07.25.25 Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / Save On Airfares

Summary

The Clark Howard Podcast - Episode Summary: July 25, 2025

In this episode of The Clark Howard Podcast, host Clark Howard engages with his audience by addressing criticisms, providing financial advice, and sharing strategies to save on airfares. The episode, titled "Clark Answers His Critics on Clark Stinks / Save On Airfares," offers listeners valuable insights into personal finance management and travel savings.

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1. Introduction and Overview

Clark opens the show by reiterating the mission of empowering listeners to make informed financial decisions. He introduces the Clark Stinks segment, where listeners critique his advice, and previews the main topic of the day: declining airfares and increased empty seats on flights.

[00:39] Clark Howard: "It's my pleasure to welcome you here to the Clark Howard Show. You know our mission is all about you."

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2. Addressing Listener Criticisms: Clark Stinks Segment

a. Electric Vehicles and Cost of Ownership

A listener named Vern challenges Clark on his stance regarding electric vehicles (EVs). Vern points out that EVs offer significant savings in fuel and maintenance compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

[02:14] Listener Vern: "When discussing contributing to a 401k, you stated if you've got X dollars in it, the Roth account, then you have X dollars to spend..."

Clark acknowledges Vern’s perspective but notes that despite lower operating costs, the higher initial purchase price and greater depreciation of EVs in the U.S. make them not yet unequivocally cheaper to own overall.

[02:30] Clark Howard: "But because the purchase prices have been higher and the resale values have been lower, it's not a slam dunk yet in the United States that electric vehicles are much cheaper to own..."

b. Roth vs. Traditional 401(k) Accounts

Paul critiques Clark's explanation of Roth versus traditional 401(k) contributions, asserting that Clark's analysis was incorrect regarding post-retirement spending power.

[04:03] Listener Paul: "Your statement is not correct... both accounts would then have X minus 30% dollars to spend after retirement withdrawals."

Clark responds by highlighting additional factors, such as Medicare premiums and the behavioral aspect of maintaining contribution levels when switching to Roth accounts, which can ultimately benefit retirees financially.

[04:03] Clark Howard: "They tend to keep their contribution totals the same. Which means hidden, sinister, underhanded way for me to get you to effectively save more money for the future."

c. Walmart Pay and Mobile Wallet Safety

Max points out confusion in Clark’s previous advice on Walmart Pay, emphasizing the difference between payment accounts and mobile wallets.

[08:58] Clark Howard: "Max, thank you. And you were right. My answer was really incomplete."

Clark admits the oversight and emphasizes the importance of listener feedback in improving his advice.

d. Roth SEPs and Financial Institution Offerings

Beth addresses a misunderstanding about Roth SEPs (Simplified Employee Pension plans), clarifying that while Roth SEPs are legal, not all financial institutions offer them yet.

[09:26] Clark Howard: "Roths are now legal. You can have a Roth SEP, but there are a lot of financial institutions that are not choosing to offer the Roth version for a SEP yet."

Clark relates this to the gradual adoption seen when Roth 401(k) accounts were first introduced.

[10:37] Clark Howard: "When 401(k)s were first allowed to have Roth versions, almost no employers offered them. Today, I think it's somewhere around 90% of 401(k)s offer the option..."

e. Subscriptions and Library Use

Victoria and Mason criticize Clark’s recommendation of paid subscriptions over free library resources for accessing books. Clark concedes the validity of their points and highlights the availability of free options.

[12:09] Clark Howard: "Victoria, you are representing a lot of people who were really unhappy with me that I didn't talk about all the ways you can get books for free."

Clark underscores the importance of comprehensive advice and thanks Victoria for her constructive feedback.

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3. Strategies to Save on Airfares

Clark delves into the current trend of declining airfares and increased empty seats on flights, particularly to Europe. He shares actionable strategies to help listeners capitalize on these changes.

a. Reshopping Airline Tickets

With airlines reducing seat availability due to overcapacity, Clark advises listeners to re-evaluate their booked fares for potential savings.

[20:00] Clark Howard: "If you booked a ticket far in advance, reseat that ticket because there's no penalty on most fares... If you find a lower fare, you can then rebook and get a credit towards future travel."

He shares his personal experience of saving 37% on a flight by reshopping closer to the departure date.

b. Utilizing European Frequent Flyer Accounts

Clark explains how Americans traveling frequently to Europe can benefit from setting up frequent flyer accounts with European addresses to access better mileage redemptions.

