Rental Car Insurance: Making Use Of Credit Card Benefits
Saving Advice:
You may not know this, but your credit card provides a lot of additional services in addition to letting you postpone payment on purchases and earn cash back or frequent flyer miles.
One of these services is rental car collision insurance. Car rental companies will always try to sell you insurance options that can add an extra $30 a day or more to the cost of your rental, but most people don’t need to buy this coverage.
If you’re worried about the liability you take on when you’re driving a rental car, read on to learn the important details of the rental car insurance you are eligible for when you pay for a rental car with your credit card.
Discover’s travel protection program includes $25,000 in car rental insurance. According to their terms and conditions, if you rent a car for 31 consecutive days or less with your card, pay for the entire rental with your card, and decline the rental car company’s loss/damage waiver, you are eligible for the $25,000 in car rental insurance. This insurance applies to collisions only.
You must first use your own insurance to cover the accident, and then this secondary coverage kicks in. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Discover’s insurance does not cover personal injury (which can very quickly exceed $25,000) or personal liability (which is why it’s great to have an umbrella policy), but you may be unpleasantly surprised to learn that this insurance does not cover damage to other vehicles or property — it only covers damage to the car you have rented. More.
