jason8612

Does anyone know how this applies to rental car award bookings?

macintoshd

I recently rented a car with Avis using my MileagePlus Explorer Card (VISA Signature), during the reservation, the GPS I had rented broke (the screen cracked) by accident. The unit no longer functioned afterwards. Avis charged me an insane 300 euros and I didn´t even get to keep the GPS I had to pay for.

Needless to say, that GPS or that screen does not cost anywhere near 300 euros.

I declied all Avis insurance when renting, either way I dont think it covered damage to the GPS.

I am currently overseas without access to my CC TOS printout, any ideas if Chase will cover this, or any ideas on how to get them to cover it?

Thank you.

inpd

Hi,

A not well advertised benefit of the MileagePlus CC is that when you rent a car it acts as *primary* insurance as opposed to secondary insurance.

If anyone used their card and unfortunately had an accident, how did it all work out? Were you out of pocket any money? Did your regular insurance go up?

Thanks in advance.

mgcsinc

I used another Chase card's damage waiver, which was primary because I didn't have a car and therefore didn't have car insurance. It was not reported to the car or property insurance databases. Note that it only provides damage coverage, not liability insurance.

astroflyer

Wow, I never thought about this. Up until recently I've always owned a car and had liability coverage through that policy. Now that I live in a major city downtown, I've ditched the car and the insurance policy.

It looks like car rentals must include the statutory minimum liability, but it's not clear if that's enough. Something to think about!

mgcsinc

Yes. As much as it pained me, when I didn't have a car I would buy the rental company's liability insurance unless the state had a high minimum. Be especially careful in California - I haven't looked into it, but supposedly the rental companies need not provide coverage.

FlyinHawaiian

This is better discussed in a forum for credit card benefits, so I will move this accordingly.

FlyinHawaiian, Co-Moderator
United MileagePlus Forum

mikex163

Is that true?

mia

See here, in particular post 52:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19665547-post52.html

mikex163

Thanks!
Sounding like a noob here, but is it possible to get liability insurance through the rental agency, while declining CDW?

CaptainMiles

Generally, yes

MDtR-Chicago

It is also possible to purchase a driver-only policy directly from many reputable insurance agencies. Depending on how often you rent, this may be less expensive/easier.

mikex163

Thank you both.
Probably not worth to get separate insurance, as I only rent 3 or 4 times a year.

jfwr9

I did not have an accident per se, but I did have a rental car company from Costa Rica try to rip me off and claim "internal" (engine compartment) damages to a car I rented. you can see my thread here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...charge-me.html

I was charged ~2,000 and I challenged the charge through Chase and was denied. I then filed a Loss Damage Waiver Claim with Visa, who provides the benefits for the Chase MileagePlus Explorer card, was approved and paid out within a few days of submitting all the documents.

In the end, I was not out of pocket any money and did not have to involve my insurance company.

In this instance, this proved to be an excellent benefit to the card. Well worth the annual fee, although I have heard that the CSP now has this coverage as well, so I may cancel.