The hailstones were the size of golf balls.
We visited Melbourne, Australia for Christmas last year and had been enjoying the great weather. We’d visited St Kilda beach that morning to take advantage of the 98° temperature and were now in the comfort of the air conditioning at our friends’ house that evening.
The freak storm came out of nowhere. One moment it was quiet outside, the next our friends’ kids had leaped out of the beds they’d only just gotten tucked in to so that they could see what all the noise was about. The hail only lasted a couple of minutes, then all was quiet again other than the rain following it up.
Fearing the worst, I went outside to check our rental SUV once the rain had eased up. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I saw that it was only raindrops dotted over it.
Or so I thought.
The next morning we headed out to go wine tasting when I noticed a small ding on the Toyota RAV4. And another. Then another.
The raindrops had done a great job covering up all the damage. In the dryness of the new morning, our SUV now resembled a golf ball, with dimples peppering the entire vehicle.
The window trim had dings…
…and even the tail lights were cracked.
Marvelous.
Knowing there wasn’t anything we could do, we enjoyed our final week in Melbourne and apprehensively returned the SUV to Hertz on December 26.
The guy taking care of the return handed us a small slip of paper and asked us to take it to the Hertz counter. “Ooh, what happened?” they asked as we handed over the slip, so we explained that that their SUV, which only had 127 kms on the clock when we rented it, was now a dinged-up masterpiece.
They let us know that they’d put a hold on our credit card to cover repairs and that they’d be in contact once they knew the cost of repairs.
Although they’d put a hold on the card, there was still no actual charge three weeks later. I started wondering if they’d somehow forgotten about us.
January 22 – four weeks after returning the RAV4 – I got my answer. No, they hadn’t forgotten. And they’d be charging our credit card $3,585.30 AUD ($2,898.78).
How To Submit A CDW Claim With Chase
We’d thankfully paid for the rental with my wife’s Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, specifically because it includes primary coverage for auto rentals when you decline the rental company’s Collision Damage Waiver (which we had.)
So the evening after receiving the email from Hertz, we submitted a claim at eClaimsLine. The first step was choosing which benefit we needed to claim under.
The next page required our personal information.
At the third step, we had to provide some basic details about the incident. We were limited to 250 characters, so when submitting a CDW claim you have to be concise.
The final step was to upload some documentation. There are numerous different documents that you might need to upload.
The types of documents you have to upload will vary depending on the nature of your incident. For example, we weren’t renting for business and so didn’t need a letter from an employer. We also didn’t receive a settlement from an insurance company, so we didn’t have to upload a document for that either.
Here’s what it looked like once we’d uploaded all the necessary documentation:
The Chase Sapphire Reserve rental car insurance claims submission process was very straightforward, albeit time-consuming due to needing to gather photos of the damage, our reservation confirmation, the rental agency report, finalized rental agreement and more. Something I appreciated was that the claims process didn’t time out from inactivity due to how long it took to gather the documents.
After submitting the claim, we received an email from Card Benefit Services with the claim number and which also confirmed details of the claim.
We received a follow-up email a week later requesting a copy of our credit card statement with the charge from Hertz on it. The statement wasn’t due to close for another few weeks, so I dropped eClaimsLine an email to advise them of this and that we’d upload it as soon as possible.
The statement was available on February 19, so I saved a copy of it and attached it to our claim.
And waited.
I’ll admit – I was a little nervous about whether the claim would be covered. The benefit we’d declined was called ‘Collision Damage Waiver’ but, strictly speaking, there hadn’t been a collision. We’d not backed into a wall, we’d not been in an accident – we’d just been unfortunate enough to have parked the SUV on a driveway during a hailstorm.
Reading the Terms and Conditions of the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s benefit though, there was no exclusion for hail damage, so I was hopeful that the claim would be covered.
We’d find out less than two weeks later.
Chase Sapphire Reserve To The Rescue!
March 1 brought us the answer we’d been hoping for:
Dear Mrs Pepper :
I am writing to alert you that your claim has been paid. The check, per your request, has been issued to yourself in the amount of $2797.07.
This represents full settlement of the claim.
You will receive the check within approximately 7-10 business days.
Should you have any questions please contact us.
