You’re faced with several decisions when renting a vehicle, but none is more important than whether to purchase the car rental insurance coverage offered by the rental car company.
The representatives are pros at telling you why you need their coverage, so unless you’ve done your homework in advance, you’re likely to just accept the coverage to ensure you’re covered during the rental period. Purchasing the car rental agency’s coverage can be expensive, though — as much as $30 per day.
Having car rental insurance on your credit card allows you to confidently decline that coverage, forego the added expense, and potentially save hundreds of dollars. In order to accomplish these savings, you’ll need to be prepared and pay for your rental with a credit card that offers primary car rental coverage.
Our objective in this article will be to help you understand car rental coverage and recommend a few credit cards that offer great car rental insurance.
Let’s get started on our journey.
What Is Primary Car Rental Insurance?
There are 2 levels of car rental coverage that can be offered on your credit card — secondary and primary. A single credit card could even apply both types of coverage. For example, a card could offer primary coverage when you rent a vehicle outside your country of residence and secondary coverage within your country of residence.
Car rental insurance is also referred to as Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) by the car rental companies and also by some credit card companies.
This is because CDW/LDW coverage is not really insurance, although it functions similarly because it waives your responsibility to pay for damages, theft, or other related charges you could incur during a rental car incident.
Before we discuss the best credit cards for primary car rental insurance, let’s first define the difference between secondary and primary coverage and how these coverages may be applied.
Secondary Collision Damage Waiver Coverage
Secondary CDW coverage — also referred to as “excess” coverage — requires you to first file a claim with any insurance that might be applicable to the situation before the secondary coverage kicks in. This is important because your own insurance company could potentially penalize you for an accident if you file a claim.
You may also have to pay a high deductible when filing a claim with your own insurance company, depending on the coverage you have.
Primary Collision Damage Waiver Coverage
Primary CDW coverage does not require you to file a claim with your own insurance company before coverage kicks in. It functions as the primary coverage for the car rental incident.
Requirements To Ensure Coverage
For the CDW coverage that is offered on credit cards to be valid, most credit card coverage requires the following:
- Reserve and pay for your rental car with the qualifying credit card
- Decline the rental car company’s CDW/LDW coverage
- List all drivers on the rental agreement
Make sure you know the requirements before you rent a vehicle and call the benefits administrator if you have questions.
You can even ask for a letter detailing your CDW coverage to show when renting a vehicle.
Bottom Line: Credit cards can offer CDW/LDW coverage that is secondary or primary. Some credit cards offer a combination of both, applying primary coverage outside of your residence country and secondary within your country of residence, for example. Another scenario is that primary coverage may apply if you do not have your own car insurance or if the coverage you do have does not cover you outside of your resident country.
The 5 Best Personal Cards for Primary Car Rental Insurance
Your business credit card can cover you for personal use outside of your resident country. Image Credit: Alex Mares via Unsplash
Card Summary
| Card |
Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee |
Benefits for Car Rental Insurance |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
- Earn 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- Annual fee of $95
|
- Primary rental car insurance
- 5x points on car rentals booked via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal
- 2x points on all other travel
|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
- Earn 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- Annual fee of $550
|
- Primary rental car insurance
- 10x points on car rentals booked via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal
- 3x points on all other travel
- Rental car privileges with Avis, National, and Silvercar
|
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card |
- Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- Annual fee of $395
|
- Primary rental car insurance
- 10x miles on car rentals booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on non-bonused categories
- Complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status
|
| The Platinum Card® from American Express |
- Earn 100,000 points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Annual fee of $695 (rates and fees)
|
- Secondary rental car insurance with the ability to purchase primary rental car insurance
- 1x points on car rentals
- Fantastic rental car privileges with Avis, Hertz, and National
- Amazing luxury travel benefits, including worldwide lounge access and hotel elite status
|
| American Express® Gold Card |
- Earn 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.
