Do you need to find the best coverage for a rental car? Keep reading to find quick and accessible solutions to your problem! Plus, find out how to verify whether your credit card offers rental car insurance.
In this article, we’ll outline the best ways to get rental car coverage, whether that’s from another credit card or your auto insurance policy. We’ll also give quick advice and resources on the rental car insurance offered by rental car companies.
Do Discover Cards Offer Rental Car Insurance?
Discover Card currently doesn’t offer any rental car insurance, also known as an Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver (CDW). CDWs are a popular credit cardholder benefit, and other credit cards may still offer this perk.
How Do You Know If Your Credit Card Offers Rental Car Insurance?
The best place to verify whether or not your credit card offers rental car coverage is your card member benefits. You can also call the benefits number on the back of your card and ask a customer service representative.
To make your search easier, we also included links to our reviews of other cards with rental car coverage in the next section.
Other Options for Credit Card Rental Car Insurance
Even though the Discover Credit Card doesn’t offer rental car coverage, other credit cards do offer rental car benefits. To be eligible for the benefit, you must pay for the entire rental car balance with an applicable credit card.
Be aware of these common exclusions to rental car coverage.
- Expensive, exotic, or luxury vehicles are excluded
- Recreational, cargo, or off-roading vehicles will not be covered
- Cars with an MSRP over $50,000 for MasterCard and over $75,000 for Visa
- Certain countries may not have coverage, so check your terms & conditions
Since Discover Cards don’t have an annual fee, we’ll start with other credit cards with $0 annual fees. Secondary coverage means that auto insurance will pay on a claim before any credit card benefit pays.
| Credit Card | Annual Fee | APR | Rental Car Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discover Credit Card | $0 | 16.24% to 27.24% | None |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited | $0 | 19.24% to 27.99% | Personal Use Only, Secondary Coverage |
| Bank of America Travel Rewards | $0 | 18.24% to 28.24% | Personal Use Only, Secondary Coverage |
| Ink Business Cash | $0 | 17.49% to 23.49% | Covers Business Use, Primary Coverage for Business |
Our top recommendation for a Travel Credit Card with an Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is the Capital One Venture X Rewards. This benefit only applies to personal use, so you will have to use a business credit card like Ink Business Cash for business use.
Here’s how the Capital One Venture X Rewards compares to the other cards’ basic terms. For any cardholders that travel, the annual fee quickly pays for itself with the other travel perks.
| Credit Card | Annual Fee | APR | Rental Car Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One Venture X Rewards | $395 | 21.24% to 28.24% | Primary Coverage for Personal Use, no Coverage for Business |
Other Options for Rental Car Coverage
If you don’t have a credit card that offers rental car coverage, there are other options! Many auto insurance policies with full coverage will extend coverage to rental cars. As a last resort, rental car companies also offer rental car insurance.
Auto Insurance
You may have coverage with your existing auto insurance policy for rental cars. Liability Insurance on your automobile policy likely extends to you as a driver of a rental car within the United States. To have any possible coverage of a rental car, you will need full coverage on your policy as well.
Full coverage means collision and comprehensive insurance.
- Collision covers your vehicle when you’re at fault in an accident.
- Comprehensive covers stolen or vandalized cars and cars damaged by severe weather.
Contact your insurance company or insurance agent to see if your full coverage will extend to a rental car. It’s a good idea to have the specs of the car you wish to rent. Your insurance company will not want to cover a rental car worth more than the one you pay premiums for.
Rental Car Company
Rental Car companies also offer coverage options for rental vehicles. This is the most expensive way to insure a rental car, so we recommend exhausting other options first.
We created this table to quickly compare some major rental car companies and the prices for a Collision Damage Waiver available online through the reservation portal. See each article for more details on methodology.
| Rental Car Company | Price for Rental Car Coverage |
|---|---|
| Hertz | $45 per day |
| Avis | $30.99 to $42.99 per day |
| Sixt | $35 to $68 per day |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need extra insurance when renting a car?
When you rent a car, you are financially responsible for any damage or the possible theft of the car. Make sure you have coverage to protect yourself. Coverage may come from your auto insurance, a credit card, or the rental car company.
Is it better to rent a car with your credit card or debit card?
Many credit cards offer benefits like rental car coverage when you pay the rental balance with the credit card. We recommend paying for the rental car with your credit card. Call the benefits line to verify coverage.
Do car insurance quotes hurt my credit?
The type of credit report that insurance agents perform will not affect your credit. It’s beneficial to get quotes often to compare rates and keep your premiums as low as possible.
Resources
Bank of America (2023). Terms and Conditions for Bank of America Travel Rewards. Bankofamerica.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/terms-and-conditions/?campaignid=4061068&productoffercode=VH&locale=en_US
Capital One (n.d.). Capital One Venture X Rewards Rate and Fee Information. Capitalone.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/lp/venture-x/lp1/?external_id=WWW_XXXXX_ZZZ_ONL-SE_ZZZZZ_T_SEM2_ZZZZ_c_Zg_7a15c0f6-0e92-41b0-9774-b4e730d073ba_586751434295_709508&target_id=aud-366961790576:kwd-1432579728236&oC=CO5ed2SUs1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA8aOeBhCWARIsANRFrQGDMesGKZYV1UvJKhhc4mXDmAI-t__WORMRi4AdzslXkJ6-LEjjaD0aAuzhEALw_wcB#:~:text=Rate%20and%20fee%20information
Chase (2023). Terms and Conditions for Chase Freedom Unlimited. Sites.Chase.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://sites.chase.com/services/creatives/pricingandterms.html/content/dam/pricingandterms/LGC54719.html
Chase (n.d.). Terms and Conditions for Ink Business Cash. Sites.Chase.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://sites.chase.com/services/creatives/pricingandterms.html/content/dam/pricingandterms/LGC54792.html
Discover (2023). Compare and Apply For the Best Credit Card For You. Discover.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/?ICMPGN=PUB_MIDNAV_CREDIT_CARDS
Jesse Cunningham V is a professional writer and licensed insurance agent. He has worked in the insurance industry in different capacities, starting as a customer service representative and working his way up to an independent agency owner. He is licensed in the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania for Property, Casualty, Life, and Health products. Jesse has worked with many national carriers, including Nationwide, State Farm, Travelers, and Liberty Mutual, and specializes in car and home insurance and health, life, accidental death, and disability insurance. He writes for multiple publications including FIXD and Bauple.com. All articles by Jesse are opinion-based. Speak with your licensed insurance agent about the particulars of your insurance before making any decisions.
