Just discovered a GREAT option for rental car insurance

[Sojourner]

As most of us are aware, many credit cards have been dropping their rental car insurance benefits. Only a fairly small handful of CCs now have any sort of traditional rental car coverage, and most of the cards that still do have annual fees.

I just this morning found out about a program that AmEx offers for most of its cards called "Premium Car Rental Protection". You must opt into it manually, but once you do, any car you rent on your AmEx card will automatically be covered under this plan. And get this... the fee is only $20 per rental (not per day) for up to $75,000 of coverage. This is an amazing deal compared to what rental car companies charge for similar coverage. You'd easily pay the rental car company over $150 to cover a two week rental, whereas with AmEx it's a flat rate that doesn't depend on the length of the rental. Automatically covers up to 42 days!

I plan on using my AmEx card exclusively going forward for any and all car rentals, both domestic and international. This rental car coverage benefit alone is enough to warrant keeping my AmEx card, which I rarely use otherwise as it only offers 1% cash back except for purchases at gas stations (3%).

Here are more details about the plan if you're interested.
https://feeservices.americanexpress.com/premium/car-rental-insurance-coverage/home.do

 

[Koolau]

As most of us are aware, many credit cards have been dropping their rental car insurance benefits. Only a fairly small handful of CCs now have any sort of traditional rental car coverage, and most of the cards that still do have annual fees.

I just this morning found out about a program that AmEx offers for most of its cards called "Premium Car Rental Protection". You must opt into it manually, but once you do, any car you rent on your AmEx card will automatically be covered under this plan. And get this... the fee is only $20 per rental (not per day) for up to $75,000 of coverage. This is an amazing deal compared to what rental car companies charge for similar coverage. You'd easily pay the rental car company over $150 to cover a two week rental, whereas with AmEx it's a flat rate that doesn't depend on the length of the rental. Automatically covers up to 42 days!

I plan on using my AmEx card exclusively going forward for any and all car rentals, both domestic and international. This rental car coverage benefit alone is enough to warrant keeping my AmEx card, which I rarely use otherwise as it only offers 1% cash back except for purchases at gas stations (3%).

Here are more details about the plan if you're interested.
https://feeservices.americanexpress.com/premium/car-rental-insurance-coverage/home.do

My car insurance company covers me for some period of time. I'd reconfirm that before renting, but I've been told that every time I rented in the past. YMMV

 

[jazz4cash]

I thought these extra fees and CC benefits were just for the collision damage deductible and your regular insurance covered everything else.

 

[foxcreek9]

Here is a good review

https://upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/amex-premium-protection-car-rentals/

 

[yakers]

Chase Sapphire Reserve is primarily coverage on car rentals

 

[mrfeh]

My car insurance company covers me for some period of time. I'd reconfirm that before renting, but I've been told that every time I rented in the past. YMMV

+1

My personal auto insurance is all I need.

 

[folivier]

My Marriott card which has a yearly fee covers rental car insurance. But it also gives me a free night at most Marriott's which we do use for an out of state yearly doctor visit. That makes it almost free.

 

[paul2102]

As most of us are aware, many credit cards have been dropping their rental car insurance benefits. Only a fairly small handful of CCs now have any sort of traditional rental car coverage, and most of the cards that still do have annual fees.



I just this morning found out about a program that AmEx offers for most of its cards called "Premium Car Rental Protection". You must opt into it manually, but once you do, any car you rent on your AmEx card will automatically be covered under this plan. And get this... the fee is only $20 per rental (not per day) for up to $75,000 of coverage. This is an amazing deal compared to what rental car companies charge for similar coverage. You'd easily pay the rental car company over $150 to cover a two week rental, whereas with AmEx it's a flat rate that doesn't depend on the length of the rental. Automatically covers up to 42 days!



I plan on using my AmEx card exclusively going forward for any and all car rentals, both domestic and international. This rental car coverage benefit alone is enough to warrant keeping my AmEx card, which I rarely use otherwise as it only offers 1% cash back except for purchases at gas stations (3%).



Here are more details about the plan if you're interested.

https://feeservices.americanexpress.com/premium/car-rental-insurance-coverage/home.do

I have been using this for years. It used to be one 20.00 payment was for the whole year, now it’s 42 days.
The advantage is that if you need to put in a claim, you go through AMEX. It doesn’t touch your personal auto insurance, which could result in a rate increase.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, I used the AMEX car rental protection recently when I rented a Tesla which wasn’t covered by the primary rental car insurance credit card I normally use.

The only funny thing about it is that they don’t “see” your rental car charge until you turn in the vehicle and then it might take a day or two to charge you for the insurance. So it feels a bit odd as you don’t know for sure you are covered.

Credit card car rental insurance exclusions: https://awardwallet.com/blog/credit-card-coverage-renting-tesla/

 

[Chuckanut]

I use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card that offers primary rental car insurance for things like collision. Of course, I still have personal liability insurance on my own policies. The card is $95 dollars a year. I get $50 back once a year on any travel expense booked through them. Usually that is a one night hotel stay on a road trip. So, the cost is $45 for the rental car insurance that bypasses my personal auto insurance policy. Worth it? Probably.

I’ll keep the AMEX card in mind just in case Chase changes its policy on car rental insurance. Thanks for that information.

 

[AzDreamer]

Your regular USA car rental insurance is not valid in Mexico so there I use AmEx Premium Car Rental Protection. One time there was a small claim and it was paid promptly.

 

[Sojourner]

OP here. Seems like most folks aren't as impressed by this as I am, but it's interesting to hear other viewpoints. I think this is a great solution for those who don't have a "premium" credit card that covers rental cars and whose auto insurance policy doesn't provide adequate coverage. I certainly count myself as a member of that group. Getting primary coverage up to $75,000 on all my car rentals for a mere $20 each—where if something happens I don't have to involve my auto insurance company—seems like a pretty great bargain. Certainly worth it for peace of mind, IMHO.