- Annual fee of $250 (rates and fees)
|
- Secondary rental car insurance with the ability to purchase primary rental car insurance
- 1x points on car rentals
- Terrific everyday earning categories
|
1. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is our #1 pick because it’s one of the few personal credit cards offering primary rental car insurance. It solidifies itself at the top thanks to its mild annual fee and its tremendous rewards categories.
As you can imagine, this credit card offers an exceedingly attractive welcome bonus and up to 5x Ultimate Rewards points on purchases:
- 5x points on all travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards (including rental cars)
- 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries
- 2x points on all other travel
- 1x points on all other purchases
After every account anniversary year, cardholders receive a 10% anniversary rewards bonus, which could elevate your rewards to a maximum of 5.5x points per dollar and a minimum of 1.1x points per dollar.
Enjoy a discounted hotel stay when you book through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal with a $50 annual credit towards hotel stays, as well as stellar travel insurance (which includes primary rental car coverage).
This credit card also offers state-of-the-art purchase protection, extended warranty, and zero liability fraud protection, as well as no foreign transaction fees and no additional annual fees for authorized users.
Hot Tip: There is no charge for adding an authorized user to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, and they receive the same primary CDW coverage when renting a vehicle with their card. Keep in mind that authorized users driving a vehicle rented by the primary cardholder need to be listed as a driver to be covered. Read more about maximizing car rental insurance benefits with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
Why We Like Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
We are huge fans of Chase Ultimate Rewards points simply because of how valuable and versatile they are. Worth 2.0 cents each according to our valuations, these points can be redeemed with transfer partners for tremendous value when booking award flights and hotels.
But if you were looking for alternative ways to use points and were willing to accept a lower redemption value, you can also book travel through the Chase travel portal, get gift cards, earn statement credits, make charitable donations, and buy online merchandise.
2. Chase Sapphire Reserve®
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is Chase’s flagship ultra-premium credit card. It earns Chase’s own Ultimate Rewards points, just like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card; the difference is you’ll get up to 10x Ultimate Rewards points:
- 10x points on rental cars, hotels, and dining booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x points on air travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 3x points on all other travel purchases
- 3x points on dining
- 1x points on all other purchases
Earning 10x points on car rentals is exceptional, worth a return on spending of 20%!
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with excellent primary rental car insurance and rental car privileges at National, Silvercar, and Avis. It also comes with the same worldwide primary CDW coverage as the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, but with a maximum of $75,000 coverage for the rental vehicle. And the most compelling reason to use the Chase Sapphire Reserve card for your rental car is that you can pay for the rental with Ultimate Rewards Points and receive 50% more value for your points!
The card also has some incredible benefits, like an easy-to-use up to $300 travel credit every cardmember year, complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, the best travel insurance from a single credit card (including primary rental car coverage), and a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck/NEXUS application fee credit of up to $100.
Lastly, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers access to the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, a 50% redemption bonus in select rotating categories when using Pay Yourself Back, no foreign transaction fees, purchase protection, roadside assistance, and extended warranty coverage.
3. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
CapOne’s ultra-premium credit card product is the CapOne Venture X card. This credit card, similar to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, also earns up to 10x miles:
- 10x miles on car rentals and hotels purchased through Capital One Travel
- 10x miles on Turo bookings through May 16, 2023
- 5x miles on flights purchased through Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all other purchases
The CapOne Venture X card boasts primary rental car insurance, complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status (one of the only cards that offers this top-tier elite status), and up to 10x miles on car rental bookings (assuming they’re made through Capital One Travel).
There’s also up to a $300 annual travel credit for Capital One Travel bookings (which you could use for rental cars, too!), an annual account anniversary bonus of 10,000 miles, access to Capital One Lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, and Priority Pass lounges, as well as a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit of up to $100.
It’s also one of the few credit cards with exceptional cell phone protection, travel insurance, up to 4 authorized user cards for no additional annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, purchase protection, and extended warranty.