[07:18] Clark Howard: "Frequent flyer points are generally much lower redemptions for people originating in Europe... they have their frequent flyer account domiciled at an address in Europe."

He suggests practical workarounds, such as using a friend's European address, to maximize mileage benefits.

c. Innovative Seating Options with Ryanair

Introducing a novel idea, Clark discusses Ryanair’s proposal to sell standing seats on short flights, highlighting the potential cost savings and health benefits.

[21:09] Clark Howard: "Ryanair wants to sell standing seats on shorter flights... I love the idea because, why not if I'm on a flight for an hour or something like that, being able to save money."

He encourages listeners to consider this option for brief journeys, emphasizing the safety measures in place.

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4. Listener Questions and Practical Advice

a. Booking Flights Out of Buffalo vs. Toronto

Cole from New York seeks advice on whether to fly out of Buffalo or Toronto for a January trip to Jamaica. Clark recommends flying out of Buffalo to avoid potential weather issues and additional costs associated with international departures.

[22:08] Clark Howard: "I'd prefer like you do that you're able to fly out of Buffalo."

b. Tipping on Cruise Ships

Louis in California asks about appropriate tipping practices on cruise ships. Clark advises using cash to tip bartenders directly, ensuring that the gratuity goes to the intended service staff.

[24:03] Clark Howard: "People who like to drink like their drinks made a particular way and they'll have their favorite bartenders... you want to give them cash because cash... it's going in their pocket."

c. Hotel Room Key Security

Thomas in Georgia inquires about the necessity of destroying hotel room keys post-checkout for security. Clark debunks the myth, assuring listeners that modern hotel keys do not pose a security threat.

[26:06] Clark Howard: "This is an urban legend... you can safely return the keys to the desk to reduce plastic waste."

d. Handling Car Rental Extra Charges

Bob from Hawaii shares his experience with unjustified extra charges from a car rental company and seeks guidance. Clark emphasizes the importance of documentation and proactive dispute through credit card companies.

[27:41] Clark Howard: "Provide that same documentation to your credit card company and don't let a lot of time pass... notify your credit card company of what you're putting in dispute."

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5. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Clark wraps up the episode by reiterating his commitment to empowering listeners to save money, spend wisely, and avoid being ripped off. He acknowledges the diverse feedback from listeners, showing appreciation for their role in enhancing the show's content.

[27:41] Clark Howard: "My mission is always about you, empowering you so that you save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off."

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Key Takeaways:

• Engage and Reflect: Clark values listener feedback and uses criticism as a tool for improvement.

• Financial Strategies: Understanding the nuances of retirement accounts can lead to better financial outcomes.

• Travel Savings: Reshopping flights and leveraging frequent flyer accounts can result in substantial savings.

• Practical Advice: From tipping practices to handling car rentals, practical tips are essential for everyday savings and hassle-free experiences.

This episode emphasizes the importance of community interaction and continuous learning in achieving financial well-being and smarter spending habits.

Transcript

[Sponsor Announcer]

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[Clark Howard]

It's my pleasure to welcome you here to the Clark Howard Show. You know our mission is all about you. I want you to be empowered with knowledge so you make better financial decisions in your life. And one way we're here to help you is through our Team Clark Consumer Action center where we take your phone calls and answer your questions. See [e-mail] cac now that I've talked about something helpful, I get to really hear something helpful from you as you help me do a better job than in our Clark Stink segment. And later, airfares have been going down and I've seen something lately that I've never seen in summer in recent years. Empty seats around me, not every seat full on flight after flight. How do you turn this to your advantage? I'm going to tell you how.

[Listener]

And this is international affairs.

[Clark Howard]

International even more than domestic. And so we're going to talk about that. But first we're going to talk about me doing a bad job serving you. I should have never encouraged you to speak. You almost think I'm pretty stupid. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Well, maybe I'm wrong.

[Clark Howard]

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you're right, pal.

[Listener]

All right, Clark, it's easy to tell how much you can say save with an EV versus an ICE vehicle. It's half price as determined by EPA and its MPGE rating. Maintenance and repairs are likewise more than half as established by empirical data. Vern.

[Clark Howard]

Vern thank you. And you're talking one believer in electric vehicles to another, having driven one for 14 years now. But electric vehicles in the United States have remained new ones, more expensive than the initial purchase of gas engines, with greater depreciation than gas engine vehicles. So yeah, the cost of operating them, the cost of maintaining them, is generally a lot lower than gas engine vehicles. But because the purchase prices have been higher and the resale values have been lower, it's not a slam dunk yet in the United States that electric vehicles are much cheaper to own for when you look at all expenses of ownership.

