topic Re: Travel card that includes car rental? in Credit Cards

Travel card that includes car rental?

VanderSnoot — Mon, 27 May 2019 11:35:28 GMT

On some vacations I rent a car (e.g. drive from Salt Lake to Tuscon, or around the south island of NZ), but it seems like some travel cards exclude car rentals from the travel category. Which travel cards include car rentals?

Apologies if this has been covered before; I couldn't find a related thread in the search. I've also tried googling specific cards (e.g. CSR, Amex Gold/Plat, NFCU Flagship) for details, but without much luck - I mostly get info on car rental insurance.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

Anonymous — Mon, 27 May 2019 11:40:30 GMT

Wouldn't you assume that if a travel card offers auto rental insurance you can actually rent a car with it?

https://www.chase.com/card-benefits/sapphirereserve/travel

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

Cred4All — Mon, 27 May 2019 11:49:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Wouldn't you assume that if a travel card offers auto rental insurance you can actually rent a car with it?

https://www.chase.com/card-benefits/sapphirereserve/travel

As MaizeandBlue mentioned, The Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) includes a wide window within the travel category:

airlines
hotels (including Airbnb)
motels
timeshares
campgrounds
car rental agencies
cruise lines /travel agencies / discount travel sites
operators of passenger trains
buses, taxis (including Uber and Lyft)
limousines
ferries
toll bridges and highways
parking lots and garages.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

Anonymous — Mon, 27 May 2019 14:33:02 GMT

Pretty much everything but amex cards (which don't have a travel category--their cards specify categories, such as air, hotel, transit, gas).

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/how-credit-card-issuers-classify-travel-and-dining-purchases/

Can't quite tell if Citi includes it. Their website is of no help getting info...just a lot of "get the Prestige and you can be fancy!" marketing.

The CSR covers primary rental insurance, as well as earns you points. If put off by the annual fee, the smaller AF CSP also does.I

If just trying to stay simple, you may like the Uber Visa. 4% cash back on travel & dining with no AF.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

VanderSnoot — Mon, 27 May 2019 14:56:04 GMT

@Cred4All wrote:
As MaizeandBlue mentioned, The Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) includes a wide window within the travel category:
car rental agencies

Thanks, @Cred4All. One down, several more to go.

@Anonymous wrote:
Wouldn't you assume that if a travel card offers auto rental insurance you can actually rent a car with it?

I think you mean to ask that if a travel card offers auto rental insurance, can I assume that it codes car rentals as travel? (After all, I can rent a car with any card that the car rental agency accepts.) And the answer is: I don't know, and I don't want to make an assumption (no matter how reasonable) that proves false. For example, all Signature Visas offer auto rental insurance, but it's not clear to me that all Signature Visas that are also travel cards code car rentals as travel. Since there is no Merchant Category Code (MCC) for "travel," each card issuer has to decide which MCCs are included and which are excluded, and some issuers appear to be more permissive than others. This is the same reason why groceries at big box stores don't get coded as groceries by grocery cards, and some travel cards exclude train travel. Now, if someone here says that all travel cards that offer auto rental insurance code car rental as travel, that's about all the evidence I need (though I'd probably give the issuer a call to confirm before applying).

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

VanderSnoot — Mon, 27 May 2019 15:17:57 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Pretty much everything but amex cards (which don't have a travel category--their cards specify categories, such as air, hotel, transit, gas).

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/how-credit-card-issuers-classify-travel-and-dining-purchases/

Can't quite tell if Citi includes it. Their website is of no help getting info...just a lot of "get the Prestige and you can be fancy!" marketing.

The CSR covers primary rental insurance, as well as earns you points. If put off by the annual fee, the smaller AF CSP also does.I

If just trying to stay simple, you may like the Uber Visa. 4% cash back on travel & dining with no AF.

Thank you, @Rebuilt, that's a helpful link.

Yes, simplicity is what I'm after - simplicity in use and in redemption. I'm in a time out for the next 16 months due to an unwise app spree and some delinquencies falling off 9/2020, but Barclay's Uber is at the top of my list. I feel a pull towards NFCU simply because I appreciate the relationship I have with them, but their card has some limits on the redemption side. And of course I'm attracted to the CSR/CSP because of what I read here, even though that has limited redemption as well. Ultimately, I suspect Uber will meet my needs best, though a lot can happen in 16 months.

EDIT - does Barclay's Uber card cover travel or only airfare, hotel, and vacation home rentals? Their rewards summary would indicate the latter.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

OmarR — Mon, 27 May 2019 20:02:49 GMT

The UBER Visa is not 4% back on travel. It's 3% back.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

MrDisco99 — Mon, 27 May 2019 22:48:07 GMT

@OmarR wrote:
The UBER Visa is not 4% back on travel. It's 3% back.

And it's not on travel. It's only on hotels and airfare.

Citi Premiere does 3x points on travel, which includes car rentals and even gas.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

Anonymous — Mon, 27 May 2019 22:59:07 GMT

Wells Fargo Propel is another one.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

BH1985 — Mon, 27 May 2019 23:07:56 GMT

I used the Uber card for an Alamo rental and it did not code for the 3% travel category.

I called Barclays customer service and they told me that their travel category doesn’t include car rentals. It’s airfare, hotels, AirBNB. Whatever. I won’t make that mistake again. I’ll use my Citi card. Uber Card is still my favorite card.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

wasCB14 — Mon, 27 May 2019 23:28:03 GMT

If you rent cars often enough (or for long enough) that the rewards on car rentals are a serious factor in getting a card, then I'd focus on Amex and Chase.