Why We Like Earning Capital One Miles
Capital One Miles is one of the best transferable currencies available. And it shows with our valuation of 1.8 cents apiece. That means a 10x miles accrual structure is worth a whopping 18%!
In general, the best way to use Capital One miles is to transfer them to travel partners for award travel, but you can also redeem them for travel purchases, online merchandise, statement credits, gift cards, and more.
4. The Platinum Card® from American Express
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome offer of up to 150,000 points with the Amex Platinum card! (The current public offer is 100,000.)
The Amex Platinum card is one of our favorite cards, thanks to its abundance of luxury travel perks. Although it offers secondary rental car coverage by default, you can easily purchase primary rental car coverage for around $12.25 to $24.95 per rental.
And sure, getting primary rental car insurance technically isn’t free, but if you look past that, you’ll probably end up being happy to pay for the primary rental car insurance if you utilize all of the card’s other perks.
The Amex Platinum card offers complimentary rental car privileges and benefits with Avis, Hertz, and National, which could help you get upgrades, discounts, and elevated service.
But looking past the car rental benefits, you’ll find that the Amex Platinum card’s rewards and benefits will probably make you gravitate towards this card if you’re into luxury travel:
- 5x Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel (up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year)
- 5x Membership Rewards points on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel
- 1x Membership Rewards points on all other purchases (including rental cars)
Furthermore, the Amex Platinum card offers access to Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection (to make you feel like a VIP when booking hotel stays around the world) and the American Express Global Lounge Collection to access some of the most exclusive lounges, including Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying on a same-day Delta flight), and Priority Pass lounges upon enrollment.
To add to that, there’s complimentary hotel elite status, upon enrollment, with Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite.
Cardholders can also take advantage of a series of statement credits, including:
Cardholders will also enjoy no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees), purchase protection, cell phone insurance, extended warranty, and exceptional travel insurance.
Why We Like Earning Amex Membership Rewards Points
We are of the opinion that Amex Membership Rewards points are the most valuable out there. By our valuations, we peg Amex points at 2.2 cents each, which outperforms both Chase Ultimate Rewards and Capital One Miles.
In fact, we’ve compiled a huge guide on how to extract as much value from Amex points as possible.
But if you’re looking for other ways to use Amex points outside of travel, you can also get gift cards, cash-back, statement credits, merchandise, and book travel through Amex Travel using Pay With Points.
5. American Express® Gold Card
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus of up to 90,000 points with the Amex Gold card! (The current public offer is 60,000 points.)
The last personal card product we’ll include in this article is the Amex Gold card. It happens to be one of the most exceptional cards for everyday spending. It offers secondary rental car coverage, but there are so many other reasons why you’d want to get this card!
Even with secondary rental car insurance, you can purchase Premium Car Rental Protection from $12.25 to $24.95 per rental, so you still have the option to enjoy primary coverage with the Amex Gold card.
Let’s first note that the welcome bonus is consistently awesome — and you’ll earn up to 4x points:
- 4x points at restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year)
- 3x points on flights purchased directly with the airline or Amex Travel
- 1x points on all other purchases (including rental cars)
By earning 4x points, you can get a whopping return on spending of 8.8%! The Amex Gold card also comes with up to $240 in statement credits every year:
- Up to $120 (up to $10 per month) in Uber Cash for rides or Uber Eats orders in the U.S.
- Up to $120 (up to $10 per month) in dining credits at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Milk Bar, Wine.com, and select Shake Shack locations (enrollment required)
In addition, you can access room upgrades and property credits when booking eligible stays at The Hotel Collection, which will undoubtedly enhance your travel experience.
The Amex Gold card has travel insurance, no foreign transaction fees, fee-free authorized user cards, purchase protection, and extended warranty (see rates and fees).
The 5 Best Business Cards for Primary Car Rental Insurance
Image Credit: pixel6propix via Unsplash
Business cards handle car rental insurance coverage a bit differently than personal cards. You’ll receive primary car rental coverage if you are renting primarily for business purposes and use your associated card to pay for the rental.
