[saf2002]

If I get a car through priceline, can I still purchase the insurance. I don't have a car since I generally don't need one and insurance rates are nuts here in Chicago. Anyway, I have to purchase the collision and liability insurance when I rent since my credit card doesn't cover it.

Thanks for the help.

[thereuare]

Yes, but you'd be better getting a no-fee credit card that offers the protection for you.

[Emphy]

Hi There, I need a car in the San Diego area ( 50 miles all directions futher is ok) if i book a car like i booked the hotel what kind of insurance do i get? i was told i should upgrade the basic insurance.

Anyone knows if i rent a car with mastercard ore visa card will give insurance? Ill contact Visa on monday about this.

Is it wise to book now ore wait until i am in San Diego and then check on the carrentals?
I was told by travel agencies here in the Netherlands that it would be far more cheaper to book a car here at my home then it would be when i have arrived.

Any suggestions?

PS i looked at the other forum (TOBB) didnt register there but i saw there is a possibility to make a donation to that forum can that be done on this forum also?
Due help on this forum i saved a lot of $ on a New York Hotel

Take Care

[thereuare]

Car Rental insurance goes by the 'perks' associated with each card, not whether it is Visa or Mastercard... you will find some Visa cards that offer this insurance while other Visa cards do not (same with the other issuers). However, you should check with your own card issuer, and since insurance thru the car rental companies is very expensive i would ask the issuer of each card you carry if they supply insurance on car rentals (and in your case make sure it covers you if renting in the US)

We do have a donations link on the top right corner of the board via the PayPal Donate link.

I would recommend booking before you arrive in San Diego... but do keep in mind that the deals on car rentals are usually not as good as the deals on hotels (it's "hit or miss"). If you'd like help with bidding for a car please post the specifics in the Priceline Car Rental forum.

[tenerifesharon]

After lots of investigation, I discovered that the only credit card in Germany (maybe in the Netherlands also??) including collision insurance on rental cars is the Lufthansa Gold Visa (costs €95 per year). No other cc in Germany has any rental car insurance included. (One two week US car rental more than covers the price of the credit card for a year since collision insurance CDW or LDW costs between $10 and $15 per rental day.)
The biggest advantage for reserving and renting a car from the european side for use in the US, and then taking a prepaid voucher with you, is that it ALMOST ALWAYS includes full insurance, airport taxes etc.
Have a good trip!

[Jerseyjk]

Careful relying on your credit card for CDW/LDW coverage on a rental. Yes, most Gold / Platinum cards include this coverage, but there are a few restrictions.

Typically, it's excess over your personal (or commercial) policy, meaning it will basically cover the deductible on your own car insurance coverage (unless you're in a State that puts coverage for rental cars under liability, in which case there is no deductible so your credit card may not pay anything). If you don't have an auto policy then the Credit Card coverage becomes primary. Credit Card coverage will also typically not cover damages sustained while not on road (don't take that rented SUV on the beach), rentals over 15 days, theft of an unlocked vehicle, depreciation charged by the rental company or losses while the vehicle is operated by an unauthorized driver. Some coverage will cover "loss of use" (rental income lost while the vehicle is being repaired) and some will not. Towing cost is another issue and many Credit Cards only cover up to $50,000. How much is the MSRP on that convertible anyway? Oh, and if it's a personal credit card, the rental must be in your name, not your company's name, and signed for by you.

In addition, Credit Card coverage will typically not cover losses that occur "while you or an authorized driver is in violation of the rental agreement". Anyone ever read the rental agreement?

Some rental agreements require immediate payment for the damage to the vehicle while the Credit Card coverage will only pay after your personal policy pays whatever they are going to pay. Can you afford to have your credit card charged $20,000 for that car and still continue your vacation (or your daily life for that matter).

While I hate forking over $22 per day as much as the next guy, I still buy the LDW / CDW coverage.

[saf2002]

Thanks for the input on the credit card situation. When renting, I asked the person behind the counter if they knew what credit cards provide insurance. I figured I don't get charged for asking and when I've called credit card companies to see if they offer this, they acted as if they had no idea what I was talking about.

The person behind the counter told me the same thing about the credit card not being the primary but also said that if I don't have primary, the credit card company won't provide the coverage generally. Don't know whether this is what they're told to say.

If anyone knows of specific credit cards that offer this coverage, I would be interested to hear. Or if they know where I might check. Until then, I also will keep spending the $22 a day. I try to console myself with the fact that I don't own a car since I live in Chicago, which has convenient public transportation, and am not making any insurance payments at all.

Thank you again for your input.

[Jerseyjk]

Depends on the credit card program as to whether they become primary or not in a situation where there is no auto policy in force.

I'm afraid there's not an easy way to research it, as when I go poking around my credit card online account, there is no way to pull up what the coverage is. Everything says "see your card agreement". Issuing banks vary as to what they provide and what they don't. I'd say stick with the big names (e.g. Citi, Chase, etc.) and ask them the questions.

All I can say is ... good luck. I think they make this all confusing on purpose.

[Jonavin]

On most of these credit card policy it says that the car rental must be paid in full with your credit card (e.g. VISA). Does going through Priceline or Hotwire cause the "paid in full with VISA" to be invalid?

[thereuare]

The short answer is "generally yes", but always check with your card provider before bidding to make sure.

[greenkiller2005]

Stupid question: does my own car insurance cover the car I rent?