Card Benefit Services
Phew! I guess they’re of the view that hail collided with our car.
The $2,797.07 check is less than the $2,898.78 that Hertz charged our card – a difference of $101.71. I couldn’t find a reference to a $100 deductible, so we’ve emailed Card Benefit Services to find out the reason for the shortfall. Still, a $101.71 loss is far better than a $2,898.78 loss.
Edit: Card Benefit Services have replied to my email and provided this reason for the $101.71 shortfall:
The location fee, credit card surcharge and appraisal/assessment fee are not eligible for coverage and were deducted from the payment. The eligible expenses were the damage deductible/excess and the administrative/processing fee.
An Added Bonus
One of the other benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card is that it earns 3x Ultimate Rewards on travel purchases. Seeing as Hertz charged our card $2,898.78 for the damage, we earned an additional 8,696.34 UR.
Even if we end up being out the $101.71, the extra 8,696.34 UR will more than make up for that.
Final Thoughts
Overall, we were extremely pleased with the claiming process for the Collision Damage Waiver benefit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. Disregarding the few weeks while we waited for the statement to close, it took under three weeks for our claim to be approved. It likely would’ve taken even less time if we’d waited until the statement had closed before submitting the claim.
We’re part of the 90% of cardholders that renewed their Chase Sapphire Reserve card after the first year. I’m glad we did, as it saved us almost $3,000.
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[…] your card’s benefits to see the specifics—but it’s nice to know that, say, if a freak hailstorm dents your rental car, all you had to do to get covered was put the purchase on your […]
[…] your card’s benefits to see the specifics—but it’s nice to know that, say, if a freak hailstorm dents your rental car, all you had to do to get covered was put the purchase on your […]
[…] your card’s benefits to see the specifics—but it’s nice to know that, say, if a freak hailstorm dents your rental car, all you had to do to get covered was put the purchase on your […]
Really great info, thank you!
My wife has a Chase Freedom which has a similar insurance coverage plan. We rented a car in Italy and damaged it in a parking garage. Chase is requiring us to upload an Itemized Repair Estimate which the car rental company (Locauto) has no provided. It looks like you didn’t have to upload one of these for your claim, is that correct? I would assume the necessary documents are the same for all cards (Freedom vs. Sapphire). Any information would be appreciated.
You’re right that I wasn’t asked for that. I’m surprised they’d want a repair estimate as that means the final charge could end up being different from the estimate. I’d check with Chase/eClaimsLine if that’s what they definitely need rather than a Final Bill For Loss or something like that, as that’s the specific amount that the rental car company will be charging.
I wasn’t so lucky with getting my rock chip on an RV covered. Apparently RVs are NOT included and I’m out about $600…glad to see at least someone has been successful with a claim on this.
[…] a patch of ice, and broke your leg. Or golf-sized hailstones banged up your car rental like crazy (true story). You can’t plan for every […]
I guess you can also send the rest of bill ($101) to your own insurance which will be your secondary coverage?
As this happened overseas, I don’t think our insurance would cover it. Even if they did, I don’t think it’d be worth making the claim as it’d likely increase our insurance rates by more than the $101 we’d get back.
Great post! Has anyone used it for an actual collision that was their fault? Lol. I am in the midst of it now, just filed my claim paperwork the other day, so we will see… (I scraped a small metal pole while trying to make a 3 point turn on a small dirt road in NZ – sitting on the opposite side really throws your spatial awareness off haha)
My understanding is that it covers at-fault accidents, so you should be good.
[…] utilizing the Chase CDW when his rental car got caught in a hail storm in Australia (See: My experience using Chase Sapphire Reserve rental car insurance). I haven’t yet had a claim with Chase for trip delay, but I was glad to have had coverage on […]
[…] Key benefits: Easy $300 travel credit can be triggered by flights, hotels, award fees, tolls, parking, etc. I have used points through the portal at 1.5 cents each more times than I anticipated. Primary CDW coverage is great to have when you need it. […]
[…] Most American Express cards only provide secondary cover domestically unless you enroll in their Premium Car Rental Protection. The cost for that coverage would be $19.95, so the Amex Offer would effectively offset that cost. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, it might therefore make more sense to pay with that card as it offers primary coverage as standard and earns 3x on car rentals. I’ve also found it’s pretty easy to make a claim. […]
[…] insurance. The Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card on the other hand offers primary coverage which does pay out when it should. It also earns 3x Ultimate Rewards on car rentals which can then be transferred to your World of […]
Anybody know if CSR would cover both cardholders (primary and AU), even if only one name was on the rental agreement? (And they are unmarried.) I’ve often booked through Costco travel because they give a free second driver. But I had a lot of trouble with a CSR auto damage claim because I had booked through Costco. It would be a lot easier to book direct.
