Personal Finance

Credit Card rental car benefits

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  • Apr 23rd, 2013 9:37 pm
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Jr. Member
Jun 17, 2007
196 posts
18 upvotes

Credit Card rental car benefits

Hi Guys,

I'm going to be renting a car in Italy for 2 weeks. What card should I use to charge it?

MBNA Smart Cash
or
American Express Air Miles Platinum Credit Card
or
TD Visa Driver Rewards

I can't seem to get detailed rental information. LDW coverage is to vague.

Thanks
6 replies
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 23, 2005
9005 posts
5728 upvotes
What exactly is vague? It is always clearly outlined in the Card Member Agreement.

For eg. TD's coverage ;

[QUOTE]A. Collision/Loss Damage Insurance at a Glance
• Only the Cardholder may rent a vehicle and decline the Rental Agency’s collision damage waiver (CDW) or an equivalent coverage
offering. This coverage applies only to the Insured Person’s personal and business use of the rental vehicle.
• Your TD Canada Trust Credit Card must be in good standing.
• You must initiate and complete the entire rental transaction with the same TD Canada Trust Credit Card.
• The full cost of the rental must be charged to Your TD Canada Trust Credit Card to activate coverage.
• Coverage is limited to one rental vehicle at a time, i.e. if during the same period there is more than one vehicle rented by the
Cardholder, only the first rental will be eligible for these benefits.
• The length of time You rent the same vehicle or vehicles must not exceed forty-eight (48) consecutive days, which follow one immediately after
the other. In order to break the consecutive day cycle, a full calendar day must exist between rental periods. If the rental period exceeds
forty-eight (48) consecutive days, coverage will not be provided from the first day onwards, i.e. coverage will not be provided for either the
first 48 consecutive days or any subsequent days. Coverage may not be extended for more than forty-eight (48) days by renewing or taking
out a new rental agreement with the same or another Rental Agency for the same vehicle or another vehicle.
• Coverage is limited to loss/damage to, or theft of a rental vehicle only up to the rental vehicle’s actual cash value plus valid Loss of Use charges.
• The Cardholder must decline on the rental contract the CDW option or its equivalent offered by the Rental Agency. (The Collision/Loss Damage
Insurance coverage does not pay for the premium charged by the Rental Agency for the CDW offered by the Rental Agency.)
• Most vehicles are covered by the Policy. (A list of vehicles excluded from this coverage is outlined in the section “Types of
Vehicles Covered”.)
• The Collision/Loss Damage Insurance Program will provide coverage to Cardholders when the full cost of each rental of a vehicle (per use and
mileage charges) is paid for using Your TD Canada Trust Credit Card and the Car Sharing Program’s Collision/Loss Damage Insurance is declined.
• Coverage is available except where prohibited by law.
• Claims must be reported within forty-eight (48) hours of the damage/loss occurring by calling 1-800-880-6497 (when in Canada
or the United States) or, call collect (416) 977-3772.
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]G. Types of Vehicles Covered
The types of rental vehicles covered include:
All cars, sport utility vehicles, and Mini-Vans (defined as vans made by an automobile manufacturer and classified by the manufacturer or a government
authority as Mini-Vans made to transport a maximum of eight (8) people including the driver and which are used exclusively for the transportation of
passengers and their luggage) except those excluded below.
The following vehicles are NOT covered:
1. vans, cargo vans or mini cargo vans (other than Mini-Vans as described above);
2. trucks, pick-up trucks or any vehicle that can be spontaneously reconfigured into a pick-up truck;
3. limousines;
4. off-road vehicles – meaning any vehicle used on roads that are not publicly maintained roads unless used to ingress and egress private property;
5. motorcycles, mopeds or motor bikes;
6. trailers, campers, recreational vehicles or vehicles not licensed for road use;
7. vehicles towing or propelling trailers or any other object;
8. mini-buses or buses;
9. any vehicle with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) excluding all taxes, over sixty-five thousand dollars ($65,000) Canadian,
at the time and place of loss.
10. exotic vehicles, meaning vehicles such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Bricklin, Daimler, DeLorean, Excalibur, Ferrari, Jensen, Lamborghini, Lotus,
Maserati, Porsche, Rolls Royce;
11. any vehicle which is either wholly or in part hand made, hand finished or has a limited production of under 2,500 vehicles per year;
12. antique vehicles, meaning a vehicle over twenty (20) years old or which has not been manufactured for ten (10) years or more.
13. Tax-free cars.
Luxury vehicles such as BMW, Cadillac, Lincoln and Mercedes Benz are covered as long as they meet the above requirements.[/QUOTE]
Jr. Member
Jun 17, 2007
196 posts
18 upvotes
well vague in terms of going online and seeing the little blurbs of what benefits they offer.

I don't have the member agreenments.

Also after looking into this a bit more, I keep seeing things referring to "excluded countries." Is this only referring to countries that make in mandatory to buy LDW anyway?
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 23, 2005
9005 posts
5728 upvotes
Fozard wrote: well vague in terms of going online and seeing the little blurbs of what benefits they offer.

I don't have the member agreenments.

Also after looking into this a bit more, I keep seeing things referring to "excluded countries." Is this only referring to countries that make in mandatory to buy LDW anyway?
All card member agreements can be found online in a PDF format on the creditors website so that is your best place to start.

As far as the excluded countries, it will vary depending on the insurance provider. Best thing would be to contact the insurance provider first hand to inquire.
Sr. Member
Nov 12, 2012
599 posts
288 upvotes
Port Moody
Keep in mind that most credit cards do not cover liability insurance. In BC, ICBC offers Roadstar for rental vehicle coverage and it's available to driver's with 9 or more years without an at-fault claim. Not sure if other provinces offer that. I have Roadstar for my liability insurance and other accident related insurance, but use my American Express Gold card for LDW, as they offer no deductible for claims (Roadstar is $300).

I have never rented a vehicle outside of the USA or Canada - so definitely research your options for coverage prior to renting the vehicle.
Jr. Member
Jun 17, 2007
196 posts
18 upvotes
boyoflondon wrote: All card member agreements can be found online in a PDF format on the creditors website so that is your best place to start.

As far as the excluded countries, it will vary depending on the insurance provider. Best thing would be to contact the insurance provider first hand to inquire.
Maybe I just suck at google, but I am having a very hard time trying to find this
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2001
18945 posts
10527 upvotes
I'll be honest when I had questions about my coverage through TD Infinite Visa I just called their insurance number and within 5 minutes I had all my questions answered. I would really recommend it rather than relying on others to interpret it for you, this could be a big bill your facing if someone on RFD steered you wrong.

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