Car Rental Insurance\What card were you able to get free insurance with?

[ACsteel]

Last time I went traveling (Puerto Rico) the car rental agency asked me if I had AMEX for free insurance. Recently I been thinking about closing my AMEX due to lack of activity but then hesitated remembering the time I used it for insurance.  Have you guys been able to use other cards for free insurance such as VISA Sig? I'm asking b/c if it's not just an AMEX thing I want to close it out. Thanks!

[MASTERNC]

Many of the premium credit cards (Visa Signature, AMEX) have free collision insurance, as long as you use the card to pay for the rental and decline the rental company's insurance.  However, their insurance is almost always secondary, which means if you have personal car insurance, you file a claim with them first, and then the credit card will pay for the deductible.  The downside is it shows as a claim on your car insurance.  I beliefe if you do not have car insurance (i.e. you don't own your own car), then the coverage becomes primary (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

With American Express, there is a way to get primary coverage (i.e. you don't have to file a claim on your car insurance) through their premium rental car insurance.  It does, however, come at a cost (about $20-25 per rental, depending on your state and selected coverage level).  Still, given rental car companies charge that much by the day, AMEX is a bargain (AMEX also covers most international rentals, which free coverage and/or your car insurance may not).  I use it whenever I rent a car for more than one day (if it is just a one-day rental, I take my chances).

[lakerfan2011]

the world elite mastercards have primary rental car insurance when you use you card to pay for the rental car

[Longroad]

I believe that I read somewhere that the United Explorer also had primary inusrance. 

[lakerfan2011]

yup i actually have the united presidential plus mastercard has really great benefits like that

[ACsteel]

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@MASTERNC wrote:

Many of the premium credit cards (Visa Signature, AMEX) have free collision insurance, as long as you use the card to pay for the rental and decline the rental company's insurance.  However, their insurance is almost always secondary, which means if you have personal car insurance, you file a claim with them first, and then the credit card will pay for the deductible.  The downside is it shows as a claim on your car insurance.  I beliefe if you do not have car insurance (i.e. you don't own your own car), then the coverage becomes primary (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

With American Express, there is a way to get primary coverage (i.e. you don't have to file a claim on your car insurance) through their premium rental car insurance.  It does, however, come at a cost (about $20-25 per rental, depending on your state and selected coverage level).  Still, given rental car companies charge that much by the day, AMEX is a bargain (AMEX also covers most international rentals, which free coverage and/or your car insurance may not).  I use it whenever I rent a car for more than one day (if it is just a one-day rental, I take my chances).

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Thanks for the reply. So let's say I just want to dodge the insurance fee and interested in getting Secondary Insurance (which according to you may or may not become primary if I do not have in my personal life regular car insurance), do most places that do this with AMEX will do it with the VISA Sig? Or are they usually just offering it for AMEX?

[Uppingmyscore]

Discover does this as well I believe.  

[ACsteel]

Cool, but I'd like to know if AMEX and VISA Sig are interchangeable or do places usually just take the AMEX for free insurance.

[Longroad]

If the car rental agency accepts Visa then it should be fine. Just check the terms and benefits on your CC agreement to be certain, especially outside the US

[Jlu]

My JPM Select has primary rental insurance coverage, which is one of the very few with this perk. Most have secondary rental converage. Big difference.