I've done quite a bit of reading WRT using a credit card for local and international travel.

After some review, I decided the safest way to go was with Amex premium primary CDW for an additional $24.99 fee. Based on some recommendations, I also brought along the rental car insurance paperwork provided when signing up for the service.

When reserving the car online, I had no issues with skipping the insurance coverage and all seemed set.

Then I arrived at the rental counter in Panama City Panama, this is when things got pretty frustrating.

I spoke with the attendant and he informed me that the credit card insurance was essentially going without any coverage or being an uninsured motorist. I insisted that I was covered by AMEX and showed him the documentation. He refused to even take a look at the documentation and said, no credit card provided car insurance and he would rent me the car, but I would be considered as an uninsured driver. As a result I would also have to put down a $5000.00 deposit for the car.

He explained this would be used in the event there are any issues with the car to cover damages ect. in place of the car insurance. Credit card company takes time to provide claim dollars, instead they'd charge me directly.

I decided to call American Express directly, when I spoke to them before leaving for my trip, they assured me the insurance coverage would be accepted. When I talked to them collect, and explained what happened, they told me that they couldn't help me. To sum up what I was told, We're not responsible for the rental car agencies policies, those are their policies and they can't do anything. I just wanted them to explain that I was in fact "insured", but that wasn't going to happen.

I thought to myself:
Isn't this the whole idea of having insurance? So you won't have to incur these types of charges in the event of an accident?

Anyhow, I wasn't going to buy the car insurance, as this was ridiculous, I decided to go ahead with the deposit since I didn't have time to play with this guy. He'd already taken more than an hour of my time at midnight where my family with young children where tired of traveling all day.


I took a look at the rental agreement fine print and found something interesting. There is a credit card policy section that states: Avis accepts Amex, Master Card and Visa. An additional charge card hold will apply for all car groups, of 300.00 to 5000.00 USD, plus the total amount of rental, depending on protections customer accepts at the beginning of the rental. For additional details, contact reservations.

What have other's done in this situation? Has anyone else decided to go the deposit route and ended up with a "situation" requiring the credit card CDW to kick in? Are we really covered? Is this just another practically useless perk?

Any advice on who to talk to when this kind of issue comes up? I'm Avis First, but haven't ever benefited from this status when renting with Avis. Do they do anything for their "premium" members aside from throwing an occasional discount? Any input would be much appreciated!

Regards,

Mike