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Travel card that includes car rental?

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VanderSnoot
Established Contributor

Travel card that includes car rental?

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.

Message 1 of 25
24 REPLIES 24
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

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

Message 2 of 25
Cred4All
Valued Contributor

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?


@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.

Message 3 of 25
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

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. 

Message 4 of 25
VanderSnoot
Established Contributor

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?


@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).

Message 5 of 25
VanderSnoot
Established Contributor

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?


@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.

Message 6 of 25
OmarR
Established Contributor

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

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

 EQ=850   EX=845   TU=843       0/24       UTIL=$1    AZEO

Message 7 of 25
MrDisco99
Valued Contributor

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?


@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.

Message 8 of 25
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

Wells Fargo Propel is another one. 

Message 9 of 25
BH1985
Regular Contributor

Re: Travel card that includes car rental?

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.
Message 10 of 25
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