[Listener]

When discussing contributing to a 401k, you stated if you've got X dollars in it, the Roth account, then you have X dollars to spend. If you're In a traditional 401k, you've got X minus 30% more or less, whatever your tax rates end up being. Later you gave the impression that a person whose marginal tax rate was the same when working and then when retired would end up with more dollars if they contribute to a Roth account rather than the traditional option. Your statement is not correct. When the person's pre tax contribution amounts are the same, both accounts would then have X minus 30% dollars to spend after retirement withdrawals.

[Clark Howard]

Paul Paul, thank you and I appreciate your post. I've got two things I'd say about that. One is that if people are really diligent savers in 401ks traditional 401ks traditional IRAs, you're going to get hit with additional premiums on Medicare in retirement because of withdrawing money from pre tax accounts versus post tax accounts like a Roth. But the other reason, and this is the sinister side of me, is that when people switch from doing a traditional 401k contribution to a Roth or our traditional IRA to a Roth, they tend to keep their contribution totals the same. Which means hidden, sinister, underhanded way for me to get you to effectively save more money for the future. Because the money if you're putting the same amount in paycheck by paycheck in a traditional or a Roth, you effectively end up with much more spending money in retirement and Roth versus traditional.

[Listener]

You've mentioned when researching airline tickets to Europe, ding ding ding. Going to talk about that later. You've said Europeans get better rates due to airline agencies charging us Americans higher rates than if we were searching in Europe. You have not mentioned specific sites, browsers or any way to avoid getting these American citizen hire rates on flights. How can we accomplish this? Kevin?

[Clark Howard]

Kevin thank you. What Americans do who travel a lot to Europe, let's say somebody has family or they have work a particular place in Europe and they're going a lot back and forth. What they do is they do an initial one way ticket from the US to Europe and then in Europe they buy round trips originating in Europe, coming to the United States and back over and over again. So they you got to sacrifice that initial one way and then after that they're doing round trips originating in Europe. Now it's not every European departure point will be cheaper. It's not every situation but often it will be a lot cheaper for tickets originating from there. The other thing that came up I think in a question is that frequent flyer points are generally much lower redemptions for people originating in Europe than originating from the United States. There are specific reasons for that because of all these reward credit cards we have here and those are not available in a lot of other countries. So when you have your frequent flyer account domiciled at an address in Europe, mileage redemptions tend to be a lot, lot lower for the same flight for somebody with a European mailing address and a European domicile account than they are from here.

[Listener]

Nothing we can do about that though, unless you want to go buy a place in Europe, right?

[Clark Howard]

Like no, you can have. I mean you can have an address, could be a friend's address or whatever, you're up for your account. I mean there people are doing all kinds of things to get around how the American Airlines discriminate on frequent flyer mileage rewards going from here. And that happened to a friend of mine recently who had to come back from Europe for an emergency and was using points to get back in a hurry and paid so little points to come back from Germany. I think it was like nothing for a last minute one way ticket using points going that direction back versus what the points were from the US over.

[Listener]

Clark doesn't stink, but did emit some pungent odors when replying to a person asking whether Walmart pay is safe to use, Clark answered the question by saying that he sees no benefit to using Walmart pay by comparing it to the discount one gets by using Amazon's and Target's store cards. Clark is a bit confused. Amazon and Target's store cards are payment accounts and debit cards. Walmart Pay on the other hand is a mobile wallet to which one can load payment cards such as third party credit or debit cards. The benefit of using Walmart pay is that it is the only way to pay with a mobile device at Walmart since unlike Price practically every other merchant nowadays, Walmart doesn't accept Apple, Google or Samsung pay. The listener was asking about the safety of Walmart pay as a mobile wallet, not about discounts associated with Walmart's branded debit or credit cards. Max.

[Clark Howard]

Max, thank you. And you were right. My answer was really incomplete.

[Listener]

I called my Schwab rep to make sure I was correct before writing this. You can't do a Roth within a sep. You can do a Roth within a Solo or Schwab calls it an individual 401k. I am self employed and wanted to help others navigate these sometimes challenging financial waters. Another podcast mentioned that it is just a matter of time before Roths will be within a sep, but just not yet. Beth.