My name wasn’t listed on the agreement, but if you’re a Hertz Gold Plus Rewards member then your spouse can drive the car for no additional charge.
Despite the fact that I’m renting in Ireland and using my Amazon chase card,
I think their are similarities here to make me quite grateful to you for this thread.
Thank you.
Hi Stephen, was your wife the primary driver on the rental agreement? Is that required for coverage, or were you the primary driver, and as long as you pay with the Chase card it’s all good?
Same question I just asked! (Except about non-spouses because I believe often spouses are covered automatically by rental car contracts.) Hope someone responds.
She was the primary driver. As far as I’m aware, the name on the credit card has to match the primary driver when paying for the rental.
Thanks for such a detailed log! I’ve always wondered what this process would be like!
[…] This deal looks pretty good if you anticipate renting from Alamo. Keep in mind that the certificate won’t apply to taxes and fees, though it will reduce your taxes proportionally, so the savings could actually be a bit more than $25. You can use up to 3 certificates per rental, meaning that you can save close to half on rentals of $50, $100, or $150. I often find Alamo to have pretty competitive pricing, so this discount looks pretty good to me. It can even be stacked with 5% off for those who join Alamo Insiders. Also keep in mind that many credit cards require that you pay the entire cost of the rental on your card in order to qualify for insurance with the card, so you may be forfeiting that when using certificates. While it’s not common to need your card’s rental car insurance, Stephen Pepper recently outline an experience where it sure came in handy for him: My Experience Using Chase Sapphire Reserve Rental Car Insurance. […]
We had our accommodation booked at AirBnb and due to a family emergency cancelled the trip. The travel insurance company not only wanted to see cancellations from AirBnB but they wanted to see letters from the hosts themselves on a company letterhead (!!!) saying that nobody checked in and they didn’t give us any credit. One host had no problem giving us that letter as that was a larger company. the other hosts were just a young couple They ignored most of the letters/emails/phone calls from us. Finally replied briefly on AirBnB and judging from the tone were not very happy about me contacting them directly.
After I have submitted all the documentation (back and forth took over a month) and followed up with them after 7 days of silence they said “we overlooked your email. the system didn’t generate the notification)
Also we had a Go San Diego card booked for the city attractions. The insurance company said I need to cancel it and get confirmation from the company that I can’t use it in the future. After I did that they said this expense is not eligible for reimbursement.
The whole process took over 2 months
My wife accumulates a lot of points renting from Hertz while on business travel. We have used her points for free weekly rentals many times while on vacation. Despite this being a “free” week, there are taxes and miscellaneous fees totaling about $60 – which we charge to the CSR card. Do you have any idea if a claim would be processed for this sort of a rental?
Sorry for the delayed reply – my understanding is that it would be.
Authorized users take note (CSP): Our CDW claim eventually processed and was settled in full (this after a parking deck card reader scraped down one side of our Alamo minivan while visiting LA -already mangled by many a rental that came before, btw). As an AU on CSP there was a long delay because the AU is not listed in the CC statement needed to verify the rental purchase. I ended up having to email a photo of the card (last 4 digits blacked out) with my name to the claims administrators, which didn’t feel very secure. If you are traveling with the primary holder, make sure they rent the car.
For anyone interested, I’ve updated the post as I’ve heard back from Card Benefit Services regarding the $101.71 shortfall:
“The location fee, credit card surcharge and appraisal/assessment fee are not eligible for coverage and were deducted from the payment. The eligible expenses were the damage deductible/excess and the administrative/processing fee.”
Yes – you were covered for the “excess”.
Just to confirm as has been mentioned up thread – in Australia – there is no CDW. Do you cannot decline it as it doesn’t exist.
