Car Rental Insurance in Ireland -- Very Confused
Mar 27, 2012, 3:41 pm
#31
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: ANC, SAP
Programs: AS MVP Gold, Priority Pass
Posts: 1,863
I read reports online that actually all World and World Elite Mastercards do provide coverage in Ireland, the question is whether the agency you are renting from will accept that coverage, thus the disclaimer. I am going to call MasterCard and attempt to get written confirmation either way and will report back.
I spoke with someone at the 3rd party that administers the car rental insurance for the Ameriprise World Elite MasterCard. She is actually not certain if the coverage applies in Ireland, and directed me to send an e-mail requesting that information, which I have done and am awaiting information on.
In the mean time, I contacted mastercard directly. 1-800-MCAssist. The representative there advised me that my card does not have the MasterCard provided coverage (likely Ameriprise opts out of this in order to provide their own coverage for whatever reason). He did confirm for me, however, that World, World Elite, and Black mastercards which do have the coverage provided by mastercard do have coverage in Ireland.
Mar 27, 2012, 10:21 pm
#32
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Location: Intermountain West
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Reporting back as promised.
In the mean time, I contacted mastercard directly. 1-800-MCAssist. The representative there advised me that my card does not have the MasterCard provided coverage (likely Ameriprise opts out of this in order to provide their own coverage for whatever reason). He did confirm for me, however, that World, World Elite, and Black mastercards which do have the coverage provided by mastercard do have coverage in Ireland.
In the mean time, I contacted mastercard directly. 1-800-MCAssist. The representative there advised me that my card does not have the MasterCard provided coverage (likely Ameriprise opts out of this in order to provide their own coverage for whatever reason). He did confirm for me, however, that World, World Elite, and Black mastercards which do have the coverage provided by mastercard do have coverage in Ireland.
Mar 27, 2012, 10:30 pm
#33
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: ANC, SAP
Programs: AS MVP Gold, Priority Pass
Posts: 1,863
Here is the response I received from Ameriprise World Elite Mastercard:
excerpt from the e-mail:
excerpt from the attached statement of coverage letter:
Hmmm...the agent's statement in the e-mail seems to imply that it is up to the agency to accept the letter of coverage...however, the letter of coverage doesn't seem to include Ireland under any terms...
excerpt from the e-mail:
Please be aware that this coverage may not extend to a rental vehicle in Ireland. It will depend on whether or not the company you are renting your vehicle from accepts this letter of coverage. Ireland has different laws pertaining to rental insurance coverage.
Outside the cardholder’s domiciled country or if the cardholder does not have primary insurance, coverage is primary where available. This coverage is effective in countries other than Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, New Zealand, Mexico, and North Ireland.
Mar 27, 2012, 10:31 pm
#34
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: ANC, SAP
Programs: AS MVP Gold, Priority Pass
Posts: 1,863
Last edited by ANC RED-EYE; Mar 27, 2012 at 10:37 pm
Apr 6, 2012, 8:25 pm
#35
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 208
I had a great experience with insurance4carhire.com in 2008 for excess CDW coverage. Reasonable rate that covered me and my travel companions. Ruined a tire and rim and Avis wanted about US$800 to replace them. Paid it on my credit card, filed a claim with insurance4carehire.com when I got home and had a check before the credit card payment was due.
Apr 7, 2012, 7:58 am
#36
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: USA
Programs: Virtuoso, Four Seasons PP, RC STARS, MO FanClub, Dorchester Diamond, Luxury Priv, Peninsula PenClub
Posts: 276
CDW and Super CDW
You can save a bit on Super CDW by pre-paying it. The Dan Dooley office in the US has a personal touch, very hands on, and will explain insurance thoroughly. They'll even bring the car to you at your Dublin hotel (small fee but I think it's worth it). I don't like paying for super CDW, but always do. €1500-€1900 deductibles can spoil a vacation if you have a fender bender.
Apr 9, 2012, 9:12 pm
#37
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: ANC, SAP
Programs: AS MVP Gold, Priority Pass
Posts: 1,863
She confirmed that World and WorldElite Mastercards who offer insurance coverage through MasterCard will be covered in Ireland. Probably the best way to confirm this is not to call the bank on the card, but to call 800.MCASSIST
Another nice feature of the Citi ThankYou Premier is that it is supposed to be available with Chip and Signature technology (EMV chip), which should eliminate some hassle in Ireland...however, that department is currently closed, I have to call and request my chip card tomorrow.
Anyone interested in applying should use the link in this post. You will have the option to choose mastercard in the application (note Visa would not cover Ireland car rental). Current signup benefits:
-no annual fee for 12 months
-2x points at restaurants and travel for 12 months
-50K points at signup (redeemable for $665 in airfare or $500 in gift cards)
-No foreign transaction fees
-Annual companion certificate, and 15% off airfare booked through their portal (the details and value of these 2 benefits are fuzzy to me).
