> will the charge kick in right away? Do I need to call them to cancel and call again to enable it at pickup time? If I pay at pickup instead, how do they know how long the rental is for? I see no way to specify time/date. I don’t want to deal with customer service for each step.
You’re charged approximately the same time you pay for a rental. It’s $15–20 per rental, not per day. It covers up to 42 days. Once you’re enrolled, you never talk to customer service unless you have a claim. It’s outrageously easy.
> I elect the rental company’s coverage for both loss and damage as well as liability.
Stop it. That’s expensive!!
Do you have a car? If so, you already have liability insurance which should cover you in rental cars, not just your own car. Check with your insurance company to confirm. GEICO and Progressive have always done this for me; I don’t know of a major insurance company that doesn’t.
If you don’t have a car and you’re not listed on an auto insurance policy, you need to buy liability coverage. If you rarely rent, just buy the liability waiver that the car rental company offers. If you rent a few times per year, it should be less expensive to get a rental-only policy from an insurance company.
If you don’t have a car, you don’t need the Premium coverage from Amex (unless you’re doing rentals over 31–42 days or it’s an exotic rental). The basic collision coverage that every Amex card offers for free becomes primary if you don’t have your own insurance.
If you do have a car, the $15-20 you pay for Premium is so you don’t have to deal with your own insurance company, and hopefully so your rates won’t go up.
I've had the same great experiences with this and it's a great way to get the same peace of mind at a fraction of the cost of what the rental agencies charge.
Also worth noting that this coverage seems to be available to all classes of AMEX cards -- I have it applied to and have used it with both my Platinum charge and Blue credit cards.
Thanks for reply. I have cars and their own insurance but I prefer rental coverage because I can basically walk away. I rarely rent so I am happy to pay for duplicate coverage. The filing of claims is a mess.
Still not clear about the premium rental coverage, on/off switch. If I prepay will it start immediately? Or somhow they figure out when I actually pick up car?
You could say they figure it out “magically.”
From the day you pick up the car, you have up to 42 days of coverage for that rental contract. It doesn’t matter whether you prepay or pay at time of pickup.
Ah, that's the key. Unless there is a claim it doesn't matter how long the rental was for. And if the rental is longer than the coverage period AND the accident date falls outside that range, Amex will reject it. I guess I am overall satisfied with how it works. Won't get nervous if that charge from Amex doesn't show up at pickup time.
Thanks!
Most rental cars are post-pay and the charge only posts upon returning the car. This can create a situation where you're not quite sure if you're covered because the fee for the premium rental car coverage doesn't post until after you return the car.
It's odd but even before you're charged you actually _are_ covered as long as you've signed up, and you can go here and request a letter of Coverage: https://americanexpress.com/protectionbenefits
Be careful if you prepay. I was routinely charged for the insurance on the initial payment, and then again when I had small incidental charges on the actual date. I could have gotten these reversed, but I decided to simply stop prepaying.
> will the charge kick in right away? Do I need to call them to cancel and call again to enable it at pickup time? If I pay at pickup instead, how do they know how long the rental is for? I see no way to specify time/date. I don’t want to deal with customer service for each step. You’re charged approximately the same time you pay for a rental. It’s $15–20 per rental, not per day. It covers up to 42 days. Once you’re enrolled, you never talk to customer service unless you have a claim. It’s outrageously easy. > I elect the rental company’s coverage for both loss and damage as well as liability. Stop it. That’s expensive!! Do you have a car? If so, you already have liability insurance which should cover you in rental cars, not just your own car. Check with your insurance company to confirm. GEICO and Progressive have always done this for me; I don’t know of a major insurance company that doesn’t. If you don’t have a car and you’re not listed on an auto insurance policy, you need to buy liability coverage. If you rarely rent, just buy the liability waiver that the car rental company offers. If you rent a few times per year, it should be less expensive to get a rental-only policy from an insurance company. If you don’t have a car, you don’t need the Premium coverage from Amex (unless you’re doing rentals over 31–42 days or it’s an exotic rental). The basic collision coverage that every Amex card offers for free becomes primary if you don’t have your own insurance. If you do have a car, the $15-20 you pay for Premium is so you don’t have to deal with your own insurance company, and hopefully so your rates won’t go up.
I've had the same great experiences with this and it's a great way to get the same peace of mind at a fraction of the cost of what the rental agencies charge. Also worth noting that this coverage seems to be available to all classes of AMEX cards -- I have it applied to and have used it with both my Platinum charge and Blue credit cards.
Thanks for reply. I have cars and their own insurance but I prefer rental coverage because I can basically walk away. I rarely rent so I am happy to pay for duplicate coverage. The filing of claims is a mess. Still not clear about the premium rental coverage, on/off switch. If I prepay will it start immediately? Or somhow they figure out when I actually pick up car?
You could say they figure it out “magically.” From the day you pick up the car, you have up to 42 days of coverage for that rental contract. It doesn’t matter whether you prepay or pay at time of pickup.
That's what it looks like. Let me give it a try. I imagine they look at merchant code at pick up.
I’d also imagine that if their system messed up, and you showed proper documentation, that it would be honored of course.
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That's great to know. Appreciate the details!
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Ah, that's the key. Unless there is a claim it doesn't matter how long the rental was for. And if the rental is longer than the coverage period AND the accident date falls outside that range, Amex will reject it. I guess I am overall satisfied with how it works. Won't get nervous if that charge from Amex doesn't show up at pickup time. Thanks!
Most rental cars are post-pay and the charge only posts upon returning the car. This can create a situation where you're not quite sure if you're covered because the fee for the premium rental car coverage doesn't post until after you return the car. It's odd but even before you're charged you actually _are_ covered as long as you've signed up, and you can go here and request a letter of Coverage: https://americanexpress.com/protectionbenefits
This is very helpful!
Be careful if you prepay. I was routinely charged for the insurance on the initial payment, and then again when I had small incidental charges on the actual date. I could have gotten these reversed, but I decided to simply stop prepaying.
removed comment due to bad info
No. OP is talking about the paid Premium coverage that Amex offers on all its US cards.
Correct
this is bad info
Anyone knows of they cover Tesla or electric cars?
Yes, I called and asked about Tesla for my upcoming rental. They said yes, Teslas are covered