Your rental from Hertz comes with Comprehensive coverage, which you cannot decline.
The standard Excess is usually around $3750 AUD so you were pretty much charged the max you would ever be charged.
You have the option to buy (and they try to up sell) “excess reduction” for an extra charge which reduces your excess to around $300.
That is what you declined.
And that is why Australia is excluded from CDW coverage on most cards as we have a very different insurance system.
We simply don’t have CDW, and all cars come with Comprehensive coverage.
Hey Stephen, about to do a rental in Cairns Australia through Hertz and curious how this all works. if I use my CSP for the rental, I should not be required to pay any additional insurance, correct? I wonder if they will try to hard sell me something I don’t need/want. It seems the other posters are saying that CDW is included in AU rentals, so our max coverage we would need is like 3750 AUD or something? I just want to be sure I am covered with all this as it will be my first over-seas rental. I rent all the time with Hertz in the USA.
Some people are mentioning the fact that we don’t have liability insurance unless we actually pay for it through the rental company (does Hertz offer, that anyone know?) or otherwise get it through other means. I will call Progressive about if I am covered in Australia, though I assume not. Any clarification would be great you all. THANKS!
That’s correct – you shouldn’t need to pay any additional insurance. They might try claiming that your credit card won’t cover you for a rental in Australia, but that’s not correct.
I think there might be some kind of coverage included in Australia rentals, as they only placed a hold of ~4,000 AUD pending confirmation of the damage costs. Just be sure to decline everything that you can decline.
I’m afraid I’ve no idea about liability insurance – to be honest, it’s not something I’d thought about until someone else mentioned it.
I’m guessing you’re going to be in Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef? If that’s the case and you don’t have anything already booked, I can highly recommend Reef Experience. It’s an ~8 hour trip where you go snorkeling in a couple of spots on the Great Barrier Reef, with a scuba dive included in the cost. We had a great time with them.
Also be sure to check out The Lagoon – an outdoor pool in Cairns.
I will let you know what I find out about liability insurance, if anything. That is now my primary worry because I had never thought of it either… which is shame on all of us! That could be a bad debt thing, one good smack into a nice car and SOL.
Thanks so much for the recommendations! I desperately need some, haha. Will look into both of those and probably pick them as we would wanna do both things you mention, and the less I have to take a risk with shady tour companies the better. Mind telling me where you stayed in CNS or if it was outside the city? Also, if you don’t mind which hotel/AirBNB? I planned to stay at the Port Douglas Ramada as the reviews are great and I will do the partner trade off (4 nights, switching each night to make it 4 stays) with the girlfriend with Wyndham and therefore get 2 free nights (30k pts) out of it, and the nightly price is only $90 all in!
We will also be going to Sydney for a few days, so any recommendations, both hotel and activities, would be great too.
We stayed in central Cairns at this Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/17996431 We were traveling with my in-laws, so we wanted somewhere with two bedrooms. It’s a great location – a short Uber from the airport, a few minutes walk to restaurants and a grocery store and a bit of a longer walk to The Lagoon and night markets. It was also just round the corner from the pickup for the Reef Experience trip.
If you end up staying at this Airbnb and going on that snorkeling trip, check out the pickup location beforehand. We chose the 181 Esplanade pickup point and I went to Esplanade, not realizing that 181 Esplanade was an apartment building a block across the street. We made it there in time for the pickup, but were glad we’d left early enough to realize!
The Ramada might be worth it to get the two free nights, but it looks like the airport shuttle’s pretty expensive. It’d also mean a fairly early start to make your way to Cairns for the Reef Experience trip. It does look like a nice hotel though, so I guess it depends on if you’re just wanting to chill at the hotel or would prefer to spend time in central Cairns. We really liked Cairns’ vibe, so we’d likely stay at the same Airbnb if we returned.
Here’s more about our snorkeling trip with Reef Experience – they’re definitely not a shady tour company. http://nohomejustroam.com/the-ultimate-reef-experience-at-the-great-barrier-reef/
As for Sydney, we stayed at this Airbnb https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/18964937 It was a little cozy for four people but would be fine for two. It’s not a luxury apartment, but it’s in a great location – very close to Central station.