Apr 9, 2012, 10:33 pm
#38
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Intermountain West
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I recently applied for, and received, the Citi ThankYou Premier World Mastercard. I just got off the phone with 800.MCASSIST who confirmed that this World Mastercard does offer MasterRental insurance protection that does apply in Ireland. Letter confirming said coverage to be faxed to me.
She confirmed that World and WorldElite Mastercards who offer insurance coverage through MasterCard will be covered in Ireland. Probably the best way to confirm this is not to call the bank on the card, but to call 800.MCASSIST
Another nice feature of the Citi ThankYou Premier is that it is supposed to be available with Chip and Signature technology (EMV chip), which should eliminate some hassle in Ireland...however, that department is currently closed, I have to call and request my chip card tomorrow.
Anyone interested in applying should use the link in this post. You will have the option to choose mastercard in the application (note Visa would not cover Ireland car rental). Current signup benefits:
-no annual fee for 12 months
-2x points at restaurants and travel for 12 months
-50K points at signup (redeemable for $665 in airfare or $500 in gift cards)
-No foreign transaction fees
-Annual companion certificate, and 15% off airfare booked through their portal (the details and value of these 2 benefits are fuzzy to me).
She confirmed that World and WorldElite Mastercards who offer insurance coverage through MasterCard will be covered in Ireland. Probably the best way to confirm this is not to call the bank on the card, but to call 800.MCASSIST
Another nice feature of the Citi ThankYou Premier is that it is supposed to be available with Chip and Signature technology (EMV chip), which should eliminate some hassle in Ireland...however, that department is currently closed, I have to call and request my chip card tomorrow.
Anyone interested in applying should use the link in this post. You will have the option to choose mastercard in the application (note Visa would not cover Ireland car rental). Current signup benefits:
-no annual fee for 12 months
-2x points at restaurants and travel for 12 months
-50K points at signup (redeemable for $665 in airfare or $500 in gift cards)
-No foreign transaction fees
-Annual companion certificate, and 15% off airfare booked through their portal (the details and value of these 2 benefits are fuzzy to me).
I just received my CITI TY Prem. World MC today. I'll call them & see I get the same answer you do. At least one of the car rental companies I've been looking at will charge you a flipping fee if you use your card to decline the CDW coverage.
Can you believe that? I'm thinking of just bagging it and paying all the fees.
Apr 9, 2012, 11:01 pm
#39
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: ANC, SAP
Programs: AS MVP Gold, Priority Pass
Posts: 1,863
I just received my CITI TY Prem. World MC today. I'll call them & see I get the same answer you do. At least one of the car rental companies I've been looking at will charge you a flipping fee if you use your card to decline the CDW coverage.
Can you believe that? I'm thinking of just bagging it and paying all the fees.The price difference to get the base CDW on any of the local sites (i.e. thrifty.ie) is so minimal it would not be worth the hassle. But for the added coverage vs. buying Super CDW, I think it is worthwhile.
When are you going to Ireland?
Jun 17, 2012, 8:41 am
#40
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Programs: DL Skymiles (silver) & AA Advantage
Posts: 190
Update from Recent Traveler to Ireland
May 6, 2012 Back in the USA after returning our Thrifty Rental w/o incident! I did have the letter from Capital One confirming that our World MC provided for coverage of the rental car in Ireland. For us, it was a great experience using the World MC with them . . . and we had no unexpected surprises.
Wait, yes we did . . . they DID NOT CHARGE our card the 2000 EU deposit on the card. When we returned the car yesterday they said they only did a "hold" on the account. Skeptical as I was, I couldn't wait to check it out online when we returned. Sure enough, the 2000 EU was not charge to the card! So no worries about fluctuating exchange rates or phantom charges for bogus damage.
The rental total cost, waiving all coverages plus the mandatory tank of gas cost $290.49 (billed in euro with the CapOne conversion @ $1.31394). The gas cost was $120.91 and the 15 day rental was $169.58.
Also, I did some more inquiry on the prepaid gas that we were forced into purchasing. The vehicle we received was an upgrade from the Toyota Yaris to a Toyota Auris which has a gas tank of approx. 60 liters. At the 95eu that we paid, that worked out to under 1.55eu/liter . . . about a dime less than the price we saw throughout Ireland.
We were successful in returning the car empty, the flashing "low fuel" light came on with a driving range per the dashboard monitors, of 23km. With just the drive from our B&B to the Thrifty lot (about 10km) we returned the car VERY low on fuel. SUCCESS!