 

[Aerides]

Getting primary coverage up to $75,000 on all my car rentals for a mere $20 each—where if something happens I don't have to involve my auto insurance company—seems like a pretty great bargain. Certainly worth it for peace of mind, IMHO.

This is why I use it too. I have it as part of the upgraded plan via platinum which also gets me discounts/upgrades with Hertz.

 

[Sojourner]

I use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card that offers primary rental car insurance for things like collision. Of course, I still have personal liability insurance on my own policies. The card is $95 dollars a year. I get $50 back once a year on any travel expense booked through them. Usually that is a one night hotel stay on a road trip. So, the cost is $45 for the rental car insurance that bypasses my personal auto insurance policy. Worth it? Probably.

Hmm... that sounds like a good card to hang onto. Pays for itself just in rental car coverage if you rent twice a year. Good to know, thanks.

 

[simple girl]

OP here. Seems like most folks aren't as impressed by this as I am, but it's interesting to hear other viewpoints. I think this is a great solution for those who don't have a "premium" credit card that covers rental cars and whose auto insurance policy doesn't provide adequate coverage. I certainly count myself as a member of that group. Getting primary coverage up to $75,000 on all my car rentals for a mere $20 each—where if something happens I don't have to involve my auto insurance company—seems like a pretty great bargain. Certainly worth it for peace of mind, IMHO.

I've been using the AE program for years and have also been impressed by it. One of the things I really like about it is it covers Loss of Use charges from the rental car companies. My understanding is that your personal insurance does not cover this charge, and that the $ can really rack up if the rental car is out of commission a long time.

 

[Alex The Great]

Are you talking about Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver?
Just checked and a few of my Visa and MC credit cards still has this feature included.
I don't recall what other type of rental car insurance has been previously offered by credit cards.

 

[audreyh1]

OP here. Seems like most folks aren't as impressed by this as I am, but it's interesting to hear other viewpoints. I think this is a great solution for those who don't have a "premium" credit card that covers rental cars and whose auto insurance policy doesn't provide adequate coverage. I certainly count myself as a member of that group. Getting primary coverage up to $75,000 on all my car rentals for a mere $20 each—where if something happens I don't have to involve my auto insurance company—seems like a pretty great bargain. Certainly worth it for peace of mind, IMHO.

I think it’s just that quite a few folks here were already aware of it and several have used it over the years.

 

[xlf11]

Yes, I used the AMEX car rental protection recently when I rented a Tesla which wasn’t covered by the primary rental car insurance credit card I normally use.

The only funny thing about it is that they don’t “see” your rental car charge until you turn in the vehicle and then it might take a day or two to charge you for the insurance. So it feels a bit odd as you don’t know for sure you are covered.

Credit card car rental insurance exclusions: https://awardwallet.com/blog/credit-card-coverage-renting-tesla/

+1, you are right waiting for the insurance charge was a bit of strange, but it worked just as it described...

 

[xlf11]

Are you talking about Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver?
Just checked and a few of my Visa and MC credit cards still has this feature included.
I don't recall what other type of rental car insurance has been previously offered by credit cards.

The key is primary as a few non annual fee CCs have secondary coverage.

 

[Drake3287]

Yep, like others said, if you have full insurance coverage at home you don't need credit card insurance anyway. Other than renting a car outside of the US, I've always used my coverage from home and simply bring a copy of the policy with me.

I guess if you only have limited liability coverage maybe these cards are a good deal.

 

[audreyh1]

The key is primary as a few non annual fee CCs have secondary coverage.

I think it’s all of the non-annual fee credit cards offer rental car insurance as secondary, not primary to your home auto insurance policy.

Primary rental car insurance is rare, even among cards that have annual fees.

 

[REWahoo]

From the Washington Post - some CCs that offer rental coverage exclude EVs:

Some credit cards come with nifty travel perks, such as complimentary damage or theft coverage for rental cars. These benefits can make renting cars even cheaper since they take the place of pricey add-ons, especially since Hertz and Avis charge more to cover electric cars than traditional ones. But here’s the rub: Not all of these card benefits cover EVs.

Many Chase cards, for instance, have a specific carve-out in their fine print for expensive or exotic vehicles, which includes electric cars — even not-very-fancy ones like the Chevy Bolt. Call your credit card company just to make sure.

 

[wrigley]

My car insurance company covers me for some period of time. I'd reconfirm that before renting, but I've been told that every time I rented in the past. YMMV

Mine does a well.

Mike

 

[misanman]

Our auto owners insurance claims to cover rentals as well, but when I asked our agent, she recommended buying the insurance through the rental company. Apparently there can be issues using the auto insurance. Although I've not personally had a claim either way, I think the Amex offering is something I'd want to consider.

 

[Koolau]

Our auto owners insurance claims to cover rentals as well, but when I asked our agent, she recommended buying the insurance through the rental company. Apparently there can be issues using the auto insurance. Although I've not personally had a claim either way, I think the Amex offering is something I'd want to consider.

The way it was explained to me (by the rental car company), if there is an accident (or damage) the rental car company collects the damages directly from you and then you get reimbursed (or not) by your car insurance company. That would perhaps be a pain, but not a big deal to most of us who have credit cards or checking accounts that could cover most accidents.

I've always thought the insurance "waiver" was a racket. I never take it as I believe it's mostly a "profit center" for the rental car companies.

Now, I assume that using your own insurance company would include what ever deductible you usually would incur. Whether you could use your CC company to cover that deductible, I do not know. Fortunately, never had to deal with such an eventuality myself. YMMV