[Clark Howard]

Beth, thank you. And so here's the deal. Roths are now legal. You can have a Roth sep, but there are a lot of financial institutions that are not choosing to offer the Roth version for a SEP yet. And so that gives me a responsibility we need to come up with. Maybe next. Clark stinks. We can allude to this or summarize this question, and we can give people some ideas of who is now offering roth versions of SEPs. Because just because the law says you can doesn't mean it's available. And I'll give you an example of this. When 401ks were first allowed to have Roth versions, almost no employers offered them. Today, I think it's somewhere around 90% of 401ks offer the option of doing the Roth version or the traditional. So it takes a while for the financial industry to catch up with what the law permits.

[Listener]

Clark, you don't exactly stink, but I'm wondering if you're okay or if you need any help because you said to buy two subscriptions in one episode, which is not normal for you. I've been a Clarky for about three years, and I'm only 11 years old, and I don't think I've ever heard you tell us to buy more than one subscription in the same episode. Mason.

[Clark Howard]

Mason.

[Listener]

What did I. I'm not sure what one he's referring to, but probably maybe going or, you know, one of the other ones that you recommend.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, for travel deals. What else would I say? To subscribe to Consumer Reports?

[Listener]

Maybe. Maybe so.

[Clark Howard]

I don't know. Mason, write back in and let me know what two things in one podcast I'd say were worthy of your money.

[Listener]

But sometimes you think subscriptions are okay.

[Clark Howard]

If they give you money, Sometimes subscriptions are okay.

[Listener]

Okay, I don't think Clark stinks, but I do think he sometimes loses track of how regular people live. I was listening to the podcast and I was appalled. You advised your listener that if she reads a lot, a paid subscription to Kindle's upgraded service would make sense. I sat there shouting, don't Clark or Krista ever use a library? I use the Libby app to check out ebooks from my local library all the time, and they don't cost me anything. Libraries also let you check out actual physical books. What a concept. Victoria. And I just want to respond to Victoria because I was a part of that one. The person who wrote in did say that her local library does not have many books because that's what I use as well. I use the Libby app and there are other apps as well that you can use with different e readers with.

[Clark Howard]

The library and we heard from a lot of readers on this. And so Victoria, you are representing a lot of people who were really unhappy with me that I didn't talk about all the ways you can get books for free.

[Listener]

Which we do have an article on that. We have an [e-mail] on that.

[Clark Howard]

Yep. So that was. That was my fail and thank you. And that's why I love Clark Sinks. Look at the variety and look at the things where I was missing part of my brain cells that day and you really made me think about things one after another that are things that either I didn't explain well, didn't know what everything I should have said or should have known about a topic. So we're all in this together. We all learn from each other and we can all empower each other. So thank you for taking the time to post. And coming up ahead, I want to tell you deals are in the air.

[Sponsor Announcer]

We all have moments when we could have done better.

[Listener]

Like cutting your own hair. Yikes. Or forgetting sunscreen.

[Sponsor Announcer]

So now you look like a tomato.

[Listener]

Ouch.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Could have done better.

[Listener]

Same goes for where you invest.

[Sponsor Announcer]

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[Listener]

Learn [e-mail].

[Sponsor Announcer]

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This podcast is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money. When you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

With the Venmo debit card, you can.

[Clark Howard]