Finally, the M50 toll billing through Thrifty worked perfectly. We were charged for our three trips over the M50. With the exchange rate, the fee was $5.90 (+/-) per trip.
All in all we had a very successful rental with Thrifty at the Dublin Airport and would not hesitate to use or recommend them.
NOTE: I have recently read that some banks that issue the World MC are dropping their coverage offer for Ireland. This may be why some are getting coverage while others are not.
p.s. I booked our reservation through Thrifty.com and NOT Thrifty.ie for the best rates. (They were significantly more at the .ie site!) Everything was disclosed on the .com site, including the insurance and added fees, so we had no surprises. The key is to read everything in the terms & conditions.
Wait, yes we did . . . they DID NOT CHARGE our card the 2000 EU deposit on the card. When we returned the car yesterday they said they only did a "hold" on the account. Skeptical as I was, I couldn't wait to check it out online when we returned. Sure enough, the 2000 EU was not charge to the card! So no worries about fluctuating exchange rates or phantom charges for bogus damage.
The rental total cost, waiving all coverages plus the mandatory tank of gas cost $290.49 (billed in euro with the CapOne conversion @ $1.31394). The gas cost was $120.91 and the 15 day rental was $169.58.
Also, I did some more inquiry on the prepaid gas that we were forced into purchasing. The vehicle we received was an upgrade from the Toyota Yaris to a Toyota Auris which has a gas tank of approx. 60 liters. At the 95eu that we paid, that worked out to under 1.55eu/liter . . . about a dime less than the price we saw throughout Ireland.
We were successful in returning the car empty, the flashing "low fuel" light came on with a driving range per the dashboard monitors, of 23km. With just the drive from our B&B to the Thrifty lot (about 10km) we returned the car VERY low on fuel. SUCCESS!
Finally, the M50 toll billing through Thrifty worked perfectly. We were charged for our three trips over the M50. With the exchange rate, the fee was $5.90 (+/-) per trip.
All in all we had a very successful rental with Thrifty at the Dublin Airport and would not hesitate to use or recommend them.
NOTE: I have recently read that some banks that issue the World MC are dropping their coverage offer for Ireland. This may be why some are getting coverage while others are not.
p.s. I booked our reservation through Thrifty.com and NOT Thrifty.ie for the best rates. (They were significantly more at the .ie site!) Everything was disclosed on the .com site, including the insurance and added fees, so we had no surprises. The key is to read everything in the terms & conditions.
Last edited by TimeshareVon; Jun 17, 2012 at 8:47 am
Jun 17, 2012, 2:07 pm
#41
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Intermountain West
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 12,087
Thanks for the report. We'll be there in early Oct. Did you rent a standard transmission or auto? Issues?
The M50 tolls: did they just accumulate & you paid them when you returned the car? I read you only had 24-48 hrs to pay the tolls.
What area/sights did you enjoy the most?
Thanks!!
The M50 tolls: did they just accumulate & you paid them when you returned the car? I read you only had 24-48 hrs to pay the tolls.
What area/sights did you enjoy the most?
Thanks!!
May 6, 2012 Back in the USA after returning our Thrifty Rental w/o incident! I did have the letter from Capital One confirming that our World MC provided for coverage of the rental car in Ireland. For us, it was a great experience using the World MC with them . . . and we had no unexpected surprises.
Wait, yes we did . . . they DID NOT CHARGE our card the 2000 EU deposit on the card. When we returned the car yesterday they said they only did a "hold" on the account. Skeptical as I was, I couldn't wait to check it out online when we returned. Sure enough, the 2000 EU was not charge to the card! So no worries about fluctuating exchange rates or phantom charges for bogus damage.
The rental total cost, waiving all coverages plus the mandatory tank of gas cost $290.49 (billed in euro with the CapOne conversion @ $1.31394). The gas cost was $120.91 and the 15 day rental was $169.58.
Also, I did some more inquiry on the prepaid gas that we were forced into purchasing. The vehicle we received was an upgrade from the Toyota Yaris to a Toyota Auris which has a gas tank of approx. 60 liters. At the 95eu that we paid, that worked out to under 1.55eu/liter . . . about a dime less than the price we saw throughout Ireland.
We were successful in returning the car empty, the flashing "low fuel" light came on with a driving range per the dashboard monitors, of 23km. With just the drive from our B&B to the Thrifty lot (about 10km) we returned the car VERY low on fuel. SUCCESS!
Finally, the M50 toll billing through Thrifty worked perfectly. We were charged for our three trips over the M50. With the exchange rate, the fee was $5.90 (+/-) per trip.
All in all we had a very successful rental with Thrifty at the Dublin Airport and would not hesitate to use or recommend them.