[thereuare]

All policies are different... i would call you insurance carrier and ask them.

[zbenye]

I don't own a car, but I rent one for some 40-50 days each year. Rather than paying about $13/day for the car rental company's liability insurance, which would be $520 or more, I got my own insurance. AAA sells "non-owner" liability insurance. It's not advertised much on their website but you can call and ask about it. I got a $500,000 liability policy for an annual premium of $175 and it covers me when I drive any car I don't own, not just rental cars. This covers only liability, it does not cover the car itself.

For damage to the rental car, I rely on the coverage provided by my credit cards. Having no comprehensive/collision automobile insurance of my own, the coverage by the credit card becomes primary. Of course I must not rent a car priced more than $50,000 or for more than 15 days.

Last time I rented a car (at SFO, Hertz) the agent insisted that I need to get their LDW because, he claimed, the credit cards do not cover rentals through Priceline. I refused. I've read the T&C of the coverage of my Visa, MC and AMEX and they all say that the card must be used to reserve and pay for the rental. Nowhere does it say that reservation or payment must be directly to a car rental company. Otherwise it would exclude not only Priceline but also Expedia, Travelocity and all other travel agency websites. It shouldn't matter to the credit card company if I accepted a set price on some website or named my own on Priceline. Right?

[zbenye]

I have just phoned and checked with Amex, Visa and MC and they confirmed that rental car coverage offered by my credit cards does extend to rentals through online travel agencies, and they specifically confirmed that this includes rentals through Hotwire and Priceline. In essence, they said, it doesn't matter whom I pay as long as the entire rental is charged to the card and the car is obtained from a commercial rental company.

They were unsure about something that often applies to my rentals: whether there is coverage from the card when the car rental is part of a package. I often purchase flight+car packages from site59.com. I don't know how to go about getting a definitive answer about this.

[thereuare]

Quote

I don't know how to go about getting a definitive answer about this.

Have an accident and i'm sure you'll find out really fast.

[zbenye]

Thanks, thereuare, but I think I'll pass on that one...

Called MC again today and spoke to someone else. Asked for a definitive answer and got one. The lady assured me that Mastercard's rental car coverage applies just the same when a car rental is part of a package (such as flight+car), so long as the entire package is paid for with the card, and the same card is also used to pay for any additional related charges payable to the rental car company during or at the conclusion of the rental.

Sweet.

[WillTravel]

Without commenting on anything or any scenario specifically, Priceline apparently pays the service provider (hotel, airline, rental car agency) by use of a single-use MasterCard number. So even if you pay Priceline with a particular credit card, could it be argued that the actual service is not paid for with that credit card, but with Priceline's single-use credit card number? I'm just trying to anticipate an insurer's argument.

[zbenye]

WillTravel, I already got the answer to this question on the call yesterday, as I've posted above:

... they specifically confirmed that this includes rentals through Hotwire and Priceline. In essence, they said, it doesn't matter whom I pay as long as the entire rental is charged to the card ...

The CC company doesn't care if I pay a rental car company directly, or pay a 3rd-party who in turn pays the rental car company. I, the customer and cardholder, rented a car and paid *my provider* with my card, thereby fulfilling the requirement as specified in the cardholder agreement relative to payment:

Initiate and pay for the entire rental agreement/contract (tax, gasoline,and airport fees are not considered rental charges) with your World MasterCard card. If a rental company promotion/discount of any kind is initially applied toward payment of the rental vehicle, at least one (1) day of rental must be billed to your World MasterCard card.

Also note that:

1. Your car rental purchase confirmation document from Priceline carries your credit card number (last 4 digits);
2. The same credit card number (or digits) appears on the rental agreement you get when you pick up, since you give them this card as security.

With these two official documents, it should be hard, zbenye thinks, for anyone to argue that the rental was not paid for with your card.

[powerplantop]

I have a Delta Amex Plat card and it is secondary for up to 30 days.
https://www124.ameri...cda/dynamic.jsp?

If you want them to be primary they have a program where you pay more,

"Depending on the coverage level that you choose, a premium of either $19.95 or $24.95 per rental ($15.95 or $17.95 for California Residents) will be charged to your American Express Card until your enrollment is terminated. Coverage is for up to 42 consecutive days (up to 30 consecutive days for Washington Cardmembers)."

So for what the rental companies charge per day you can be covered.

[Tom43]

I called American Express about this today, since I previously signed up for the premium rental car insurance which is effective (at $24.95 a pop) whenever the computer see a charge from Hertz, Budget, etc. This insurance is primary.

I asked whether their system will recognize a Priceline rental as qualifying under the insurance policy. Their answer was that Priceline rentals do qualify but that the documentation needs to be generated manually by the Amex insurance office. They requested that I notify them in advance, giving the rental date, location and whatever, so that they can log in the coverage. While the phone number on the back of the Amex card will work, it is faster to call the insurance office directly, 1-800-338-1670.

[thereuare]

Also, just so others are aware of what coverage they are getting... i believe the program only covers collision (or damage to the vehicle) and NOT liability insurance (which often 'transfers' from your existing car insurance policy, but check your coverage to be sure/if you're covered)

[Tom43]

That's correct. The AMEX $25 program provides $100K primary coverage for damage and theft, including loss of use, as well as $100 K for death/dismemberment, $5K personal property (secondary) and $15K for secondary medical. No mention of liability coverage. I'm guessing that state laws vary as to the relative liability of the car owner and the car renter.