In terms of stuff to do, I’d highly recommend going on a Hunter Valley wine tour with Kangariffic Tours http://www.kangarrifictours.com/tours/hunter-valley-wine-tours/ We went on a tour with Sam in 2014 and had such a great time, we went again this past December. Sam’s an awesome guy and makes the entire day fun. You’ll love the wine, petting kangaroos & koalas, chocolate, cheese and craft beer. Here’s a write-up of our trip http://nohomejustroam.com/kangas-and-vineyards-and-beers-oh-my-our-hunter-valley-wine-tour/
You also need to try macarons from Zumbo’s Patisserie. We’d gotten them back in 2014 as well and so wanted them again last year. My wife had also been watching Zumbo’s Just Desserts on Netflix too, so that was an added incentive. I think he has two or three stores in downtown Sydney (including one down by the harbor), so you should end up near one of them at some point.
We visited Bondi Beach to say that we’d gone, but it wasn’t anything special. It’s a bit of a mission to get there from downtown Sydney (you have to get a train and bus), so if you only have a few days there, I wouldn’t bother.
It’s worth walking across Sydney Harbor Bridge for good views of Sydney, including the Opera House. Depending on your budget, you might want to do a bridge walk or a sunrise kayak trip in the harbor. Both of these were too expensive for us to do on our trips there though, so I’ve no idea if they’re actually worth the money.
We ate at Portobello Caffe one evening (that’s how the restaurant spelled cafe for some reason). It’s an outdoor restaurant opposite Sydney Harbor Bridge and a couple of minutes walk from Sydney Opera House, so a great location. There was a random firework display the night we were there which was an added bonus. It’s expensive given the portion sizes (although not extortionate), You could definitely get better food for the price, but you’re also paying for the view.
Hope that helps 🙂
Goodness does it help! The Koalas and Kangaroos have got my girlfriend jumping up and down! She is already looking at your suggestions and excited for us to do these if we can.
Stephen, you keep impressing me with your help and content on the blog. You’ve sure been a welcomed addition in my book! Thank you for keeping us all updated and sharing your adventures. I am ashamed that I have not realized you have your own blog – love it!
Thank you again!
Thank you, I appreciate it – glad I could help 🙂
I am renting a car from Hertz in Ireland.
A Hertz rep told me today that the liability insurance is mandatory and already included in my rental price.
The Collision Damage Waiver is not.
I will always use my CSP or CSR when I finally do get it to rent cars. A few years ago I mistakenly scratched up a brand new rental car from Hertz in a very tight hotel parking garage in Honolulu Hawaii. I returned the car and filled out the paperwork. I got a call from Chase and explained everything to them. Hertz sent me the repair estimate. Chase dealt with Hertz directly and just kept me informed of the process. They paid Hertz the $600 check and called me to let me know that it was all settled. The Chase agents were always pleasant and courteous with every call to me. This experience alone has made me a Chase customer for life.
Hi. Thanks for your very timely post. While visiting in LA a month ago, our rental car (Budget) was broken into while parked overnight on a residential street. They stole the front bumper, grille and headlights. I just sent in the claim for over $13,000 to Chase. I agree gathering the information took awhile, but the process so far has been very straightforward. I’m so glad I had paid the full amount to Budget with my CSR.
I’m curious to see how this turns out because instead of just replacing the missing parts, Budget salvaged the car for about $3,000 even though the car was in perfect working order-we didn’t know this at the time, but the tow truck driver started the car and drove it onto the flatbed.
[…] If you use the CSR for car rentals and you have a claim, this is a good post about the whole process: My Experience Using Chase Sapphire Reserve Rental Car Insurance. […]
As someone else mentioned, it is important to note that the card does NOT cover liability — meaning damage to other vehicles, property, or people. If you get in an accident, your rental car will be covered, but any damage to other cars or people will not be covered.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that this is true for this card as well as AmEx Platinum.
If what I’m saying is true, it does seem one needs to buy liability insurance from the car rental company (since your own US auto insurance company probably won’t cover you overseas).
Liability is usually included in the rental . It covers damage to anything other then the vehicle and anyone other then the renter
Very similar experience with Chase Sapphire Preferred a couple of years ago. I managed to knock the back window out of a Chevy Tahoe. Process was smooth as silk. I continue to be impressed with the Chase cards.