You are also covered for personal use when renting a vehicle outside of your resident country. If you rent for personal use within your country of residence, you will not have primary coverage.
Card Summary
| Card |
Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee |
Benefits for Primary Car Rental Insurance |
| Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card |
- Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- Annual fee of $95
|
- Primary rental car insurance when renting for business or outside of the U.S.; secondary coverage for personal rentals in the U.S.
- 3x points on select business categories, including travel (up to $150,000 per cardmember year)
|
| Ink Business Cash® Credit Card |
- Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- Annual fee of $0
|
- Primary rental car insurance when renting for business or outside of the U.S.; secondary coverage for personal rentals in the U.S.
- 1% cash-back on car rentals
|
| Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card |
- Earn $750 bonus cash-back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- Annual fee of $0
|
- Primary rental car insurance when renting for business or outside of the U.S.; secondary coverage for personal rentals in the U.S.
- 1.5% cash-back on all purchases
|
| United℠ Business Card |
- Earn up to 150,000 miles. Earn 75,000 miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, earn an additional 75,000 miles after you spend $20,000 total on purchases in the first 6 months.
- Annual fee of $99
|
- Primary rental car insurance when renting for business or outside of the U.S.; secondary coverage for personal rentals in the U.S.
- 1x miles on rental cars
|
| The Business Platinum Card® from American Express |
- Earn 120,000 points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- Annual fee of $695 (rates and fees)
|
- Secondary rental car insurance with the ability to purchase primary rental car insurance
- Fantastic rental car privileges with Avis, Hertz, and National
- Amazing luxury travel benefits, including worldwide lounge access and hotel elite status
- 1x miles on rental cars
|
1. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
We affectionately refer to the Ink Business Preferred card as the king of small business credit cards and it has a huge welcome bonus. The card comes with primary rental car insurance when renting for business and outside of the U.S. and secondary coverage for when you rent a vehicle for personal use in the U.S.
Cardholders have the ability to earn 3x points on up to $150,000 in combined purchases on these select business categories every cardmember year:
- Ads purchased with search engines or social media sites
- Internet, cable, and phone services
- Shipping expenses
- Travel (including rental cars)
You’ll also earn 5x points on Lyft purchases through March 31, 2025.
So when you book car rentals that code as travel, expect to get a return on spending of 6%!
This credit card also offers cell phone protection, purchase protection, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fees, and fee-free employee cards.
2. Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
The Ink Business Cash card is one of the few credit cards that offers primary rental car insurance when renting for business purposes or outside of the U.S., all without an annual fee! The card also has secondary coverage when you rent a vehicle for personal use in the U.S.
But there’s so much more to this card, starting with the enormous welcome bonus. There’s also a 0% introductory APR benefit, travel insurance, and up to 5% cash-back on purchases:
- 5% cash-back on Lyft purchases through March 31, 2025
- 5% cash-back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services every cardmember year
- 2% cash-back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants every cardmember year
- 1% cash-back on other purchases (including rental cars)
If you have an Ultimate Rewards card, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you can convert your rewards at a 1% to 1x ratio, making a 5% cash-back structure double in value to a 10% return on spending!
Other perks include zero liability fraud protection and fee-free employee cards.
3. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
The Ink Business Unlimited card is the other major Chase card that offers primary rental car coverage without an annual fee. As with the other Ink cards, this primary coverage applies when renting for business purposes or outside of the U.S., with secondary coverage when you rent a vehicle for personal use in the U.S.
Similar to the Ink Business Cash card, there’s a mind-bogglingly good welcome bonus; the difference is the earning structure:
- 5% cash-back on Lyft purchases through March 31, 2025
- 1.5% cash-back on all other purchases (including rental cars)
Like the rewards from the Ink Business Cash card, you can convert your cash-back to Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, Chase Sapphire Reserve card, or Ink Business Unlimited card.
