Originally Posted by
CheVive
Hello,
I've been searching on this, and am not 100% sure I have things right, since the situations I've read about differ slightly (business card vs. personal card, different countries), so would appreciate clarity on my situation:
I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
I am renting a car in France (pick up in Nice and drop off at Marseille airport).
I would like to avoid any charges at drop off for scratches, dings, etc.
I've found a good deal through the British Airways car rental portal, but all the cars include Collision Damage Waiver, but with a high deductible. I know from previous experience in Italy that the rental counter offers extra insurance that eliminates the deductible, but don't see any option when booking (which is prepaid to get the low price) that allows me to remove the basic CDW.
Will Chase cover the deductible on the basic CDW? That is, if I drop off the car, and they say "you scratched the car, your basic CDW deductible is EUR 2,000 and the damage is only EUR 150, so you have to pay EUR 150" will Chase cover the EUR 150? Or since I rented a car with basic CDW, am I on the hook for the EUR 150?
Any advice/experiences greatly appreciated.
NO.
This is because France does not have government required mandatory basic CDW coverage. Italy has that. Therefore Chase would cover the "excess" incurred in Italy, but not in France. The conditions of rental are different. You cannot equate one country to another without knowing how each country's rental car regulations are.
So you may need to buy down the excess to provide more coverage because the $2000 would be completely on your own.
How do the languages on the reservation indicate? Does it specifically say basic CDW is included in the rate or without any mentioning (so it is not obvious that there is a basic coverage) ?