Venmo everything your favorite band's merch. You can Venmo this or their next show. You can Venmo that. Visit Venmo Me debit to learn more. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp bank and a pursuant to license by Mastercard International, Inc. Card may be used everywhere MasterCard is accepted. Minimal purchase restrictions apply. All right, I travel about I'm on a plane at least every eight to 10 days. I travel a lot by air, far more than would be rational or reasonable. Right. So I've seen something that is just not the way things have been for a long time sans the period during COVID and that is seeing empty seats on airplanes. And obviously a lot of flights are still full, but a lot of empty seats and especially Europe. And airlines are pulling service all over the place. I just saw an article about how many flights Southwest has been actively reducing right in the middle of summer. Normally, airlines don't reduce service till they hit its tradition in the industry that there's the fall schedule change and then there's a spring schedule change with others sprinkled in through the year. But technology makes it possible, even within what is the absolute peak season, to say, you know what, we're not going to fly that day. You know what? We're not going to fly that route anymore. Airlines are scrambling to get the supply of seats down because right now there's just too many seats in the air and especially international is experiencing it a lot of Europe flights. In preparation to talk about this today, I was looking at seat maps of available. Yeah, I'm the still. I was looking at seat maps of various routes, popular routes to and from Europe for flights that were going tomorrow. And what I was looking at was I was looking at available seat maps for flights to London, from London to Paris, back from Paris and Rome to Rome, back from Rome. And it is freaky weird to see where you used to see no seats available for assignment the day before a flight seeing all these available seats. So it is absolutely a slump. And the airfares that are showing up for fall show some panic, particularly out of the bargain capital of America for flights to Europe out of New York. There have been fairs being published by airlines for fall in the 200s, round trip out of New York, the three hundreds and big yawner in the four hundreds to Europe in the fall. Now these are low, low, low kind of winter kind of fares showing up for fall. It is an unusual time and the airlines will eventually pull planes out of service or put planes on different routes. But domestic is soft too. So I've been mentioning starting back in the spring, that if you booked a ticket far in advance, reshop that ticket because there's no penalty on most fares originating from the United States, even going to other countries. And if you find a lower fare, you can then rebook and get a credit towards future travel. I have a trip coming up in September and the fare dropped by 37% from when I originally booked it. I just rebooked it just late June, I just reshopped it and got this much lower fare. And you know what? I'm going to reshop it again and again to see if the fare comes down some more. And then I've got this credit that I can use for other travel that I have. I'm trying to remember it's from when I originally booked the ticket. So I've got until I think it's March of next year to use that credit for another trip. That's why you reshop. Unusual for airfare, completely routine for car rental hotels. But now, in this slump the airlines are in because of all the tariff wars, you have the opportunity potentially to get a lower fare to where you're going. Try it. Your wallet may like it. Speaking of your wallet, I know that people who've experienced it hate Ryanair, largest airline in Europe, incredibly well run company, one that also, at the same time is always trying to pick your pocket with other fees. But I know that this is something that a lot of people think I'm nuts about. But Ryanair wants to sell standing seats on shorter flights, flights up to 90 minutes, and they'll be able to put a lot more people on the plane. And it's a fully safe thing. You wear a harness and you kind of stand and lean against this thing. But they can get all these extra people on there. And I love it. I love the idea because, I mean, why not if I'm on a flight for an hour or something like that, being able to save money, I love to stand. Those of you watch our YouTube show, you see, I stand the whole time. I don't sit. And so sitting on your rear end is not good for your health. So standing. Would you do that if you could get, let's say, affair? Krista was on ryanair. It was €114 for you to have a seat, but it was €25 to.

[Listener]

Stand for how long?

[Clark Howard]

For a 75 minute flight, I definitely stand.

[Listener]

How do they strap you in? Do you have like a seat?

[Clark Howard]

So it's a, it's a harness.

[Listener]

Like, like you're on A roller coaster.

[Clark Howard]

Yes.

[Listener]

Okay.

[Clark Howard]

Exactly. So it's a very safe kind of hard.

[Listener]

Wonder what happens if you fall asleep.

[Clark Howard]

You just slump over like.

[Listener]

Okay.

[Clark Howard]

Probably drooling. Yeah.

[Listener]

All right, I've got travel questions and I have a few of them. Like an extra one here. So here we go. Cole in New York says, my wife and I are going to Jamaica in January of 26. We're out of the Buffalo area and we're trying to decide if we should fly out of Buffalo or travel up to Toronto. There is a direct flight from Toronto and one layover for the Buffalo flights. Toronto does look to be cheaper overall, but I did not know if we are still too far out from when we're traveling to really gauge that. I've been tracking with Google flights and would prefer to fly out of Buffalo because of the car travel that would need to be done. Is a much lower flying out of Buffalo. My question is when should I book and should I just fly out of Toronto?

[Clark Howard]

Right. As long as you are not flying on King Day weekend. January is kind of the low fair part of the winter season because people blowing all their money on Christmas and all that and there's a lull in travel. It's kind of the low of the high season for travel to warm weather destinations. Google has predictive things there. And you look at Hopper as well to see if fares are higher than normal out of Buffalo for you to go to Jamaica about normal or lower than normal. If they are higher than normal or even normal. I would hold off a little bit because we're a little early, particularly with all the economic uncertainty for airlines to figure out what they're going to charge during the winter season. And I, I think probably more like September would be when you might start seeing a sail wave that might cover for when you're going in January. January, you don't face as much risk that far out of airlines being out of seats or feeling like, hey, we can really stick it to people and you know, it's not that far around the lake to Toronto. You also don't know what kind of weather you're going to have in January either to try to make that trip up to Buffalo and back. So I'd prefer like you do that you're able to fly out of Buffalo.