Of course, there’s a 0% introductory APR, as well as purchase protection, extended warranty, travel insurance, and fee-free employee cards.
4. United℠ Business Card
The United Business card is a unique choice that you should consider if you frequently fly United for business purposes.
Currently, there’s a fabulous welcome bonus available. This card offers primary rental car insurance when renting for business or outside of the U.S. (secondary, otherwise), making it one of our top choices for business credit card holders.
You can earn up to 2x United miles on a wide variety of purchases:
- 2x miles on United purchases, at gas stations, on dining (including eligible delivery services), at office supply stores, and on local transit (including rideshare services, taxis, train tickets, tolls, and mass transit)
- 1x miles on all other purchases (including rental cars)
If you also have a personal United credit card along with the United Business card, you’ll get a better together bonus of 5,000 miles after every card anniversary.
This credit card offers a variety of United benefits:
- 2 United Club 1-time passes per year
- Free first checked bag for you and a companion (terms apply)
- Priority boarding (terms apply)
- The ability to earn 500 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) after spending $12,000 on your United Business card (up to 1,000 PQPs per calendar year)
- 25% back on United inflight purchases
- $100 United travel credit after making 7 United flight purchases of $100 or more every cardmember anniversary year
Jam-packed with United benefits, the United Business card even offers perks at the Chase Luxury Hotels & Resort Collection, no foreign transaction fees, travel insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty.
Why We Like Earning United MileagePlus Miles
United’s frequent flyer program is called MileagePlus. Currently, United miles are worth around 1.3 cents each, which makes it possible to earn a return on spending of around 2.6%.
United miles can be used for domestic flights on United, but we believe that the best way to redeem these miles is for international business or first class flights on various partner airlines. In fact, with United miles, it’s possible to book SWISS business class, Lufthansa first class, and even ANA first class!
5. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome offer of up to 150,000 points with the Amex Business Platinum! (The current public offer is 120,000.)
Amex’s ultra-premium business card is none other than the Amex Business Platinum card. The Amex Business Platinum card offers secondary rental car insurance with the ability to purchase primary rental car insurance.
But don’t let that discourage you from giving this card some consideration because it has some of the best travel benefits available. Let’s talk about the rewards first:
- 5x Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel
- 1.5x Membership Rewards points on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else (up to $2 million of these purchases every calendar year)
- 1x Membership Rewards points on all other purchases (including rental cars)
In a similar fashion to the Amex Platinum card, the Amex Business Platinum card confers access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, Fine Hotels & Resorts, hotel elite status, car rental privileges with Avis, National, and Hertz, and more than $1,000 in statement credits every year:
- Up to $400 in Dell credits
- Up to $200 in airline fee credits
- Up to $189 in CLEAR credits
- Up to $360 in Indeed credits
- Up to $150 in Adobe credits
- Up to $120 in wireless credits
Lastly, you’ll enjoy no preset spending limit, no foreign transaction fees, superb travel insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty, and cell phone protection (see rates and fees).
Chase Primary Car Rental Insurance
What’s Covered — Chase Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
- Primary coverage for damage or theft of the rental vehicle up to the actual cash value of the vehicle ($75,000 limit on Chase Sapphire Reserve card)
- Towing charges related to the loss that are reasonable and customary
- Loss of use charges levied by the rental agency due to the vehicle not being in service
- Coverage is valid for rental periods not exceeding (or intending to exceed) 31 days
- Coverage is effective in the U.S. and most foreign countries; call the administrator before you rent outside of the U.S.
Who’s Covered
The primary cardholder and any driver listed on the rental agreement are covered.
You can be confident you’ll have proper car rental insurance coverage with any of the Ink business cards as all 3 offer a primary car rental coverage benefit when renting for business or outside of the U.S. and secondary coverage for personal rentals in the U.S.
