Credit card travel rental car insurance can be an invaluable benefit, yet it can be complicated to navigate the available coverages and understand how they operate.
At the rental counter, it’s important to decline the collision damage waiver and understand your credit card’s coverage options – some cards provide secondary insurance while some even primary coverage. To maximize this protection, consider declining both.
What’s Covered?
Credit card rental car insurance can save travelers considerable money by eliminating the need to pay for expensive add-ons at the counter. Coverage varies by card; therefore it is wise to review both its terms and conditions before traveling abroad and also any associated benefits guides before making your final decision.
Credit card rental car insurance typically serves as secondary coverage, covering only damages not already covered by your personal auto policy. Furthermore, such policies usually exclude antique cars, cargo trucks and large vans, motorcycles as well as any vehicles rented through peer-to-peer car sharing services.
If your card offers primary coverage – which provides more generous protection than secondary policies while eliminating the need to file claims with your own insurer – even better! Premium cards like Chase Sapphire Reserve may offer this feature; other examples are American Express Gold Card and Capital One Venture X Rewards card.
Exclusions
Many credit cards provide primary rental car coverage that takes precedence over any coverage from rental agencies, though its limits and exclusions will depend on both card issuer and card type. Common exclusions for this coverage are costly or exotic cars as well as those carrying nine passengers or more (limousines and cargo vans for instance), along with rentals through person-to-person car-sharing services like ZipCar and Turo.
Know Your OptionsWhen it comes to getting the best car rental insurance, understanding all your options can save money and hassle at the counter. By declining a collision damage waiver offered by a rental agency instead using credit card coverage instead, you could save around $20 daily fees by declining it when offered at the counter – though being confident when declining CDW requires knowing its coverage and exclusions so reviewing them before travelling may help make this easier.
Secondary Coverage
Before purchasing extra protection offered at the rental car counter, it’s essential to understand exactly what’s covered. While credit card companies usually refer to their coverage as insurance, it often serves more as a waiver of fees than true policy protection; its exact terms vary widely by card issuer.
As it happens, many top travel rewards cards provide primary rental car insurance coverage and secondary deductible coverage should an accident happen while driving a rental car. Just make sure that if using rewards points to pay, the fine print is carefully read; Ink Business Preferred(r) Credit Card offers this perk as it often rents cars for work purposes.
Primary Coverage
Some credit cards provide primary rental car coverage, enabling travelers to bypass using their personal auto policy and save both deductible payments and premium increases associated with filing claims on personal car policies as well as potential limits being too restrictive to cover what type of car might be driven abroad. This coverage could prove particularly helpful during international travel.
Popular travel cards that provide primary car rental coverage include the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve Card and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. Beyond providing rental coverage, these cards also offer other perks including purchase protection, extended warranties on purchases, roadside assistance and travel accident insurance coverage. To take advantage of this coverage you must decline rental agency collision damage waiver at counter – typically costing an additional daily rental rate fee – before using these services. NerdWallet ratings of these cards take into account coverage options, customer experience customization costs etc when making our ratings of them.