[…] Using Chase Sapphire Reserve’s Car Rental Insurance – Frequent Miler […]
I had two experiences trying to collect on the Reserve card, one for car damage. It turns out that for some reason they don’t cover damages for a rental in Brooklyn, NY. No clue why, but didn’t know that when I rented the car. The part that was my fault was that the damage was there when we got the car but I couldn’t find anywhere it was documented. I know this isn’t the place, but I tried to collect for luggage delay and they wanted so much documentation it wasn’t worth the time (they don’t give much to begin with and the airline was giving me some as well).
Be sure to charge every dollar of the rental to the CSR card. When we turned in a damaged car there was a small, about $5, charge due for something or other. I started to pay cash but then told them to put it on the card. When submitting our claim I sent in the statement copy showing the original charge. They kept telling me they needed more information and it took several weeks of corresponding to figure out that they were trying to get the statement to match the rental records and the $5 discrepancy kept kicking it out. After submitting the second statement showing the additional charge the claim was processed immediately. The adjuster told me that if I had paid the $5 in cash it would have nullified the coverage.
Yes it became primary coverage when you declined CDW but as with most of these credit card insurance plans, it only covers the cost of the vehicle, In the case of AMEX platinum up to $75,000, but not liability. Did you purchase liability coverage separately or does your US insurer provide coverage while in Australia? Most US insurers don’t cover outside the United States
This is all fine I guess but say the damage was like $10k or $20k would they put a hold for that much and make you float that cost until they send a check at a later date?
Hope you realize that this shouldn’t affect your CSR renewal decision because you could have gotten this coverage from most other cards. Secondary car rental coverage is generally primary coverage internationally. You do have to make sure that the card you use does offer coverage in AUS/NZ, though. From my experience, most do, but there are still some that don’t. I’ve never kept a comprehensive list. There are a few other countries like Ireland that tend to pop up on exclusion lists too.
A comprehensive list would be a good idea. I was under the impression that most non-Chase credit cards exclude Australia, Ireland, Italy, and a couple of other countries with higher instances of claims.
Also worthy of note: I read the terms of the CDW offered by the rental company on a rental in Australia. They excluded any night driving — presumably due to the danger of hitting wildlife at night. I’d be on the lookout for similar terms.
Just to give one example, my BoA Premium Rewards card is secondary insurance in the US, but primary internationally. Their exclusions are: Israel, Jamaica, Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland.
I believe that most Visa cards with secondary insurance use this same list of countries and cover Australia/NZ nowadays.
Side note: I did use a card (sorry, I forgot which one) on a rental in NZ in 2013, but the contract had a line item for insurance that was included for free. It literally said $0.00. So I called my card’s benefits department, and they told me it was okay to accept. Their insurance would kick in to cover any excess and/or deductible not included with the “free” insurance and that accepting would not void my card’s coverage.
Chase Visa covers the EXCESS which is the deductible in our term, in all countries where the basic CDW is Mandatory by the government and is “free” as it is already factored into the rental rate. South Africa, Italy, Australia and NZ are among those there is government mandated CDW coverage included in the rental rate.
Citi covers those too.
AMEX definitely does not.
CapOne Visa cards dont either.
So not all Visa cards follow the basic list – it is up to the banks to decide whether their cards would offer such benefits, and probably only on the high end cards.
Not in Australia. Only Chase and Citi cover Australia and NZ, and a few other countries that AMEX and CapOne exclude – those include Italy, Israel, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The statement of most do cover Australia and NZ is very misleading. AMEX will tell you to take a hike.
Actually I have a HUGE argument for why to NOT use a Chase Sapphire Reserve card for car rental. My friend and I went to Hawaii last year for his anniversary celebration. He used Chase Sapphire Reserve Ultimate Rewards points for the car rental. He used his Chase Sapphire Reserve as the guarantee card for charges.
Well the week was uneventful and no problems at all. His flight left in the morning so he returned his car early. (Originally he picked it up around 1 PM so he had until 1 PM to return it but he returned it early). Well, imagine his surprise when he got a charge on his credit card for the rental for a full day. He called the rental car company and they said he didn’t return the car in until after 3 PM so they charged him.
