Ryan is a former TPG credit cards writer who has been around points and miles for several years and has published content at Miles to Memories, AwardWallet and The Points Guy. His wife joins him on many of his trips, and they enjoy snowboarding, diving, and seeing animals in the wild. When not traveling, Ryan is probably answering questions from his family about how he travels so much and whether this points & miles stuff is illegal.
Danyal Ahmed Credit card writerCredit card writer Danyal Ahmed is an avid traveler, averaging about 100,000 aeronautical miles per year. He regularly applies that knowledge and his expertise in credit cards to his role as a credit card writer at TPG.
Ethan Steinberg ContributorEthan's been a frequent flier for as long as he can remember, from studying abroad in Paris to moving to Shanghai after graduating college, where he served as TPG's eyes and ears for all things travel in the Asia-Pacific region. If you asked him where he wants to travel next he'd quote Anthony Bourdain and tell you "anytime I'm eating spicy noodles in a bowl, I'm happy."
July 15, 2024 8 min read
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Whether planning a cross-country road trip or just needing a car to move between your hotel to a nearby national park, rental cars are a common part of vacations. When it's time to pick up your car, the rental agency will offer a variety of options for coverage — for an additional fee, of course.
Did you know that using the right credit card to pay for your rental can invoke thousands of dollars in protection without any additional fees?
While planning for emergencies is never fun, Chase Sapphire car rental insurance can cover things like theft, accidents or other damages to your rental car. This benefit is provided by two cards: the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. While we tend to focus on earning points and redeeming them for memorable holidays, it's also important to understand how to protect your family in case something goes wrong on your next holiday.
Here's a closer look at the Chase Sapphire cards and their rental car insurance benefits that can provide peace of mind the next time you hit the road in a rental car.
When paying for your rental car with the Sapphire Reserve, you can decline the rental company's collision damage waiver (sometimes abbreviated CDW or LDW) and still be covered for up to $75,000 of theft or collision damages to your rental car.
This benefit provides primary rental car insurance and also covers fees the rental car company may assess, such as loss-of-use charges, administrative fees, and even towing charges to get the car to a repair shop.
It's important to note that there are restrictions to this benefit. For instance, it doesn't provide other types of insurance, such as medical or liability protection, and it doesn't cover car rentals that last more than 31 days. However, it does cover additional drivers listed on the rental contract and works in most countries around the world.
Daily Newsletter Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s expertsTypes of cars are not covered by this benefit; however, they include but are not limited to:
Coverage also doesn't apply to off-road driving or if you're doing anything illegal at the time damage occurs.
For more details, you can consult the full benefits guide here.
Unlike coverage on the Sapphire Reserve, the benefits guide for the Sapphire Preferred does not list a specific dollar amount for maximum coverage. Instead, it says that coverage is provided "up to the actual cash value of most rented cars."
This benefit provides primary rental car coverage against theft, damage and fees charged by the rental car agency and is available when you pay for your rental with this card and then waive the damage coverage offered by the rental agency.
This coverage is subject to the same limitations as that offered by the Sapphire Reserve (mentioned above), including vehicle types, not providing other insurance types and only covering rentals of 31 days or less.
For more details, you can consult the full benefits guide here.
To be covered by Chase Sapphire car rental insurance, you must pay for the rental car with your card (or with points from your card, if booking through Chase Travel℠) and then decline the rental car company's damage protection benefit when you pick up your rental car. If you choose to add damage protection from the rental car company, your credit card's damage protection benefits (LDW or CDW) will not go into effect.
It's worth noting that you still can add other protection benefits to your rental — such as liability insurance, roadside dispatch or other benefits offered by the rental car company — without losing the rental car damage protections from your Chase Sapphire card. Additionally, as always, you still should inspect your car before leaving the rental lot and when returning the car — including taking a video of the car's condition and noting any existing damages.
If you have an accident or your rental car is stolen, you should first notify the rental car agency and the police. Your next steps will include filing a claim with your credit card's benefits administrator.
For Chase Sapphire rental car insurance, there are two important dates to know. First, you must file your initial claim within 100 days of the incident. Second, your claim form must be postmarked within 120 days of the incident, even if you are still gathering other documents. Alternatively, you can submit your claim form online at eclaimsline.com by the same 120-day deadline.
You will need to submit the following documents:
Depending on your situation, your claim administrator may ask for additional documents. Thus, you should keep copies of everything related to your accident or vehicle theft until the claim is resolved.
We've mentioned several times that Chase Sapphire rental car insurance provides primary coverage. But what does that mean?
Rental car companies typically offer additional insurance benefits for a fee, often referred to as a "Collision Damage Waiver" or CDW. Fortunately, many popular credit cards offer car rental coverage and thus allow you to decline this added fee but still enjoy protection on the car. However, the vast majority of these policies give you secondary coverage. As the name indicates, this would kick in on a secondary basis after other applicable insurance policies apply (namely your own personal car insurance) in the event of damage or loss to your rental car.
Primary coverage is the opposite. It kicks in first in case of a covered incident, like an accident or theft. This prevents you from needing to submit the claim to your personal insurance company — which may cause your rates to go up.
Bear in mind that this benefit only provides coverage for the car; it doesn't include liability insurance for damage you cause to property, nor will it cover injuries to you or others involved in an accident.
Travel rewards credit cards can provide many benefits, such as helping you book first-class flights or luxury hotels using points. However, travel credit cards also provide less flashy benefits that can protect your trips during delays or when you have problems with a rental car. The Chase Sapphire Preferred car rental insurance can cover the cost of your vehicle. At the same time, the Chase Sapphire Reserve provides top-notch coverage for rental cars.
Paying for your next rental car with either of these cards can provide peace of mind and can save you and your loved ones tens of thousands of dollars should you experience problems during your vacation.
Featured image by OSCAR WONG/GETTY IMAGESEditorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
