jcherney

Sure. It ain't right.

JB in AZ

Well, I understand your point, and as a newbie, I sure want to be recognized as a member with valuable input. I have spent hours reading here today, and have come away with the feeling that many other things "ain't right" as you put it, but are commonly accepted here as OK... example, using a corporate ID from a company that you don't work for, so I felt this was a good tip I could add.

Please don't be too harsh, as I am only tryng to help others in the same spirit as I sense the others are.

thanks

jcherney

It's actually been discussed quite a bit. I don't have time to cite the thread, but you can do a search for it.

I see a big difference in getting a discount on something versus using a service and not paying for it. Moreover, if you do the change thing enough, I would be very surprised if it didn't come back and bite you. How many times do you think you can get a pre-approval and then not use that approval before Amex catches on?

JB in AZ

I didn't realize it had been discussed, I am at fault for not searching. Also, I agree with your point about the difference between getting a discount and not paying for a service you use.

I only rent a car about once a year for a vacation, so I doubt it would come back and bite me, but you made good points and I appreciate your insight. I guess thats why I asked for comments.

thanks!

manager126

I noticed while some of the AWD codes actually offer better rates than others, when shopping codes, be sure that you are comparing apples-to-apples. I have found that most of the codes that come up with very low rates, actually offer 0 free miles!! At the end of the day you might be stuck with a much higher bill.
This is especially true on one way rentals!

Tak

When I try to use Code A972200(I guess for Farmers Insurance), it said your insurance are pre-determined based upon your corporate contract. Since this code is for Farmers Insurance employees/business associates, they could have some special insurance agreements.
If I have any kind of accident, this could be a problem later on.
Also my Avis preferred renter information and wizard number is not shown on the reservation so I have to go to the counter to check in ???

Anyone have any information what kind of contract they have?
I guess I shall not use this code.

arkangel

Try K444404. For a 13 day rental of an intermediate vehicle (e.g., Laguna) in July from/to BRU, it beat my old standby D005295, and others, by a wide margin, as follows:

D005295 $607.60 AI
A074800 $640.10 AI
G417900 $640.10 AI
K444404 $394.62 AI

Brendan

IIRC I got K444404 from BA.

TrojanHorse

For all car rentals and lodging I check in with the AX and often change my card upon checkout/return.. not for the reason you state but b/c of the hold that they put on the cards.. this avoids this completely.. I do this so much that I don't think AX will catch on at all...

I think its a great idea and will try to remember to use that in the future as well

bob1008

I agree with jcherney on this. There is a huge difference in maximizing a discount on a rental, and actually stealing the services that a company offers. In all the years of reading this board, this is the 1st time I remember a user actually advocating something so sleazy. Many states have a statute called "Theft of Services". I'm sure stealing insurance coverage would fall into this or some type of insurance fraud. The Amex coverage on this subject is a great value at $20 bucks. How can anyone justify stealing a lousy $20 from Amex when they have already honored their part of the contract, and taken responsibility for thousands of dollars of your potential damage?
Also, do you think Amex got so big by being stupid? You've signed up with them for insurance coverage that activates each time you use your card for an auto rental. Now you sign auto rentals with their card, and use a different card when the car is returned. You honestly think they won't catch on that your stealing their Premium Insurance Coverage? A simple phone call to the rental location will tell them what you did.

I believe the purpose of this board has always been to pass along discount and coupon information that is openly available to the public. It's dissapointing that a couple users have opted to step it up to the level of promoting the theft of a companies product. I'm confident that the majority of the users here have a higher level of ethics. Mine may not be the highest, but I don't steal.

JB in AZ

I originaly asked this question, and thanks to all the input here, I'm taking the "high road", and NOT switching Credit Cards on my rental. I had spent many hours reading this forum with all it's great advice, and gotten caught up in "saving a few bucks." I totaly agree it "ain't worth it!" I have a $20,000 credit limit on my Amex card....I can't even believe that I was being so cheap and sleazy. I hope all here can forgive me and welcome me to the forum , as I intend to be a frequent reader, and sometimes poster when I have good value to add. Thanks all for helping me see my errors! (embarrassed)

VPescado

My two cents:

While I am not a lawyer, I am certain this does not rise to theft of services. AmEx provides a benefit (insurance) when their card is used to reserve, rent, and pay for a rental. If you use a different card at any of these three points in time AmEx does not provide the benefit. It is interesting that AmEx chooses to structure this arrangement so that the value of the insurance benefit can be determined before it is paid for - but that is how they chose to do it.

Further, I expect that AmEx is quite aware of the situation, and is fine with it as they expect most people will forget (or won't be bothered) to switch cards on the return, and are ultimately profiting on balance from the insurance program.

A similar situation occurs with the zero interest for a year balance transfer offers most of us get in the mail on a regular basis. The credit card companies assume that the customer will either:

1) fail to pay off the balance transfer before the year is up.
2) do something like make a late payment which removes the zero interest feature.
3) make purchases, which will accrue high interest, and which are not considered paid-off until the balance-transfer amount has been completely paid-off.

and therefore will reap some interest payments from the customer. And in most cases they are correct.

I used a chain of these offers to pay-off my student loans. I would get the new card with the balance transfer to my student loan company, put the card in a drawer, always pay the minimum balance on time - and always find another offer to transfer my balance to before the interest-free period was over.

Similarly in the days of being able to buy US savings bonds via credit card, I racked up a huge number of Delta miles (and some cash profit) by purchasing savings bonds on my DL Amex (getting double miles most of the times that I did it), and then transferring off to a zero interest card that would be paid off by cashing in the bonds immediately before the zero interest feature expired.

While I am sure the credit card companies would classify me as a freeloader, I have never encountered someone who would accuse me of stealing for doing what I did, and I think on balance the credit card companies ultimately made enough profit on such offers that they are willing to continue the practice in spite of people like me.

In short and in my opinion, the credit card switch to get AmEx insurance but paying only when you need it is (like the use of zero-interest balance transfers) a loophole and is neither illegal nor immoral. But it is a bit of a hassle, and some people may find it tacky.

If amex really was concerned about it, they would attach the $20 fee when the authorization is made and not at the end of the rental.

spartacus

This discussion about AMEX coverage is nice but does it belong here? Start another thread so those of us looking for new coupon codes don't have to muddle through it all. Thank you.

bob1008

VPescado, you make a persuasive arguement, and perhaps you may be right.
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. Everyone is entitled to their own set of ethics and moral guidelines.

JB, welcome to the board. There are no bad guys here, just different opinions, but there all welcome.

lhmpdx

Isn't it odd that this AMEX issue is such a big one here, when much of the board consists of helping people to use discount codes (Netjets, etc.) for which they are not eligible?