Originally Posted by
bob1008
I disagree completely that you are "throwing your money away" by purchasing Amex coverage. Every card has different restrictions on their "free" insurance. How many days you are covered for, deductible, limit of coverage, and gap insurance. That is coverage to recoup revenue lost when a damaged car is taken out of circulation to be repaired. You are responsible for the lost revenue while the car is being repaired. In my opinion, I would never rely only on the "free" coverage offered by a credit card company. Yes, it's probably valid in most cases. But I'm not going to count on it when such inexpensive reliable alternatives (Amex) exist. You rent a car for 5 days. Amex primary coverage is $19.95 for the total rental period.. Isn't it worth a paltry $4 bucks a day to be completely covered with a confirmed insurance policy?
It isn't worth
anything if you are buying a policy that already duplicates what you would otherwise get for free. Even Amex's description of the premium coverage contains this language:
"Premium Car Rental Protection is appealing to Cardmembers who do not have Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance (CRLDI),§ which is a benefit included with many American Express Cards. And for those Cardmembers who do have CRLDI for no additional charge on their Card but are looking for more extensive protection, this plan will also offer more comprehensive coverage."
I have never had a credit card that imposed a deductible on its free LDW.
It's true that all credit cards have limits on the amount of LDW coverage they provide (these days, I think it's $50,000), but so does the Amex premium coverage. The Amex premium coverage just provides a higher limit. But if you're renting an Impala, or a G8, or a Prius, or some other fairly standard car that costs less than $50,000, I don't see the benefit of paying for $75,000 or $100,000 in coverage. And yes, it's true that the free LDW has a limit on the length of the rental it covers (it usually varies between 14 and 31 days, depending on the card issuer), but the Amex premium coverage has a limit too. It's just a question of whether the premium coverage gives you a benefit that you don't already have for free.
When I rent a car these days, I usually use a (no-annual-fee) World MasterCard, which covers rentals of 31 days or less. It covers vehicles with a retail price of $50,000 or less, and also covers the rental agency's reasonable (and documented) loss-of-use charges. And MasterCard even covers rentals for which a free-day or dollars-off coupon is used, as long as at least one full day's rental cost is charged to the card.
(It's also worth bearing in mind that certain car rental "association" discounts (like AARP) limit the renter's responsibility for loss or damage to the rental vehicle to a fixed amount, like $5,000, for rentals at participating locations.)
I can certainly see the value of the Amex premium coverage if one usually rents cars for more than 31 days at a time, or usually rents cars that cost more than $50,000, and does not have the benefit of an "association" limit on responsibility for damage to the rented vehicle. I can also see the value of it for one whose personal automobile policy would cover the rental car, but who wants to protect himself against having to make a claim on his own policy. But for a renter who either does not own a car, or whose personal policy does not cover damage to rented autos, and who rents cars costing under $50,000 for a month or less, it's hard to see any value to the Amex premium coverage.