Amex Premium Car Rental Protection.....

[joestay]

Anyone know when the charge for the protection shows up online?  There has been no charge in the recent activity section yet.

[stan_the_man]

One or two days after the rental charge happens.

For example:

Rental Charge 1/12/11

Premium Car Rental Insurance 1/14/2011

Rental Charge 6/10/2011

Premium Car Rental Insurance 6/11/2011

[Watchmann]

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@drsmith wrote:

One excellent trick, is that if you enroll in this, but you're absolutely positive you didn't damage the car, you can change credit cards on the end of your rental to skip out on the fee from amex for using the coverage.

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I suppose one could do that to save $20-$25, but c'mon, you used the service (insurance protection) so why renege on what you used?  Technically doable, but certainly unethical.  And I wouldn't be surprised if AMEX's systems wouldn't detect that trick, it could certainly invite questions.  What would you do as a rental agent if the customer purchased the full load of coverage from you at the time of rental then brought the car back with no damage and asked to cancel the coverage fees because he  didn't have a loss.  Just because you didn't use the insurance doesn't mean you should not have to pay for the coverage.

[stan_the_man]

Where this strategy doesn't cover you is in the case of a claim happening after you return the car.

[drsmith]

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@stan_the_man wrote:

Where this strategy doesn't cover you is in the case of a claim happening after you return the car.

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Obviously.....

I rent cars for one day all the time. The AmEx is in my preferred profile so they just charge it to that card. Sorry, but I'm not going to enroll and un-enroll in the Amex coverage every time I rent a car for one day, and then put it back in in the event I would keep the vehicle longer. I use the coverage on longer trips at unfamiliar locations. There is no need to use it at my store because I wouldn't be billed anyway.

[Anonymous]

Exactly. If you return the car and hadn't noticed damage (say from door ding in a parking lot or something) and they come after you later, your Amex wouldn't cover it because you have to start and complete your rental transaction with that card.

If you rent cars only for one day, the rental company's LDW/CDW is a better value. The you know you have 100% protection and it's usually $10-$20 for the day, depending on the location.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Exactly. If you return the car and hadn't noticed damage (say from door ding in a parking lot or something) and they come after you later, your Amex wouldn't cover it because you have to start and complete your rental transaction with that card.

If you rent cars only for one day, the rental company's LDW/CDW is a better value. The you know you have 100% protection and it's usually $10-$20 for the day, depending on the location.

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I can see this, but wouldn't it be a lot simpler (and cheaper!) to have the car rental employee walk around the car with you when you turn it in and eyeball it for damages?

I would fight to the death any charge for damage that wasn't "noticed" until after I left. Yeah, right, and you guys didn't bang it up yourselves.

[Anonymous]

Not all locations have agents who can do that, for one. I can tell you in my location, none of the rental car companies have agents check over cars. You bring the keys inside. It's not busy enough like ORD or LAS for that. For two, some companies get picky.

Now, obviously you would know you've did something to the car, but I heard a story the other day that a car came back and nothing was said about damage. It was time to change the oil in the car. They got it on the lift and the undercarriage was destroyed. Apparently the car had went off the road. Dunno if the driver fell asleep or what.

In any case, if they find anything before the next rental, you could be responsible. I wouldn't take the chance just to save $20.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Not all locations have agents who can do that, for one. I can tell you in my location, none of the rental car companies have agents check over cars. You bring the keys inside. It's not busy enough like ORD or LAS for that. For two, some companies get picky.

Now, obviously you would know you've did something to the car, but I heard a story the other day that a car came back and nothing was said about damage. It was time to change the oil in the car. They got it on the lift and the undercarriage was destroyed. Apparently the car had went off the road. Dunno if the driver fell asleep or what.

In any case, if they find anything before the next rental, you could be responsible. I wouldn't take the chance just to save $20.

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Ah, I see.

Something else to be paranoid about, lol. Thanks!

[drsmith]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Exactly. If you return the car and hadn't noticed damage (say from door ding in a parking lot or something) and they come after you later, your Amex wouldn't cover it because you have to start and complete your rental transaction with that card.

If you rent cars only for one day, the rental company's LDW/CDW is a better value. The you know you have 100% protection and it's usually $10-$20 for the day, depending on the location.

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Well once again, they wouldn't come after me later because I work here. I only switch cards at my location because I'm not going to pay AmEx for a 24 hour rental when they aren't going to come after me anyway. So I'm not "screwing" AmEx because I don't get their coverage when I switch cards.