Recently changed up a reservation from September 2011 for February 2012 and noticed Loss Damage Waiver included in the estimated total with a code 86. I've rented a few times a year for personal use with Avis for awhile and can't recall LDW included in the price. I called the 800 number for an explanation, but they weren't really helpful. I always get the LDW as it is a bit more convenient than dealing with my insurance company if I have dings or scratches or the like I didn't catch before leaving the lot or upon return. I would really appreciate a bit of wisdom from you excellent forum members. Thanks in advance.

Too little information. The big one: You didn't explain where the rental is.

Although LDW should be optional and extra domestically, overseas some places it is not optional. But don't get excited: In those places where it not optional, it often leaves you with a giant deductible, and you have to pay a "super LDW" add-on (only available at pick-up) just to lower the deductible to something reaonsable. (You may or may not be able to lower the deductible to $0, depending on the country.)

You also didn't explain what category of car it is. It might differ some special categories, I dunno.

You also didn't explain whether this is a prepaid reservation or not. What's included may differ on prepaid reservations than non-prepaid ones.

Finally, you didn't explain whether you use the same AWD you always use. Some AWDs include certain coverages.

And it can also depend on your country of residence.

When I lived in Switzerland, most rates came back with LDW included.

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

All my rentals are in US. However I use, sometimes, Miles-and-More.com or BA.com for car reservations. About half the time the rate comes to about half of what I can find via US channels and the rate always includes LDW. I have a 3 day rental next week for pickup at IAD to drive in MD. Orbitz, Avis.com, Expedia all came in around $200. BA.com came in at 65 GBS or $103.45 and it includes LDW.

That is something that always bugged me.

I recently booked a car in SAN for 10 days. Avis US gave me a quote around 300$ without any insurance. I don't need LDW, but SLI would cost me another 150$.

When I booked the same car at avis.co.uk (just the website - nothing to do with the country of residence), I got it for 270$ (prepaid + Luftansa AWD) including LDW and SLI. Other European AVIS websites (like avis.de) had similar conditions, but a somewhat higer price.

So far avis.co.uk was the best I could find. But does anyone know if there is an even better site somewhere in the world? I.e., one with a good price including SLI (and possibly LDW).

And just a final warning: I used the same trick couple of years ago, but they messed it up and converted the prepayment in UK Pounds 1:1 into US$ and then charged me for the rest. It took a few phone calls to get it refunded.

Credit cards that provide collision coverage must be rare in Britain. When booking on avis.co.uk or avisba.com or other British Websites, LDW is almost always included. I got kind of lucky in 2007 by booking my Australian Avis rentals on avisba.com , which offered LDW with "excess" (=deductible) of A$1100 vs. A$2750 elsewhere. I ended up scraping the door badly against a series of tree stumps marking the edge of the parking lot 1 foot/ 30 cm tall--too short to see in the rearview mirror!

I'm from the UK and have booked a rental from SFO through avisba.

ALI and LDW are included, does this mean that my liabilities are zero and I don't have to take out any extra excess insurance before I travel?

Yes, Noniron, I'm 99% sure it means that. American LDW is always zero-deductible/ excess unless otherwise clearly stated. Or U can ring Avis to be absolutely sure.

BTW, I just tested www.avisba.com & got this in my confo email:

"Insurance:
CDW* - this covers you for damage to the Avis vehicle subject to an excess
TP* - this covers you for theft of the vehicle or its parts subject to an
excess.

If required additional insurance cover can be purchased locally to
reduce/remove the insurance excess. Just ask at the Avis rental desk when
you collect your car.

Most rental rates include 3rd party insurance cover (except when renting on
Company Own Insurance which has been authorised by Avis in advance).

When I am in the USA, I always book through a UK site, either Avis.co.uk or Avisba and always have included LDW and LIS, you will not have to take out any further insurance etc. unless you want it for personal injury, I don't bother with this.

Thank you for your replies.

Just got an email from Avisba confirming zero insurance excess on my rental.

Is it possible to book at avisba if you want to earn miles/points in another program (with an coupon from another program)? Or, because it's avisba, does it lock you into earning BA only?

I tend to want to credit to BA only my very shortest (like 1 day!) rentals, since I seem to always have a more useful bonus for some other partner I collect with. But my overseas rentals are never 1 day rentals. And thus it's always someone else I want to earn with on my overseas rentals.

Also, if I'm not going to rely on my credit card for insurance, I want to pay with a different card (one with 0% forex!) than my usual card on file with Avis (while not changing my usual card on file with Avis). Isn't that difficult?

(My 0% forex cards don't have good CDW insurance coverage, so I never want to use them in the US on rentals where I want to purely decline CDW. But of course, Avis doesn't let you set up two cards, one for foreign use and one for domestic use. They just hold one card, and automatically bill all rentals to that card, if you use Preferred / First.)

sdsearch - I agree with the point you made with regards to credit cards, Avis does let you only register 1, however I use Hertz for business and have multiple cards listed. Avis I only use for personal use - so not a problem for me.

In the UK we can't use our cards ( Visa etc ) for CDW its not offered to us.

Finally the savings offered by Avis BA compared to Avis.co.uk are only very slight - so have never used PC or collected points with the BA site