He told them it was impossible as his flight already left by then. He sent them a copy of his boarding ticket with the time of departure on it. They kept arguing with him. Unfortunately they never gave him anything when he turned in his rental car that morning. But still he could easily show that he already left on his flight.
He got tired of arguing with the rental car company and disputed it. You can imagine his shock when he ultimately lost and Chase sided with the rental car agency. He showed them his flight confirmation, boarding pass, etc.
I was really shocked to hear something like this. It’s one reason I’ll never use my CSR card to rent a car.
The ABSOLUTE best card that I have while renting a car is this Platinum AMEX US dollar card I opened in Europe. I’m not sure if you can still open it but the benefits are mind blowing – https://www.americanexpress.com/content/dam/amex/icc/documents/platinum-protection-cam7486a-0517.pdf
I’ve NEVER had any rental car claims denied. Also, they cover you even for weather related incidents when your flight can’t fly due to weather they cover you for hotel. Best travel benefits card if you can get it.
As noted below, Amex excludes Australia for coverage.
It definitely sounds like your friend had a bad experience with the rental car company charging for a day he didn’t use. That stinks – and it stinks that Chase sided with the rental company in that case. However, this post is about an insurance claim – those are administered by a separate entity. Your friend’s experience is a bad instance of customer service with Chase and I can see why it might dissuade him from being a Chase customer in general — but it’s not directly related to rental car insurance.
The Amex Platinum card offers rental protection, and I have used it on occasion, but it is not included with the card benefits. You opt in for that coverage and pay for it each time you rent a car. I’m not saying it’s bad coverage, but it’s significantly different from the Chase Sapphire Reserve coverage in that you pay for it each time and it is not valid in select countries. To my knowledge, the CSR coverage is good worldwide and an included benefit with the CSR as long as you use your card to pay for the entire cost of the rental and decline the rental car company’s CDW.
Your friend NEEDED to get a confirmation of the Car being Returned. Even a hand written thing in the agency’s letter head and signed by the employee who received it.
We had similar scam pulled by Avis in Jo’burg when our car was returned the afternoon before but the receipt showed up the next morning indicated we returned it at 6am in the morning! That was despite the receiving agent was chatted with us all the time, and assured us everything was now entered on the computer and would be available overnight, when he was scribbled on his receiving form…
There were other scams this Avis location tried to pull. Our flight was not until noon so we kept our ground. We went to check in with CX first, then returned back to Avis counter. At that point we made them aware that if they still not addressed the issues, we would not leave, as it had been 2 hours from the initial time we showed up at the counter to query the wrong information on our invoice (wrong return time, gas charged for the full distance we have driven, that is a couple thousands kms! We said this pretty loudly. and eventually got them (2 depts involved) to correct the bill down to about $20 over charge from well over $300 extra. We made them print the final invoice, had the garage manager signed and wrote down her email address at Avis and left for the lounge. I was about to write Avis a long email upon return home to complain this but finally lost interest to pursuit, knowing the location has had numerous complaints on TripAdvisor and Avis HQ has not done a damn thing to address it – must be a franchise location and the HQ could not care less.
Had a good experience with Amex dealing w a European rental damage claim but note Amex exclusions: they won’t cover taxes for repairs and they exclude damages to tires and rims. Not sure if they’ve changed this but I’ve been using CSR last couple of years
Do you get points from Hertz for the additional costs? That’d be a nice cherry on top.
I actually take a different message from this whole episode, largely because the underwriter shorted you by 3.5%. I wouldn’t use Chase for insurance because of it. Would love to compare to Citibank or Amex in a similar scenario. I wouldn’t take a 96.5% reimbursement as a proper outcome.
Going to be renting a car in Australia next month, it looks like LDW coverage is included in the cost of rental cars there. Is that accurate? How did you handle that issue, ask to decline it at the counter? It sounds like you didn’t pay for excess reduction, but I’m curious if there was any snafu associated with coverage you may not be able to decline.
I don’t think it was included in the cost of our rental, so we declined it. The terms of the Chase Sapphire Reserve CDW coverage state that you have to decline their CDW/LDW, so I’d be nervous if there wasn’t a way to do that.
