Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Maximizing Your Car Rental Insurance and Benefits

Few topics are more boring and confusing than car insurance. Yet one important decision we’re all faced with when picking up our rental car is whether to take the rental car company’s collision damage plan.

If you ever rent a vehicle, you’re sure to find value and save money by investing a few minutes to learn about the complimentary car rental coverage that comes with the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card. This is because the card offers some of the best rental car coverage available compared to other travel rewards credit cards.

In this article, we’ll review what is covered with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s auto rental collision damage waiver, what you need to do to make sure you’re covered, what’s not covered, and how you file a claim.

Quick Card Snapshot

BEST BEGINNER CARD

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

60,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,200

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.99% - 28.24% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® card is one of the best travel rewards cards on the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.

Additionally, it offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and excellent travel insurance coverage including primary car rental insurance. With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why this card is an excellent choice for any traveler.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x points on all travel booked via the Chase Travel portal
• 3x points on dining purchases, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services
• 2x points on all other travel worldwide

Cons

• $95 annual fee
• No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status

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Card Highlights

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
• Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel℠
• 10% anniversary points boost - each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
• Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% - 28.24% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

What Is an Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver?

An auto rental collision damage waiver, or CDW, is a protection that covers damage from collision or theft to most rental vehicles. This coverage reimburses you for damages or a replacement if your rental car is involved in an incident. It’s required when you rent a vehicle and will be offered to you by the rental car company when completing the initial paperwork.

If you have coverage elsewhere, such as with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you can decline the coverage offered by the car rental company.

Note that there’s also loss damage waiver, which covers damage and theft that doesn’t purely apply to the car itself. Depending on the rental agency, the differences between LDW and CDW can vary, and some companies use the terms interchangeably.

Bottom Line: The coverage offered on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is primary rental coverage, which means you do not have to access other insurance first.

What Makes the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Coverage Better?

Most rental car companies pressure you to accept their own CDW, which can be expensive.

The CDW coverage that comes with the Chase Sapphire Preferred allows you to confidently decline the rental car company’s coverage and still be covered.

In addition to receiving excellent rental car coverage, you earn 2 Ultimate Rewards Points per $1 spent on your car rental when using the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. You also incur no foreign transaction fees on international car rentals.

Primary Coverage vs. Secondary Coverage

Rental car coverage that comes with credit cards can often be secondary. This means that you must first file a claim with your primary insurance company before the secondary coverage kicks in.

But the coverage on the Chase Sapphire Preferred is primary coverage — you do not have to file a claim with another insurance company first.

Another positive is that Chase’s primary CDW coverage is not limited to rentals outside the country (this is common with other credit cards’ CDW coverage). The coverage is provided on a primary basis in the U.S. and in most countries around the world. 

Coverage Extends to Other Drivers

Another reason to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card to pay for your rental car is the extension of coverage to other drivers. The following drivers are covered for CDW when using the card:

• Primary cardholder when driving the car
• Any additional driver listed on the rental agreement
• Authorized users on your Chase Sapphire Preferred card who rent with their card
• Any additional driver listed on the authorized user rental agreement

Unlike other premium credit cards, Chase does not charge a fee for adding an authorized user to your Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Bottom Line: Authorized users receive the same CDW coverage as primary cardholders when using their Chase Sapphire Preferred card to rent a car. 

Requirements During the Rental Process

To ensure you receive coverage under the Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s CDW, you need to do the following:

• Provide your Chase Sapphire Preferred card when reserving, picking up, and completing the car rental transaction.
• Decline the rental car company’s CDW coverage, which is sometimes called a “loss damage waiver” or LDW.

If you provide an alternative card to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card when completing the rental, you forfeit the coverage provided through your Chase Sapphire Preferred card. You also forfeit coverage if you accept the rental car company’s CDW/LDW coverage.

You can use a combination of Chase Ultimate Rewards points and your Chase Sapphire Preferred card to rent a vehicle — you will still qualify for CDW coverage.

Bottom Line: To ensure you have CDW coverage, use only your Chase Sapphire Preferred card for all elements of your rental car transaction and decline the rental car company’s CDW/LDW coverage. 

What’s Covered

The card’s CDW coverage reimburses you for covered expenses incurred on the rental vehicle, including:

• Damage or theft to the covered rental vehicle (up to the actual cash value of the vehicle)
• Loss of use charges assessed by the rental car company
• Reasonable towing charges to the nearest repair facility

Primary coverage for car rentals is valid in most countries.

