LoyaltyLobby
  • News
  • Hotel Promos
    • Accor
    • Best Western
    • Radisson Rewards
    • Choice
    • Fairmont
    • Hilton
    • World of Hyatt
    • IHG Rewards
    • Marriott
    • Ritz-Carlton
    • Starwood
    • Wyndham Rewards
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us
  • Blog View
  •  
LoyaltyLobby
  • News
  • Hotel Promos
    • Accor
    • Best Western
    • Radisson Rewards
    • Choice
    • Fairmont
    • Hilton
    • World of Hyatt
    • IHG Rewards
    • Marriott
    • Ritz-Carlton
    • Starwood
    • Wyndham Rewards
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us
  • Blog View
  •  
LoyaltyLobby
No Result
View All Result
ADVERTISEMENT

Reader Question: Rental Car Insurance Coverage Through American Express Credit Cards – What To Look For?

by Sebastian Powell
October 17, 2017
Reading Time: 4 mins read
13

Today’s Reader Question is about having proper insurance coverage for your rental car while literally being on the road and the differences that various credit card products offer.

Remember that you can always email us, send a message via Facebook or use Twitter and include photos too. We’ll try to cover Reader Questions & Comments here several times a week.

It started about a decade ago when credit card companies began to offer their cardholders insurance coverage for rental cards as part of the general service package pertaining to a particular credit card product, something that comes with significant savings compared to purchasing insurance from the rental car companies.

In fact these new service options from credit cards have taken a significant portion of revenue out of the car rental companies pockets even though not everybody knows about this particular benefit or still feels more comfortable buying insurance for any particular rental – and sometimes with good reason.

ADVERTISEMENT

We received a reader question from Tom who holds a U.S. based American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card (Charge Card Product) and recently discovered that the card doesn’t really have that much coverage at all despite the glitzy advertisements. He asked us what to look out for when it comes to rental car insurance coverage from credit card providers.

At first let’s have a look at the U.S. American Express products and insurance options, called Car Rental Loss And Damage Insurance (you find all card policies here).

The list contains 52 (!!) cards from the Amex portfolio and there are different conditions and wordings in many of them. All I can say is to better read them carefully to make sure you won’t leave the rental car lot without coverage despite using the card you think provides you will all insurance needed.

For one there is the description:

This product provides secondary coverage. This means it pays eligible benefits not paid by any primary insurance that you have.

This is already a huge blow because that means Amex doesn’t provide primary coverage, they only pay what other insurance companies you hold don’t cover. This isn’t the case with all cards as there are products that provide primary coverage. You also have the option of purchasing a special plan from Amex so it will act as your primary insurance provider with less restrictions.

But that isn’t all:

This policy does not cover some vehicles, e.g. off-road vehicles, limousines and antique cars, (as described in the Terms and Conditions), Any vehicles rented in Australia, Italy, and New Zealand.

The definition of ‘Off Road Vehicles’ and ‘Limousines’ isn’t specifically elaborated on in the policy. Last week Hertz gave me a Range Rover and a few years ago an (ugly) Lincoln Town Car. Would those be excluded as well?

And furthermore (for the Premier Rewards Gold Card):

What is Covered: If Damage to or Theft of a Rental Vehicle occurs while coverage is in effect, the Plan will pay a benefit up to a maximum of $50,000 per Rental Agreement.

US$ 50,000 is a really low ceiling for a rental car especially as soon as you get to Europe. That’s 43,500 Euro which pretty much means even a Midsize Luxury Vehicle such as BMW 5, Mercedes E Class and Audi A6 wouldn’t be fully covered anymore as the price for those vehicles exceeds the limit. In comparison, the U.S. based Platinum Card has a US$ 75,000 limit which is also not very good.

Here is the policy for the Loss and Damage Insurance of the Amex PRG taken from their website:

Download (PDF, 632KB)

You are able to upgrade your American Express Card coverage for Rental Cars through their Premium Car Rental Protection Plan (access here).

This can be a reasonable choice if you have a longer rentals and want to have peace of mind. But it’s sort of a let down for a credit card (charge card) product that prides itself on being a premium product, ideal for the frequent traveling card member.

To be clear, this product deficiency isn’t the case for all American Express products worldwide. Since the reader is from California I only looked at the U.S. based products (the German cards provide a better coverage) but in general I can only recommend to read insurance policies carefully before relying on them.

Conclusion

I’m a frequent rental car customer even though I don’t rent as much as several years ago where I had 2-3 rentals a week. At the moment I use a credit card that provides primary coverage for all of my rentals, the German Lufthansa Mastercard with a small deductible. However it also has exclusions for certain vehicles (luxury brands) and a ceiling of 75,000 Euro per car. When I rent as a Sixt Diamond in Germany and get offered a BMW7 or Mercedes S Class I usually have to decline because that price would exceed the limit.

