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Originally Posted by dracs
That is my understanding. However, remember that the card only covers damage to the rental car. If someone is injured, or there is damage to someone else's property (such as their car), you may still be responsible for those expenses. In most states the rental car company will bear some of this responsibility as owner of the vehicle, but there is variation and in your place I would want to understand the "worst case" scenario and what it would cost to insure against it.
Originally Posted by
guv1976
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)
dracs, as mia indicates, if you have no other valid and collectible insurance, then the credit card's coverage becomes primary for you. Just be aware that Visa might void the coverage if you use a free-day or dollars-off coupon on the rental. (MasterCard's MasterRental coverage on personal cards explicitly permits such coupon use, as long as at least one full day's rental charges are charged to the card.)
Thanks Mia and Guv for your replies.
Guv, just out of curiosity , I tried to look at terms and conditions of visa CDW coverage , but I couldn't find at all mention about coupon aspect.
Also does using then airline,hotel cdp and pc codes invalidate the insurance coverage provided by Visa. They normally have this %off or free weekend etc.
Also if I am correct Mastercard does not cover loss of use but Visa do?
I generally try to rent onto my visa signature.
Thanks,
Dracs
dracs, it's precisely because the terms of Visa's coverage make no mention of coupon use that there is a problem. The terms of my Visa Signature coverage say that you must "initiate and complete the
entire rental transaction with your eligible Visa card." (Emphasis added.) At least in the past, Visa has advised that using a free-day or dollars-off coupon would void the coverage since you would then not be using the Visa card to complete (i.e., pay for) the entire transaction. I assume that use of a rate discount code would not void the coverage, since you are simply getting a reduced rate, rather than using a coupon to pay for part of the rental charge, but I have never actually verified that.
MasterRental
does cover reasonable loss-of-use charges with substantiation. The problem seems to be that some car-rental companies are not willing to provide the type of substantiation that MasterCard (and Visa and Amex) require.
I invariably use my MasterCard for car rentals (at least when I'm using a coupon, which is frequently), as it seems like the least risky option. And I
always opt for the supplemental liability coverage, as I do not own a car, and have no umbrella coverage for rental cars.