What’s Excluded
- Certain expensive, antique, and exotic vehicles
- Cargo vans, motorcycles, recreational vehicles
- Certain countries may be excluded where prohibited by law
- Liability coverage
Capital One Primary Car Rental Insurance
What’s Covered — Capital One Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
The CapOne Venture X card offers primary rental insurance when renting for a period of up to 15 consecutive days in your country of residence or 31 days outside your country of residence with a maximum of $75,000 in coverage.
You’ll need to pay for your entire rental car reservation with your CapOne Venture X card to get coverage.
Who’s Covered
In general, the primary cardholder, as well as any additional drivers listed on the car rental agreement are eligible for coverage.
What’s Excluded
- Expensive, exotic, or antique cars, cargo vans, trucks, motorcycles, mopeds, motorbikes, limousines, and others
- Israel, Jamaica, the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland are excluded from rental car coverage
American Express Premium Car Rental Protection
You can secure primary car rental insurance for pennies a day with American Express. Image Credit: American Express
You’ve likely heard that American Express cards do not come with primary car rental insurance. While it’s true that you won’t find primary car insurance on American Express cards, secondary car rental insurance is included. Fortunately, there is an easy and affordable option for securing primary coverage on most American Express cards.
Sign up for Premium Car Rental Protection coverage in advance, then use the enrolled American Express card to reserve and pay for your rental. The premium (primary) coverage will automatically be applied.
You’ll be charged only when you actually rent a vehicle and the cost will be between $12.25 and $24.95 depending on your coverage selection, for the entire rental period, up to 42 days. For a 30-day rental, that’s as low as 41 cents per day.
What’s Covered — American Express Premium Car Rental Protection
- Primary car rental coverage for damage or theft to the rental vehicle, loss of use, and applicable related charges
- Coverage limit of up to $100,000 for damage/theft but less can be selected
- Up to $100,000 accident death/dismemberment ($250,000 for California residents)
- Up to $15,000 in excess property damage and $5,000 in excess medical expenses per person
- Up to 42 consecutive days of coverage (30 days for Washington state cardholders)
Who’s Covered
The primary cardholder and any authorized driver listed on the rental agreement are covered under the plan. In addition, passengers are covered for the associated medical benefits.
Please note that coverage descriptions have been abbreviated. You can access a sample of the Premium Car Rental Protection plan with full terms and conditions here.
What’s Excluded
- Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, and New Zealand are excluded from rental car coverage
Hot Tip: The cost of purchasing American Express Premium Car Rental Protection for your entire rental period could be less than the cost of 1 day of CDW/LDW coverage purchased directly from the rental car company.
American Express Secondary Car Rental Insurance
Complimentary CDW is included on most American Express credit cards. But for the complimentary CDW coverage to be effective, the following must be done:
- Reserve and pay for the entire car rental with the qualifying American Express card
- Decline the car rental company’s CDW/LDW coverage
To find out if your American Express credit card has complimentary CDW coverage, review your benefits guide here.
What’s Covered
- Damage or theft of a rental vehicle up to a maximum of $50,000
- Loss of use, appraisal fees, towing
- Rentals of 30 days or less
Who’s Covered
Drivers covered for CDW under the complimentary coverage on your credit card include:
- Primary cardholders and additional drivers listed on the rental agreement
- Any additional drivers listed on the rental agreement
For CDW coverage to apply, the car rental must be reserved and paid for with the American Express card.
Exclusions
- Cars rented in Australia, Italy, New Zealand, or any OFAC-listed country (due to economic or trade sanctions)
How To File a Claim
Image Credit: jcomp via freepik
Report the Claim
Your first step in the process will be to report the claim to the credit card claims administrator as soon as possible after the incident. This can be started by calling the number on the back of your credit card.
You’ll be asked some initial questions regarding the claim and then sent a claim form to complete.
Be sure to obtain a claim number and the name of the person who initiated your claim in case you do not receive the claim form promptly and need to follow up.
Gather the Documentation
Before you embark on your journey, it may be helpful to read up on what will be required should you have a rental car claim. Gathering the documentation you need at the time of the accident is much easier than trying to do so after you return home.