For the reader I can only recommend to probably look for a different U.S. based credit card that has primary rental coverage. Chase is very good here, their Sapphire Preferred/Sapphire Reserve and Ritz Carlton Rewards Card have that benefit. Citi Prestige also provides Primary Insurance internationally but only secondary insurance for U.S. domestic rentals.

Previous Post

Hilton Honors British Airways Executive Club Triple Avios October 15 – January 30, 2018

Next Post

Choice Privileges Buy Points Up To 50% Mystery Bonus October 16 – November 12, 2017

Related Articles

When IHG One Rewards Benefits Are Rolled Out?

READER EMAIL: Confirming: Ambassador Renewal Extended Diamond

John Ollila
June 26, 2022

A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us an email about a piece we published earlier this month (read more here) that dealt...

Air Canada Aeroplan Amex Redemption Rebate Through December 31, 2022 (Book By July 5)

Air Canada Aeroplan Amex Redemption Rebate Through December 31, 2022 (Book By July 5)

John Ollila
June 26, 2022

Air Canada has launched a rebate promotion for cobranded American Express cardholders that can get 20% to 25% of their...

Air France-KLM February Promo Awards For Travel Through July 31, 2022

Reader Question: Virgin Atlantic Flight Credit For Air France Operated But AeroMexico Marketed Flight?

John Ollila
June 25, 2022
1

A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a question regarding getting flight credit for an Air France-operated flight marketed by another airline....

Upgrade Your Travel IQ

Make the most of your travel with our free and daily newsletter with the latest hotel and airline news and promotions.

We do not sell or share email addresses.

ADVERTISEMENT

Trending

Hilton Go Employee And Friends & Family Rate Plans
Hilton Honors

Hilton Go Employee And Friends & Family Rate Plans

July 25, 2021
Another Email From Hilton: We’re upgrading your upcoming stay!
Compensation Clinic

Compensation Clinic: Hilton Rotterdam

June 26, 2022
When IHG One Rewards Benefits Are Rolled Out?
Featured

READER EMAIL: Confirming: Ambassador Renewal Extended Diamond

June 26, 2022
DEMOTED: Lufthansa Loses 5-Star Skytrax Rating And Is Now Classified As 4-Star Carrier
Featured

DEMOTED: Lufthansa Loses 5-Star Skytrax Rating And Is Now Classified As 4-Star Carrier

June 25, 2022
Finnair AY1 HEL-LAX Inaugural Flight
Featured

Finnair Plus Status Match for Eurobonus, Flying Blue & Miles&More Members

June 26, 2022

Top Categories

  • IHG Rewards Club
  • Marriott Bonvoy
  • Hilton Honors
  • Accor ALL
  • Airfare Of The Day
  • Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG)
  • Hyatt – World of Hyatt
  • American Airlines – AAdvantage
  • Travel News
  • United Airlines – Mileage Plus
ADVERTISEMENT

All Categories

In Case You Missed It

DEMOTED: Lufthansa Loses 5-Star Skytrax Rating And Is Now Classified As 4-Star Carrier

DEMOTED: Lufthansa Loses 5-Star Skytrax Rating And Is Now Classified As 4-Star Carrier

June 25, 2022
Russia

IHG Ceases All Operations In Russia

June 27, 2022
Etihad Guest Buy Miles Up To 50% Bonus Until June 30, 2022

Etihad Guest Buy Miles Up To 50% Bonus Until June 30, 2022

June 22, 2022
IHG One Rewards Incidentals On Award Stays Not Eligible For Elite Bonus?

IHG Hotels Employee Discount Rates

June 23, 2022
American Express Modifies The Popular $300 Marriott Hotel Credit Of The Bonvoy Brilliant Card Effective September 22, 2022

American Express Modifies The Popular $300 Marriott Hotel Credit Of The Bonvoy Brilliant Card Effective September 22, 2022

June 24, 2022
ADVERTISEMENT

Since 2011, we have been helping millions of visitors like you untangle travel loyalty programs for free upgrades, flights and hotel nights.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram

Site Navigation

  • About LoyaltyLobby
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Airfares
  • Contact Us

Hotel Promotions

  • Accor
  • Hilton
  • IHG Rewards
  • Marriott
  • World of Hyatt

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Our free daily newsletter sends you the latest information on hotel and airline programs.

We do not share or sell email addresses.

Site & Contents ©2011-2022 LoyaltyLobby.com
Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

  • News
  • Hotel Promotions
    • Accor
    • Best Western
    • Choice
    • Fairmont
    • Hilton
    • IHG Rewards
    • Marriott
    • Radisson Rewards
    • Ritz-Carlton
    • Starwood
    • World of Hyatt
    • Wyndham Rewards
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us
  • Blog View
No Result
View All Result

© 2011–2021 LoyaltyLobby.com - Site & Contents