[Listener]

Louis in California says go Bills when you go on cruises. How much should I be tipping? I understand that I can prepay the gratuity for the room waiters, but I'm talking about going to bars on the ship. It looks like they have a Service charge at the bars included, but then they have another line for gratuity.

[Clark Howard]

So, Louis, people who are, who are regular drinkers on a cruise ship tend to bring cash and they leave a cash tip or hand a cash tip to the bartender each drink that they're served on the cruise. Some people, if they, if they're really dedicated drinkers and there's a particular bar they like going to on a cruise ship, they'll give maybe a 20 to their favorite bartender early on the cruise and then give them another tip at the end of the cruise. But doing the thing on the form, you don't know who that money is going to go to. And usually people who like to drink like their drinks made a particular way and they'll have their favorite bartenders. The good bartenders on a cruise ship get to know you and know your preferences. And so you want to give them cash because cash, you know it's going in their pocket. That's the best thing to do. And you can go on cruise critic and other cruise message boards and your eyes will become bleary eyed pretty quickly with the endless arguing about how and what to tip on cruise ships for every phase of the cruise.

[Listener]

That is annoying that there's a service charge on the bill too, because you wonder, I mean, I would ask the bartenders, do you get any of this service?

[Clark Howard]

Don't ask them that, just give them cash.

[Listener]

Okay. All right. Thomas in Georgia.

[Clark Howard]

Cash is king here.

[Listener]

A friend of mine who travels frequently and stays in hotels when he travels told me that he always takes his hotel rooms card key with him when he checks out and he will cut it up and throw it in the trash when he gets home. He says that he does this because when the hotel makes your key and gives it to you, it has your personal information embedded in it by the hotel. And he doesn't want the key to fall into the wrong hands and risk having his information stolen. Is this a good idea? We've always turned the room keys back in at the front desk or we just leave them in our room when we check out.

[Clark Howard]

So this is an urban legend or suburban legend, whatever you want to call it. And if there was ever a time, Thomas, that that was true, it's not true now. Based on I did this on TV and the data security experts we talked to said this is not going on and so feel comfortable doing whatever you want to with the key. What I do is I like to turn them back into the desk so they can wipe it and make a key for another guest. And reduce the amount of plastic waste.

[Listener]

Bob in Hawaii says Tip and kudos to Clark. I listen to your podcast regularly and just took a trip to Europe where I rented a car for five days in the room. I'm not going to say that the room area For Clark's advice, I took a video of the car on pickup and drop off to make sure I wouldn't be dinged for damages that I didn't cause cause. When I returned the car to the office there was a sign that said to park on the street and leave the keys in the Dropbox. Then 15 minutes later an attendant showed up, opened the gate but told me the same thing, that I should park on the street and leave the keys in the box. So I did just that. Two days after returning the car they sent me an email which indicated an extra day charge for returning the car late. I contacted them and they sent the invoice showing the return at 4:30pm So I sent them my video upon which they then asked for metadata which I screenshot and sent to them. I'm waiting for their response, but if they don't yield, my next action is to contact my credit card company. I'm confident I will overcome this fraudulent action thanks to you and your team.

[Clark Howard]

So this is a common refrain with car rentals outside the United States, although it can happen here. It happened. That's happened to me twice over the years where I dropped a car at after hours drop box and they billed me for extra days. In one case I was billed two extra days and in that circumstance because I was flying out, I was able to prove that I had flown and they gave me the credit. The other one took call after call after call and finally I had to call corporate at not normal customer no service. I called the man main number to corporate and was able to get it resolved. But this is a problem anytime you return a vehicle at an unstaffed center. I love what you did by making sure you shot your video, it timestamped, you proved it. You can provide that same documentation to your credit card company and don't let a lot of time pass. Go ahead and notify your credit card company of what you're putting in dispute so that that is already on record and you've done that. And then later if the car rental company gives you the proper credit back, you just release your dispute with your credit card company. But the car rental thing is getting tougher and tougher and that's why you have got to document everything. And I want to thank you so much for joining us today on the podcast. I hope that you've got incredibly great weekend plans in front of you and depending on where you live in the country. This is so wild. If you have school age kids, do you know that next week is when schools go back into session in some parts of the United States? And then others, kids don't go back to school till after Labor Day and everywhere in between. So for some people, summer is slightly more than half over. For others, summer's over next week. Wow. So enjoy your weekend and know that my mission is always about you, empowering you so that you save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off.