You should contact the benefits administrator prior to your trip to obtain a coverage letter and confirm that you will have coverage in the country where you’re renting the vehicle.

What’s Not Covered

There are important exclusions to the CDW coverage, including the following:

• Rentals that exceed 31 days
• Expensive, exotic, and antique cars; certain vans and trucks; motorcycles, mopeds, and motorbikes; limousines; recreational vehicles
• Open cargo bed vehicles and vans that carry more than 8 people
• Losses from using the vehicle off road
• Vehicles rented through a peer-to-peer car-sharing service such as Turo or Zipcar

It’s important to note that the CDW applies to damage and theft of the rental vehicle only. You still need to have personal liability coverage when renting a vehicle. Liability coverage, which covers injuries and damage to others, is usually included in the cost of renting a car. Your own personal car insurance can also be a source of this coverage.

Hot Tip: The Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s guide to benefits includes a complete list of what is not covered, including which specific brands of cars are excluded.

How To File an Insurance Claim

You can report a claim up to 100 days after the incident, but you should do it as soon as possible. Your rental car company may charge you immediately, so you should start the process quickly.

Be aware that the claim will be settled on a reimbursement basis, so you’ll be out some money during the claim processing period.

The first step is to call the benefits administrator when your rental car is in an accident or stolen. You will be asked some questions about the incident and sent a claim form to complete. Then you will be required to submit documentation, which could include:

• A copy of your credit card statement showing the entire rental was paid for with your card
• A copy of the entire rental agreement
• A copy of the accident report showing the amount you’re responsible for
• A police report
• Photos of the damage
• Repair estimates
• Any additional documentation the benefits administrator deems necessary

You have 120 days from the date of the incident to send in the claim form, but if you’re unable to retrieve some of the documents, the claim can be left open for up to 365 days total until you have everything you need.

To summarize the important deadlines from the date of the incident:

• Contact the administrator right away. The claim will be denied if it has been more than 100 days since the incident.
• Send in the completed claim form with or without all the required documents within 120 days.
• Ask for assistance from your benefits administrator if you are unable to obtain the required documentation.

Hot Tip: It’s good to be aware in advance of the information and documentation you would need if you have an accident or your rental car is stolen. Some items can be difficult and time-consuming to retrieve after the fact. 

Everything Else You Need To Know

It’s always prudent to look over a rental car before driving away from the agency to ensure there is no existing damage. Take pictures with your cell phone and let the rental agent know before leaving if you find any damage. Get written documentation of any damage found prior to leaving the facility so you are not held liable.

Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® offer the same primary CDW coverage. However, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card has a $75,000 maximum coverage limit.

Hot Tip: Foreign rental car agencies may not understand the coverage offered on U.S. credit cards. Request a letter of coverage from Chase before you leave on your trip by calling the benefits administrator at 888-320-9961, or collect outside the U.S. at 804-673-1691.

Chase Business Credit Cards With Primary Car Rental Insurance

Though the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is one of our favorite travel rewards credit cards, you may need a business credit card that provides the same valuable car rental CDW benefits.The Chase CDW coverage on these cards is primary and applies when renting for business or personal purposes outside your residence country.

In your country of residence, the coverage is primary when renting primarily for business purposes and secondary when renting for personal use.

The following Chase business credit cards offer this CDW coverage:

• Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card
• Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card
• Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card

Bottom Line: Chase business credit cards provide primary CDW coverage when renting a vehicle for personal purposes outside of your residence country. 

Final Thoughts

The CDW coverage offered with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card can save you a lot of money if you frequently rent a vehicle. It can also make the rental process easier, as there are fewer decisions to make.

If you do not have auto insurance, there’s also a certain peace of mind gained by knowing you’ll be covered without accepting the expensive CDW/LDW offered by the rental car company.

If you do have auto insurance, you would benefit from having the coverage, too — you will not have to file a claim with your own insurance company first (as you would with credit card rental coverage that is secondary). This is a favorable alternative because filing a claim with your auto insurance company could result in higher rates and even cancellation.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is not only one of our favorite choices as an excellent travel rewards credit card — it provides many benefits that can actually save you money.

For additional information on this topic, check out our piece on the best credit cards for car rental insurance coverage.