You may be asked to submit any, or all, of the following:
- A copy of your credit card statement validating that the rental car was paid for entirely with the associated card
- A copy of the full car rental agreement
- A statement from the rental company stating the damages you’re responsible for
- A police report
- Photos of the damage
- Repair estimates
- Any additional documentation the benefits administrator requests
Know the Deadlines
There will be several dates you’ll need to adhere to during the claim process. Failure to meet any of them could jeopardize your benefits.
- The deadline to report the initial claim
- When the completed claim form needs to be submitted or received
- The dates all required documents need to be submitted and/or received
Follow Up
Claims personnel are busy handling several claims each day. Plan to follow up to ensure all the required documents have been received and that the claim is progressing.
Bottom Line: It is your responsibility to initiate the claim with the credit card claims administrator and adhere to the deadlines for submitting the required documents. It’s also a good idea to follow up to make sure your claim is progressing and all required documents were received.
Everything Else You Need To Know
Requirements To Ensure Coverage
Adhere to these requirements to ensure the car rental coverage on your card is activated:
- Reserve and pay for the entire car rental reservation with the associated credit card.
- Decline the rental car agency’s CDW/LDW coverage.
- List all drivers you want to be covered on the car rental agreement.
Hot Tip: If you use points that are associated with the credit card to pay for your car rental, or a combination of points and charging the remainder on your card, you will still have coverage if all the other conditions are met.
Exclusions
- The coverage on your credit card may exclude certain countries.
- Liability insurance that covers damage to the property of others and medical injuries to passengers and pedestrians is not included in coverage that comes with your credit card. The good news is that because this coverage is mandatory it is usually included in your rental car’s daily rate.
- Certain types of cars are normally excluded from coverage. These can include high-value luxury cars, commercial vehicles, off-road vehicles, motorcycles, and others. Check your specific card exclusions before renting.
Additional Information
If you do not have your own personal auto insurance, many credit cards default to applying primary car rental coverage, even if the card normally offers just secondary coverage. Check the coverage on your specific card for the terms and conditions.
Coverage periods vary. You may find that some CDW coverage covers rentals of 31 days or less, others just 15 days. Check for the rental period limit on your card before renting a vehicle.
Before renting a vehicle outside your country of residence, ask the card issuer’s claims administrator for a letter of coverage to carry with you. This letter can serve to validate existing coverage when declining the car rental company’s coverage.
Final Thoughts
Insurance can be inherently complicated and car insurance especially so.
If you have your own car insurance, the best CDW coverage for domestic car rentals is primary credit card CDW coverage. This is because it’s best to avoid filing a claim with your own insurance company, which could mean potentially having to pay a high deductible and having your rates increased.
You may, however, be responsible for a deductible on the car rental company’s coverage. If you have questions about the coverage on your card, you can always call the administrator before you rent a vehicle.
In all cases, you should purchase liability insurance from the rental car company if you don’t already have it, or be sure it is included in your rental agreement, as it is not included in CDW coverage that comes with your credit card.
Arming yourself with a little knowledge of car rental insurance and having a card in your wallet that affords primary rental car insurance can go a long way towards saving you money, yet keeping you protected, during your next car rental.
The information regarding the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For the car rental collision damage coverage benefit of The Platinum Card® from American Express, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $75,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the Commercial Car Rental Company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. Geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car rental loss or damage coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. For the extended warranty and purchase protection benefits of The Platinum Card® from American Express, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. For the cell phone protection benefit of The Platinum Card® from American Express, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
For the car rental collision damage coverage benefit of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $75,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the Commercial Car Rental Company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. Geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car rental loss or damage coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. For the extended warranty and purchase protection benefits of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. For the cell phone protection benefit of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
For the car rental collision damage coverage benefit of the American Express® Gold Card, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the commercial car rental company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. Geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car rental loss or damage coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. For the extended warranty and purchase protection benefit of the American Express® Gold Card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
