toomanybooks

Had an experience with this I thought might be of interest.

Some months ago, I rented a car at Enterprise late one afternoon for one day with Diners. Got up early, drove Chicago-Milwaukee for a 5-hour meeting, drove back, returned car.

Manager said there was a dent in the roof. I looked at an oblique angle and MAYBE saw a little something, but it looked like perhaps a small manufacturing defect. A friend who was along to give me a ride said he could see something tiny also.

Of course we had jointly inspected the car before renting, but never in my life have I looked at the ROOF of a rental car. The car sat outside my house overnight (not under a tree), was driven to Milwaukee and parked in a garage, and driven right back to Enterprise.

Whatever damage there was or might have been, I am sure it was there before I rented.

So I told the guy I had Diners, which is supposed to supply primary coverage and he said he would follow up with them.

Weeks later I start getting emails from Diners about it and it turns out I had to submit all kinds of crap via scan. Original CC receipt, photos of the damage, original car rental agreement, copy of damage estimate, copy of my driver's license, repair shop quote or bill, copy of CC statement (Why, don't they have it already?), on and on.

Took several hours, but I eventually got everything to them. Turns out Enterprise had already had the car repaired for $503.

Eventually after about 3-4 months, Diners emailed that the damage was covered and that I would be receiving a check. This was in August maybe, and I have received no check, but have also heard nothing further, so maybe that was some standard boilerplate.

So it was unnecessarily a pain, I thought, but Diners did cover the bill.

Moral: Inspect every square inch of a rental car before accepting it.

smith80678

Wow. A half of year for a tiny dent in the roof. I think I'll rent with National.

tmiw

As someone who's never had to file any CDW claims, is 3-4 months longer than average for issuers that offer it? Also, since you didn't get a check I'm assuming Enterprise hasn't come after you for that amount after the claim was resolved, correct?

toomanybooks

Have heard nothing from Enterprise in maybe 10-12 weeks, so assuming it is resolved.

I certainly did not push the issue, just let it unfold, since I was confident it really wasn't my problem. But it would have taken at least a couple months regardless.

brc01

So is it assumed Diners sent a check to directly reimburse Enterprise?

Good read on how the process works. ^

sdsearch

First of all, which Diners Club type of card was this? Different cards (Personal vs Professional vs Corporate) have different primary car insurance coverages.

Second, did you really have all this communication with Diners Club (BMO) themselves? I would think you were actually communicating with the third party that administers the Diners Club primary car collision coverage, which is not Diners Club (or BMO) themselves. (But who that is depends on the exact card you have.) So "they" as in Diners Club (BMO) may have your statements already, but "they" as in the third party that administers the coverage may not.

sdsearch

You'll rent from a company owned by Enterprise, because you don't trust Enterprise (because of this story)? How does that make sense???
Do you realize that these days most of the "brand name" rental companies based in the US are owned by either Avis, Hertz, or Enterprise?

toomanybooks

Well, all emails came from the "Diners Club Benefits Center." Looking back, it makes sense it could be a third-party company. I never cared to look too closely.

This card is listed on statements as a "Diners Club Charge" card issued by Diners Club International. Not sure if that answers your question. Definitely not Corporate.

mia

sdsearch

Was it a card applied for during the window when BMO re-opened applications? If so that would be a Consumer card, and I thought all those were credit cards, but I'm not sure.

Or was it a card that was applied for years ago, before BMO took Diners Club North America over from Citi? If so that would the Professional card, and it should say that on the front of the card. (The Professional card is definitely a charge card.)

Or another way to put it: When you log in to your card account at:

https://www.dinersclubus.com/home

do you click the Consumer login button or the Professional login button? (You have to pick between those to log in.)

toomanybooks

Applied for and got years ago, maybe 7-8?

It used to be, IMO, one of the best ways to get the WN CP. You could pile up Diners points for months/years and dump them over on the specific day you wanted, as opposed to getting them all year and maybe not when you wanted with the WN Visa. As I recall, it was also 1:1 transfer, but less than that now (1500 > 1200?).

Don't have it at hand; must be stuck in a drawer. Very rarely log in, will do so sometime in next day or two. I pretty much use the card only to rent cars now. For a long time people said it had the best (only?) credit card primary car insurance coverage, but now I hear lots about Sapphire and various Amexes, so I do not know. Some blogger ought to cover this.

Probably just keeping it on momentum now.

miadeals

Yeah, I heard about that scam a long time ago - ALWAYS look at the roof. (The scam: last guy had the coverage, or it was missed, etc, now we got you!) Rental places think I'm nuts when I'm inspecting every last inch of the car for anything at all that I can make out with the naked eye and refusing the car unless it is marked. You can't be too careful with these people - and it ain't just enterprise, its all of them.

Second, it's good to hear it works. I've used diners for a car rental, but with sapphire you get double points with a rental, so I've switched to mainly using that. I don't think you want to use amex - don't you have to pay some fee upfront etc? And I'm not sure that all (any?) are primary coverage on amex.

I'll stick to saph unless i need diners points shortly.

toomanybooks

I seem to recall that the higher-end Amexes like Platinum have primary coverage, but never looked too carefully.

The only other time I had damage to a rental car the windshield got a chip from a rock on the road. I had rented with SPG card. Went straight to Hertz, exchanged cars, and gave them CC info. Never heard another word, and not sure who paid for it. Always assumed SPG, but maybe Hertz handles these things itself.

mia

No American Express card issued in the USA includes primary CDW coverage. Primary coverage requires payment of an extra premium for each rental.

toomanybooks

Thanks for clarification, I appreciate it.

Would you say Diners is as good as any in the US for primary car rental insurance? Better/same as/worse than Sapphire or any other? Thanks.

It is Professional. Applied for and got in 2006. Thanks.