Rental Car Insurance Which Credit Cards Have You Covered. The question arises every time you rent a car Do I really need rental car insurance Many rental agencies offer damage waivers for about 1. But these waivers are often no better than the coverage you already have with your favorite credit card. You can enjoy a variety of benefits with American Express Cards. Select the benefit you are interested in below to view the eligible Cards and benefit Terms and. For personal rentals I tend to roll the dice and not buy the insurance on rental cars. I justify the decision by using a CC with rental car protection, but its. Aw nerds It looks like this page may be out of date. Please visit NerdWallets Best Credit Cards page for updated info. The Platinum Card from American Express. Amex Premium Car Rental Protection Program' title='Amex Premium Car Rental Protection Program' />Depending on where you rent, the rental companys liability for injury or property damage may be anywhere from 2. This could still leave a big bill for you to pay, but your credit card may also step in sort of. Visa, Master. Card and American Express offer rental insurance, but vary substantially in benefits and requirements. In some cases, car rental customers may want to purchase full coverage from the car rental company to avoid the hassle of making a claim or reporting an accident to their primary insurer and the credit card issuer. Make sure youre comfortable with that process before relying on your credit cards secondary coverage. You can also get primary coverage for your car rentals with these two credit cards The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the Nerds favorite travel cards, so it helps that it offers primary rental car insurance at no extra cost. Youll earn 2 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on travel and dining and 1 point per dollar spent on everything else. Comprehensive list of U. S. based American Express Platinum Card features and benefits to review whether you are a current card member or thinking of applying. Your Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card gives you access to an array of incredible experiences. From unique everyday offerings with local experts to onceina. Get premium car rental insurance coverage without the premium price with up to 100,000 of insurance coverage from American Express Travel Related Services Company. Plus, the card has one of the most valuable sign up bonuses on the market Earn 5. Thats 6. 25 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards. It has an 0 for the first year, then 9. If youre a loyal United flyer and often rent cars, the United Mileage. Plus Explorer Card might be the right choice for you. It offers 2 miles per dollar spent on United tickets and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases, plus a decent sign up bonus Earn 4. The United Mileage. Plus Explorer Card has a 0 for the first year, then 9. You and a companion traveling on your reservation will also get your first checked bag free when you pay with the card, saving you up to 1. What to know about credit card rental coverage. Before we review the rental car insurance benefits offered by each network, you should know that Generally, your credit card offers secondary rental insurance. This means that it will only pay for the cost of certain damages not covered by your regular car insurance policy. As the cardholder, you must book the rental car with your credit card under your name to receive coverage. Only carrying a card that offers rental car insurance isnt sufficient. Typically, you must refuse the coverage offered by the rental car agency to receive rental car insurance benefits from your credit card. Well discuss exceptions to this general rule below. This article applies to consumer credit cards. While many business credit cards offer rental car insurance, coverage levels could be substantially different from the benefits described below. Cards in the same network may have varying levels of coverage. Some issuers dont offer rental car insurance at all, while others set terms that differ from the network standard. Call your bank or check your cards benefits statement to learn more about your specific cards benefits. Nerd note Much of the information discussed in this article is a compilation of resources available online. However, some of it was obtained through phone calls to customer service hotlines. Its important to contact your cards issuer to verify its  coverage policy before you rent a vehicle. Here are some important terms to know before you call Loss of use The cost of renting another car while the original is out of commission. Fully utilized  Generally, this term describes when 8. A card network may cover loss of use only if the auto rental companys fleet is fully utilized. Diminished value The amount that the rental cars resale value decreases. This cost is usually relatively small, unless you manage to significantly damage the car without totaling it. Antique cars Usually defined as a car made at least 2. All networks exclude coverage of such vehicles. Vans As a general rule, personal use vans that seat eight people or fewer are covered. However, some waivers specifically exclude certain SUVs, and almost all exclude cargo vans. Benefits by network. Visa, Master. Card and American Express provide rental car insurance above and beyond what your primary insurer and rental company will offer. Heres a quick overview of each networks benefits and limitations Visa Visa is often touted for its excellent rental car insurance benefits, mostly because its widely available for cardholders. Unlike many other networks, it offers rental car insurance on all of its cards standard, Signature, rewards, the works. However, it limits its rental car coverage period to only 1. Gadget Reloj Digital Windows Vista. Master. Card Its benefits are similar to Visas. However, rental car insurance is not offered on all cards, and it limits its coverage period on all rental cars to 1. According to customer service, its available only on Platinum, Gold, World and World Elite cards. American Express American Express is the only network to offer premium coverage for a small fee. It offers free secondary coverage up to 5. The Platinum Card from American Express and the Delta Reserve Credit Card, but will offer primary coverage with a higher limit and protection against injury and property damage if you choose it. Visa and Master. Card. Both Visa and Master. Card emphasize that their terms vary by issuing bank. Again, check with your particular cards issuer before renting your vehicle. Benefit. Visa. Master. Card. Offered on. All cards. Gold, Platinum, World and World Elite. Rental period. 15 consecutive days domestic3. Must decline rental insurance Yes. Yes. Vehicle value. Not specified5. 0,0. Includes. Physical damage, theft, loss of use, towing. Physical damage, theft, loss of use towing. Excludes. Injury, liability, property damage, taxes, damage to other vehicles, diminished value, tire wear and tear. Primary or Secondary Secondary. Secondary. Drivers covered. All authorized drivers. Vehicles excluded. Expensive, exotic or antique cars, trucks, pickups, RVs, motorcycles, ATVs, limousines and certain vans. Excluded countries. Ireland, Northern Ireland, Israel, Jamaica. Maybe Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica Contact your vehicle rental agency before travelingExcluded SUVsvans. Vans with more than 8 seats. Sport utility trucks i. Chevy Avalanche, GMC Envoy, etc., full size vans. Max coverage. Not specified5. Max loss of useot specified. Not specified. Reportfile claim within. Source. Visa. Master. Card benefits and a call to customer serviceo be compensated for loss of use, the rental company must prove that the fleet is fully utilized. Most rental agencies wont bother, so your chances of getting this benefit arent very high. American Express. American Express has various exemptions for students, Californians and Floridians, see below for the details. Benefit. American Express Basic. American Express Platinum. American Express Premium. Offered on. All cards. The Platinum Card from American Express and other Platinum branded Am. Ex cards, Delta Reserve Credit Card. All cardholders can purchase. Rental period. 30 consecutive days from the same rental company, or 3. Washington StateMust decline rental insuranceDecline full coverage, can accept partial collision damage waiver. Vehicle valuelt 5. Not specified. Includes. Physical damage, theft, towing, storage, loss of use.