mysterym

Amex records calls as announced or beeps

I am not a lawyer but I think if you hear that you can record regardless of the state's consent laws (i.e. even if two party states are involved, you can record).

You are also assuming the Amex rep is in NY as well which would likely be incorrect

herzmeh

I'm sure they do record calls, but I wouldn't want to bet on being able to get the recording when it comes to it. I'm located in NY...

mysterym

What I was suggesting is if they are recording, you can too, don't worry about the consent (again not a lawyer)

strickerj

Gig103

I was given an Enterprise courtesy vehicle while my car is in for service, and I was told that CC coverages do not apply because the dealership is the one paying for the rental, even though my personal card was used for a hold.

If I had used my Amex with Premium rental car insurance for the hold, would Amex have seen this as a rental and charged me the $20 for the whole period (instead of Enterprise's $18.99 a day LDW)?

mysterym

First, didn't you have this same question earlier in the year? You never figured it out?

Secod, read the terms and conditions of the program. I have a feeling their coverage does not extend unless you are paying for the rental (i.e. if its being paid for by the dealer, it won't work)

Third, call Amex (record the convo if they are recording) with any questions

Finally, some thoughts:does your auto insurance extend to rental vehicles? In most states it does. I would look specifically to see if both liability and damage to the rental car are included. I know someone that had a rental car for months because their new vehicle was in and out of the shop for warranty work. There was never a concern about insurance coverage because their policy extended full coverage to the rental.

Gig103

My auto insurance does extend, but I try to avoid putting myself in a situation of losing my zero claim discount over a ding on a rental car (where if it was my car then I'd let it slide, but that discount, not to mention my deductible, is >> $20). I also worry about loss-of-use being covered by my collision policy.

I'll call Amex and confirm, and post back the results for others. I wasn't sure if the answer was already out there though

Gig103

As promised I am following up after calling to get the official interpretation. And mysterym (and the Enterprise salesman) were right, coverage only extends if I'm paying all rental charges (I asked if I could split the charges with the dealership, but no).

mysterym

Thank you for reporting back!

guv1976

Did you check with Amex's insurance administrator, or just with regular Amex customer service? I was under the impression that any charge authorized at the start of the rental to an enrolled Amex card would trigger the insurance charge and coverage. Maybe pre-purchasing fuel? Paying for satellite radio? Paying for a larger vehicle? If you haven't already done so, I would speak to Amex's insurance people, and ask.

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Gig103

I thought so too, based on the definition of "cardmember" in the description of coverage, and that's why I called Amex Assurance Company (not the CS number on my card).

However -- based on your post, and since I'm off work today, I called back. This time Megan gave me the information that matches what you said. I did challenge the inconsistency with my previous encounter (politely) and I was told that perhaps her colleague was mistaken because the 'standard' (secondary) coverage does require all charges to be on the card. But now I'm told even $1 of the rental being billed to me, or something like a fuel charge, would qualify for the premium rental car insurance.

mysterym

Lets play a hypothetical here: even if you got it to trigger, if a claim was submitted and Amex reviewed the bill/charges and found out you did not pay for the rental, they could easily not honor the claim. Its really what the policy says. Does the card member have to pay for the rental or not in order to have coverage?

guv1976

That's not the question. The question is: Does the card member have to pay for the entire rental to have coverage, or is paying for a part of the rental sufficient to ensure coverage? (We already know that charging even part of the rental to an enrolled Amex card is sufficient to trigger the charge of the fee for the Amex Premium Car Rental Coverage.)

Gig103

Yeah, that is my concern, especially after hearing two different interpretations by two agents. The problem boils down to an unclear description of coverage and maybe Amex should update it. In multiple places, if you look, the phrase "pay rental charges" appears. But under the definitions, "rental charges" is not clarified. The worst case is, as you have brought up, if your claims adjuster has a different interpretation.

Of course, my other idea in hindsight was to use my Amex, and if there had been a loss, just tell Enterprise/Tesla to let me pay for the car out of pocket. That $70 (side note: Tesla needs a better contract rate for 1 day rentals!) + $20 to Amex would still have been cheaper than any other option in the worst case.

guv1976

For what it's worth, the free (secondary) coverage offered by many Amex cards requires that the "entire" rental be charged to the card. Unless the Amex Premium coverage contains the same language, I think that Amex would be hard pressed to argue that charging a part of the rental to an Amex card enrolled in the Premium coverage program does not result in coverage -- especially after your card has been charged the premium for the Premium coverage.

But it is, of course, your decision about how to cover yourself for the replacement auto.