Rental Car Insurance

Does anyone have comments about the advisability of using the rental
car insurance provided by some gold card credit cards or an American
Express platinum card?

"Ivan Skivar" wrote in message
oups.com...
Does anyone have comments about the advisability of using the rental
car insurance provided by some gold card credit cards or an American
Express platinum card?

It depends on whether the idividual agencies is running a scam or not.
Or on what kind of scam. I've had two negative experiences in the
Caribbean.

a) I declined the insurance at Thrifty. Upon returning the car a
slight dent was found it its ROOF. The plane was about to leave so I
paid the $250 repair estimate. After many tries I was never able to
get a "Paid" receipt saying that the agency had the "damage" repaired.
Of course the credit card insurance would not pay based on just an
estimate. Thrifty in the USA wouldn't solve the problem, just sending
my complaint to the Caribbean agency where the problem took place.
I'm 99% sure this was a scam and that "damage" was used repeatedly.
Who would look at the roof of a car for a slight depression before
accepting it?. I do now.

b) I took the insurance at Budget. Driver's side outside mirror was
vanished from its holder. The replacement didn't require any tools
and cost only slightly more than the $75 deductable. So I was out
$75. I'm 90% sure this was a scam and people would steal the mirrors,
sell them back to the rental agencies, which would then charge the
customer to replace the mirror.

So you can be the victim of a scam whether or not you take the
insurance.

"Ivan Skivar" wrote:
Does anyone have comments about the advisability of using
the rental car insurance provided by some gold card credit
cards or an American Express platinum card?

If you are renting in the U.S., rely on this and decline the rental
agency's insurance. I've used CC coverage twice: In Miami,
when a window was smashed in a theft attempt, and in Vegas,
when Thrifty scammed me for pre-existing scrapes. Each time,
it worked out well. I could have also submitted claims on my
own insurance policy (as I had collision+comp), but they were
within my deductable, so the CC paid up.

If you are renting outside the U.S., check with the CC & your
insurance agent to see if you are covered. Sometimes there is
partial coverage that is part of a foreign rental, but I would pay
fo full coverage, even if it means paying the rental agency more,
'cuz, as another poster pointed out, you could be scammed as
you head for the airport. I paid for full coverage for a rental in
Italy, and it gave me great piece of mind. =R=