Chase: Great rental rewards on CSR/CSP along with rental and other travel insurances.

Amex: Status/discounts from Amex Platinum, Amex offers for car rentals, pay-per-rental car insurance.

I trust Citi with price rewinds and extended warranties on relatively small purchases (<$5k). For anything big or potentially more complicated (like an insurance claim following auto damage) I'd only go with a premium card from Amex or Chase.

But to answer your question, I'd add Costco as a card that includes rentals as a 3% bonus category. "3% cash back on restaurant (including cafes, bars, lounges and fast food restaurants) and eligible travel purchases worldwide, including airfare, hotels, car rentals, travel agencies, cruise lines and Costco Travel. " Of course, it requires a membership fee which might not otherwise be worth it to you.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

ChargedUp — Tue, 28 May 2019 04:45:55 GMT

With the Primary car rental coverage, the CSP and CSR outweigh pretty much any rewards you can get out of a card, unless you're comfortable with having your own personal auto insurance handle any claims that may arise while you're in possession of the rental car. LDW for a mid tier car with Avis and Hertz is $40/day! I've likely saved over $1000 in the last couple years just being able to refuse the LDW cost. CSP/CSR primary insurance also covers "loss of use" which is omitted in some secondary coverages and can add up in a hurry if the vehicle is in a major accident.

If you're going to be renting in New Zealand, take a look at the fine print as many cards exclude certain countries and I know I've seen NZ in a few of the lists. Some travel cards that give a bonus on rental cards here in the US may or may not do the same overseas. CSP/CSR are known to give appropriate UR points overseas most of the time. This is ultimately based on how the business codes through Visa.

And yes, Chase codes car rental as travel.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

Anonymous — Tue, 28 May 2019 09:31:55 GMT

Here's some info on NFCU Flagship.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/navy-federal-flagship-rewards-revamp/

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

Anonymous — Tue, 28 May 2019 12:04:53 GMT

Just to throw another card into the mix, I'm pretty sure the US Bank Altitude Reserve codes car rentals as travel. I don't have the card (yet) but it's 3x points on travel purchases, and points are redeemed at 1.5x, so it's really 4.5x points. Also has primary coverage for car rentals

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

Anonymous — Tue, 28 May 2019 12:27:32 GMT

CSP has primary rental insurance with AF of 99$
With a coverage up to 75k

Another option:-

Enroll into amex premium car rental insurance
Costs 25$ per booking with a coverage up to 100k
If you dont have an Amex card, i would recommend getting Hilton honor card it has 0 Af and FTF

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

Anonymous — Tue, 28 May 2019 19:35:14 GMT

Altitude Reserve covers car rentals and also has primary car rental insurance.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

OmarR — Fri, 31 May 2019 00:53:36 GMT

@MrDisco99 wrote:
@OmarR wrote:
The UBER Visa is not 4% back on travel. It's 3% back.
And it's not on travel. It's only on hotels and airfare.

Citi Premiere does 3x points on travel, which includes car rentals and even gas.

Hotels & airfare, along with other things, fall under the travel category.

What do you think they fall under?

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

NRB525 — Fri, 31 May 2019 01:46:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Pretty much everything but amex cards (which don't have a travel category--their cards specify categories, such as air, hotel, transit, gas).

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/how-credit-card-issuers-classify-travel-and-dining-purchases/

Can't quite tell if Citi includes it. Their website is of no help getting info...just a lot of "get the Prestige and you can be fancy!" marketing.

The CSR covers primary rental insurance, as well as earns you points. If put off by the annual fee, the smaller AF CSP also does.I

If just trying to stay simple, you may like the Uber Visa. 4% cash back on travel & dining with no AF.

Amex Hilton Aspire has a car rental points category, along with airfare and dining. Whether that applies overseas is another question. Not primary insurance, as noted by others.

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

wasCB14 — Fri, 31 May 2019 02:33:20 GMT

@OmarR wrote:
@MrDisco99 wrote:
@OmarR wrote:
The UBER Visa is not 4% back on travel. It's 3% back.
And it's not on travel. It's only on hotels and airfare.

Citi Premiere does 3x points on travel, which includes car rentals and even gas.
Hotels & airfare, along with other things, fall under the travel category.

What do you think they fall under?

I think the point is that the Uber Visa doesn't give 3% on things like:

Cruises (Unless they're booked with a travel agency? I'm not clear on the wording)

Parking and tolls

Car rentals

Uber rides (And what's up with that?)

Gas

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

OmarR — Fri, 31 May 2019 02:51:48 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
@OmarR wrote:
@MrDisco99 wrote:
@OmarR wrote:
The UBER Visa is not 4% back on travel. It's 3% back.
And it's not on travel. It's only on hotels and airfare.

Citi Premiere does 3x points on travel, which includes car rentals and even gas.
Hotels & airfare, along with other things, fall under the travel category.

What do you think they fall under?
I think the point is that the Uber Visa doesn't give 3% on things like:
Cruises (Unless they're booked with a travel agency? I'm not clear on the wording)
Parking and tolls
Car rentals
Uber rides (And what's up with that?)
Gas

I do understand that.

But to label hotels & airfare as NOT travel is incorrect.