adavydov7

So I managed to snatch two tickets from Chicago to Abu Dhabi during the Christmas Etihad mistake fare sale. I have been doing some light planning and know that I want to rent a car to drive around the emirates, but also to drive over to Oman.

This is where it gets a bit tricky because taking a rental car from UAE to Oman requires additional insurance and paperwork from the UAE rental agency (required by Omani border control and immigration from what I understand).

Here is my question: I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card that offers primary rental insurance coverage when travelling outside of the United States. How do I go about using this coverage in order to travel from the UAE to Oman (especially since I have to turn down any insurance offered by the rental company in order to use this benefit)? How do I prove insurance coverage to the border agents upon crossing into Oman?

Does anyone have experience with this and/or any recommendations?

I would greatly appreciate any and all advice, thanks!

IAN-UK

I've done this a couple of times (but without the CSP Complication). It's a well-trod path: the car hire companies take care of most of it. I used Enterprise. Depending on the route, parts of the drive can be through spectacular country. But having done it I think I'd travel by air or bus between UAE and Oman, with separate rentals in each country, or remain car-less in UAE.

Sadly, i think there are elements to cross-border insurance which fall outside "primary" cover. I suggest you get in touch with prospective hire companies and ask them. For many of them, cross border is pretty much routine.

muscat

I'd not risk anything out of the ordinary regarding car hire/insurance. Even if the rental company allowed it, it would be unfortunate to be turned round at the border. Insurance for Oman is pretty cheap when organised through the hire company.

rankourabu

The rental company will give you a piece of paper (at extra charge) for Oman insurance. Your CC insurance is not enough. You will absolutely need it. Make sure that you check the rules when booking a car - all UAE rentals have an Oman clause.

For us, Budget charged a nominal fee for the insurance, and they took care of everything.

Last month, we rented from Payless, and they said cars would be remotely disabled if they crossed outside the UAE.... that was a new one.

IAN-UK

.. and scary!

Is this likely to be a practicable threat, or just a bluff?
(I'm well out of my technology comfort zone!)

rankourabu

No idea, but the counter agent sounded serious.
And google says the technology does exist, whereas the starter can be disabled when a "geofence" is crossed.

muscat

Easily done with IVMS, though hopefully it will be set to gradually slow you down as you approach the "fence" and not instantly turn the engine off

rankourabu

lol, I think they just disable the starter. So next time you stop, you cant restart, hopefully you are not stuck because you stopped to take a leak in some rest stop in the middle of the desert.

adavydov7

Thanks for all the responses and advice.

rankourabu: Do you recall what the Budget charge was?

Also, anyone have any idea if I would be able to use the CC insurance for the UAE and just pay for the additional Oman insurance charge to be able to take the car across the border (potential issues here with not completely turning down the rental company's CDW as is required by the CSP's T&C for the car to be covered)?

Thanks again everyone.

rankourabu

Go to Expedia, and do a fake booking for a car in Dubai.
When the grid comes up, click on a rate, each rate will have Rules&Restrictions on the payment page.

I think we found Budget to be the cheapest at the time, so check all of them.

For Budget for example it says:
CROSS BORDER TRAVELCROSS BORDER TRAFFIC IS ALLOWED TO OMAN WITH THESE RESTRICTIONS: 20 PERCENT EXTRA ON THE DAILY RATE FOR EACH DAY THE CAR IS IN OMAN. OMAN INSURANCE REQUIRED AT AED 125.00/USD 33.78 VALID FOR 10 DAYS. CAR GROUPS A F AND O ARE NOT ALLOWED IN OMAN. NO CAR GROUPS ALLOWED TO BE DRIVEN INTO SALALAH OMAN

This is for Avis:
CROSS BORDER RENTALS VEHICLES ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO BE DRIVEN OUT OF UNITED ARAB EMIRATES TO OMAN WITH PRIOR APPROVAL AND LEGAL DOCUMENTS. ADVANCE NOTIFICATION OF TWO DAYS IS REQUIRED TO ENSURE THE DOCUMENTATION CAN BE ARRANGED. INSURANCE PAPERS ALLOWING TRAVEL TO OMAN WILL BE HANDED TO THE CUSTOMER AT TIME OF RENTAL. IF TRAVELLING TO OMAN PLEASE ENTER OMAN INSCE INTO THE REMARKS OF RESERVATON CHARGES FOR OMAN INSURANCE- AED 100.00 PER DAY FOR ALL CAR GROUPS. CHARGES ARE PAYABLE AT THE TIME OF RENTAL.

It may take you a while to find one suitable to you.

This "insurance" is different than the ones you turn down (CDW). If you get into an accident in the UAE - you will still be covered with your credit card (must get a police report though!)

adavydov7

Perfect, thank you rankourabu! Very useful info, I'll be sure to check all the agencies and their T&C before booking.

Bonaventure

I'm doing my research on this and it's bloody ridiculous how much disparity there is (and price gouging) on omani insurance. As I do my research I'll post my findings here, if anyoner has more tips on renting a 4x4 in UAE and taking it over cost-effectively for 2+ weeks, let me know

This is Avis'

Budget's

Hertz

Unknown

Europcar

Thrifty

Unknown

sharp5flat9

Ignoring for a moment the disparity in costs, bear in mind that you're paying for more than just 3rd party legal liability. Driving in Oman presents a whole new set of risks to the rental company (long tiring journeys, unpaved roads, poor local driving standards, stray animals, etc) as well as the possibility of having to retrieve a vehicle across a national border, requiring visas for non-western staff, etc.

Were you a resident with your own vehicle, you could just purchase sufficient insurance at the border and carry the other risks yourself.

But thank you for sharing your research.

donkle3

After checking all rental companies on Priceline.com, all prohibited travel out of UAE except Sixt which said to contact them. When I did, they said there is a one-time fee of 385 AED (about $100). You then must notify the agency at [email protected], I just did and am waiting for a reply. Sixt also helped me learn how to use my credit card CDW on the rental. I needed to call my credit card and have a verification of coverage letter sent to me. That is required by the agency to allow you to decline their CDW. Very helpful!
On the dark side, Monte Carlo rental car would allow travel to Oman, but they required a fee of 1000 AED ($272) plus a refundable deposit of 10000 AED ($2722). Needless to say, I went with Sixt.

kgurmani

I would suggest you not to go through the the rental car, because there are lots of complexion. The border authority at Oman border would require more insurance terms and many many more troubles regarding other things, why don't you plan your tour by bus. It would be more comfortable and cheap.