NOTE: I have recently read that some banks that issue the World MC are dropping their coverage offer for Ireland. This may be why some are getting coverage while others are not.
p.s. I booked our reservation through Thrifty.com and NOT Thrifty.ie for the best rates. (They were significantly more at the .ie site!) Everything was disclosed on the .com site, including the insurance and added fees, so we had no surprises. The key is to read everything in the terms & conditions.
Wait, yes we did . . . they DID NOT CHARGE our card the 2000 EU deposit on the card. When we returned the car yesterday they said they only did a "hold" on the account. Skeptical as I was, I couldn't wait to check it out online when we returned. Sure enough, the 2000 EU was not charge to the card! So no worries about fluctuating exchange rates or phantom charges for bogus damage.
The rental total cost, waiving all coverages plus the mandatory tank of gas cost $290.49 (billed in euro with the CapOne conversion @ $1.31394). The gas cost was $120.91 and the 15 day rental was $169.58.
Also, I did some more inquiry on the prepaid gas that we were forced into purchasing. The vehicle we received was an upgrade from the Toyota Yaris to a Toyota Auris which has a gas tank of approx. 60 liters. At the 95eu that we paid, that worked out to under 1.55eu/liter . . . about a dime less than the price we saw throughout Ireland.
We were successful in returning the car empty, the flashing "low fuel" light came on with a driving range per the dashboard monitors, of 23km. With just the drive from our B&B to the Thrifty lot (about 10km) we returned the car VERY low on fuel. SUCCESS!
Finally, the M50 toll billing through Thrifty worked perfectly. We were charged for our three trips over the M50. With the exchange rate, the fee was $5.90 (+/-) per trip.
All in all we had a very successful rental with Thrifty at the Dublin Airport and would not hesitate to use or recommend them.
NOTE: I have recently read that some banks that issue the World MC are dropping their coverage offer for Ireland. This may be why some are getting coverage while others are not.
p.s. I booked our reservation through Thrifty.com and NOT Thrifty.ie for the best rates. (They were significantly more at the .ie site!) Everything was disclosed on the .com site, including the insurance and added fees, so we had no surprises. The key is to read everything in the terms & conditions.
Jun 17, 2012, 9:11 pm
#42
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Programs: DL Skymiles (silver) & AA Advantage
Posts: 190
Thanks for the report. We'll be there in early Oct. Did you rent a standard transmission or auto? Issues?
The M50 tolls: did they just accumulate & you paid them when you returned the car? I read you only had 24-48 hrs to pay the tolls.
What area/sights did you enjoy the most?
Thanks!!
The M50 tolls: did they just accumulate & you paid them when you returned the car? I read you only had 24-48 hrs to pay the tolls.
What area/sights did you enjoy the most?
Thanks!!
As for the M50 tolls, Thrifty has a reader card in their vehicles and we were charged for each individually for each of the three trips through it, rather than one lump sum charge of 3x. With Thrifty, you do not have the option to pay on your own. Of course, they get you for an administrative fee for the processing of the toll payments on your behalf.
As for areas we enjoyed the most, all of the OPW Heritage sites were interesting and educational. We loved Cobh and the Titanic history there, as well as the Aran Islands (we did an overnight on Inis Mor). The timeshare we had in County Galway (Connemara Country Cottages) was very nice and in a great location for exploring that area.
In total we were in Ireland for 15 days so we also stayed in a self-catering cottage for 5 nights, a castle for 2 and a B&B outside of Dublin for 2.
I did a lot of writing and photographing for IgoUgo.com. My journals, reviews and photos may be found here.
I'm sure you'll have a great time!
Nov 8, 2012, 1:51 pm
#43
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: California
Posts: 290
Bank of America World MasterCard does have car insurance coverage for Ireland!
Thank you for this thread. The information are very useful. I did find out that (a) Barclaycard US Airway World MasterCard does not carry insurance for Ireland but (b) Bank of America World MasterCard Car Rental Insurance does cover Ireland! By calling their MasterCard Assist number 1-800-622-7747, they can send you an email for proof of coverage.
Nov 8, 2012, 3:53 pm
#44
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Intermountain West
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 12,087
Thank you for this thread. The information are very useful. I did find out that (a) Barclaycard US Airway World MasterCard does not carry insurance for Ireland but (b) Bank of America World MasterCard Car Rental Insurance does cover Ireland! By calling their MasterCard Assist number 1-800-622-7747, they can send you an email for proof of coverage.
Dec 12, 2012, 6:36 pm
#45
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: IAH
Programs: SPG Plat, Hyatt Plat, HHonors Gold
Posts: 332
This may be a bummer of a post, but I'm curious, has anyone had to make a claim with a World MC CC issuer in Ireland? I'm curious if the process is any different than how car rental coverage is handled in the US.