommodation, money, SIM cards, CTA passes, hire car, car seats, taxi from the airport.  We arrive Monday afternoon and will be in town for a week before leaving on our road trip.  If you're around in Chicago next week and would like to meet up for lunch or something, let me know.

EDIT: also, if anybody has four tickets for the Giants series (6-9 August) that they don't want, let me know.  Otherwise, I'll walk up and see what I get.

EDIT EDIT: Stubhub has four tickets for the Friday day game, Upper Box infield, row 1 (seats which I love) for $225 all in.  Unless anybody has a better idea, I'll just do that.

Sweet deal on the tix.

I'm in town all next week but my schedule is fucking retarded until about Thursday or Friday. Would love to hang out and meet the fam. Will bring my bird.

[Tonker]

A fucking tornado watch?  You've got to be fucking kidding me.

[Brownie]

A fucking tornado watch?  You've got to be fucking kidding me.

Tornado watch? Yawn. if you hear the air raid sirens, you can panic.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Okay chaps, we were looking at an Airbnb apartment in Boystown but it's now booked out, so I've found what appears to be quite a nice place up North, where you get a lot more bang for your buck, space-wise (this place is around 900 sq ft).  It appears to be about halfway between Wrigley and Northwestern, somewhere around W Touhy and N Ridge.  Seems like a decent - if quiet - area, and it's pretty close to Howard El and Rogers Park Metra (should we ever want to head North).  It's also close to the beach, which is important for us.

What do you reckon?  Fork, Huey, I'm looking at you guys because I think this is (was) your neck of the woods, no?

DPD: just realised that this place is round the corner from Candelite.  All a y'all better have a good fucking reason why I shouldn't stay here.

It's not exactly a great "walking-around-with-your-family-from-out-of-town" area.  If you're walking to/from the Howard St. El stop you'll want to do so during reasonable hours and not stop and make a lot of chit chat along the way.  Same goes for the Metra stop.  Also, I used to take my daughter to Touhy Beach and can attest to the fact that it's not exactly Shangri-La; bit of a mixed bag there.  I can promise you you'd be one of the few vacationing Europeans vacationing up there.  You may be a little more comfortable regularly setting up shop on the beaches around, say, Pratt and anything south from there but thn that might rule out a reasonable walk from Touhy and Ridge.  You can stop by Thrill's Magic Bachelor Pad though!

Not trying to rain on your joyful positive, but I'm not certain if be doing you any favors if I didn't at least provide you a fair and honest portrayal of that area.  Yes I know that area well (and let me add that I'm glad I no longer live there with my family).

Hi.

Also... Yeah. If I didn't live up here, I probably wouldn't live up here. Or something.

But this appears to have been all sorted out months ago. As you were, everyone!

[J. Walter Weatherman]

All right, who told Huey he could create his own stereotypes again?

Mostly I blame myself.

[flannj]

A fucking tornado watch?  You've got to be fucking kidding me.

pffftttt... call me when your house gets hit by lightning.

[Saul Goodman]

Okay chaps, we were looking at an Airbnb apartment in Boystown but it's now booked out, so I've found what appears to be quite a nice place up North, where you get a lot more bang for your buck, space-wise (this place is around 900 sq ft).  It appears to be about halfway between Wrigley and Northwestern, somewhere around W Touhy and N Ridge.  Seems like a decent - if quiet - area, and it's pretty close to Howard El and Rogers Park Metra (should we ever want to head North).  It's also close to the beach, which is important for us.

What do you reckon?  Fork, Huey, I'm looking at you guys because I think this is (was) your neck of the woods, no?

DPD: just realised that this place is round the corner from Candelite.  All a y'all better have a good fucking reason why I shouldn't stay here.

It's not exactly a great "walking-around-with-your-family-from-out-of-town" area.  If you're walking to/from the Howard St. El stop you'll want to do so during reasonable hours and not stop and make a lot of chit chat along the way.  Same goes for the Metra stop.  Also, I used to take my daughter to Touhy Beach and can attest to the fact that it's not exactly Shangri-La; bit of a mixed bag there.  I can promise you you'd be one of the few vacationing Europeans vacationing up there.  You may be a little more comfortable regularly setting up shop on the beaches around, say, Pratt and anything south from there but thn that might rule out a reasonable walk from Touhy and Ridge.  You can stop by Thrill's Magic Bachelor Pad though!

Not trying to rain on your joyful positive, but I'm not certain if be doing you any favors if I didn't at least provide you a fair and honest portrayal of that area.  Yes I know that area well (and let me add that I'm glad I no longer live there with my family).

Hi.

Also... Yeah. If I didn't live up here, I probably wouldn't live up here. Or something.

But this appears to have been all sorted out months ago. As you were, everyone!

Hi Paul.  And shut up.

where were you are you okay type three periods if you're in trouble

[Tonker]

Took an UberX car (excellent, fast, cheap service: good shout, Dubbs) up to Logan Square this morning for breakfast - ATonk nearly shit herself with happiness when they brought her pancakes - and then walked back to the apartment via the park.  I guess it was nothing special really, but we ended up talking to all sorts of people on the way, checked out the 606, and then visited the big Puerto Rican supermarket on North and California and it was a really, really nice morning.  It was also really, really fucking long morning, having been up at 0530 with the jetlag.  At one point I asked STonk what time she thought it was and she replied "I don't know... about one?".  It was quarter past ten.

[Chuck to Chuck]

Took an UberX car (excellent, fast, cheap service: good shout, Dubbs) up to Logan Square this morning for breakfast - ATonk nearly shit herself with happiness when they brought her pancakes - and then walked back to the apartment via the park.  I guess it was nothing special really, but we ended up talking to all sorts of people on the way, checked out the 606, and then visited the big Puerto Rican supermarket on North and California and it was a really, really nice morning.  It was also really, really fucking long morning, having been up at 0530 with the jetlag.  At one point I asked STonk what time she thought it was and she replied "I don't know... about one?".  It was quarter past ten.

How the hell did you pay for anything?