The basic mandatory coverage IS included in the rental, it is part of the rental rate. it is NOT a separate item. There is a large “Excess” in the amount of $$$$ that you would be responsible if you do not buy the additional coverage to reduce the Excess.
What you declined is the additional coverage that REDUCED the “Excess” i.e. the deductible. It is that part the Chase cards would cover, not just the CSR.
Exactly. Most sure this is what has happened – decline the Excess Reduction. You can NOT decline the basic CDW which is MANDATORY by the government.
Chase has told me whenever the basic CDW is mandatory by the government (*South Africa is where we rented last Sept) Chase card would pay the Excess.
I recall something like this happening for me and am guessing your invoice suggests that your parts total for the repair cost is $1017.10, the insurance company that chase works with claims that $101.71 is the 10% discount on the parts that hertz will get on this repair and therefore they will refuse to pay. If you get in touch with Hertz about this, they refuse to accept that they get a 10% discount on parts.
Your best bet would be to request Hertz their final payment receipt to the repair shop and also on the other hand talk to a supervisor at chase to pay that extra as that didn’t include the 10% clause in their terms and conditions. I hope this helps.
Thank you – if that’s what the claims team says is what’s happened, I’ll try doing that.
If this is what’s going on here, this is a huge argument for NOT using a Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Looks like the original charge was in AUD and converted to USD. Wonder if the ~$100 difference is due to differences in the exchange rate from the time of the incident to the day the claim was paid?
I’d wondered that too, but figured they’d refund what we were actually billed for, but we’ll see.
Can you follow-up to let us know if you used any coupons or anything? I always feel like I’m overpaying for a weekend rental by not using a “free weekend day” coupon that many rental companies offer, but I’m also terrified that doing so would void the CSR coverage.
I think we’d used a discount code from having the Amex Platinum card, even though we didn’t have to pay with that card.
I appreciate the detail you show on the claim process. Smart move to use a CSR here (or even a Citi), because American Express does NOT cover car rentals in Australia, Italy and New Zealand. Even purchasing their premium car rental protection it would not cover Australia,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica and New Zealand.
Yep, we also had them provide a specific letter in case Hertz in Australia or New Zealand tried to claim we wouldn’t have cover on our card.
Hi, can you explain on what you mean by a specific letter to provide to Hertz? Do you mean a letter from Chase stating that they’ll provide insurance coverage?
If you call Chase, they will send you a letter/email stating that paying with the CSR or CSP includes insurance. As I recall, it had my name and address on it. I took it to Italy just in case I needed it.
Hi,
Does the letter have an expiration date? We will rent in Italy and have to use the CSR. Last time with Citi the letter had a 30 days expiration. This time our rental period starts at end of April but we leave on April 3rd going on a TATL cruise to Europe.
I have been researching this issue for an upcoming trip to Ireland.
My understanding is the rental agency ideally wants a letter dated two weeks ( or no more then 30 days)
before you pick up the rental car.
The reason is that they have no other immediate way of checking that you are still a cardholder of the card whose rental insurance benefit you are claiming to have..
If they don’t believe you have insurance and you refuse to purchase their collision damage waiver ( CDW)
They will want to put a large hold on the card you use to rent the car.
I had a claim last year for a broken window. It was only about $150, but was paid promptly after submitting a lot of paperwork.
New manufactured spend idea:
1. Rent luxury with CSR
2. Total said luxury car
3. Get billed by rental car company for cost of car
4. Get 3x UR points for each dollar charged
5. Get CSR to reimburse you the original amount charged.
What could go wrong?
Luxury cars are excluded, per the terms and conditions of the Chase reserve benefits.
I know because I read the entire terms and conditions yesterday. I’m leaving Costa Rica today. Yesterday, someone damaged the side mirror of my car while I was parked at a beach (another driver likely drove to close, hit the mirror and ran). So i’m filing a claim today. I didn’t rent a luxury car, so I should be covered. Nice to see an actual demonstrated case of this benefit being utilized.
Ah, well. Guess we’ll have to limit ourselves to about $30k manufactured spend..
In all seriousness, and this should be obvious, but I’m aware that this would be super shady and unethical. In fact, I would venture to believe the bigger the claim, the harder a look Chase is going to take at it.
My guess is that the $ amount changed because of the exchange rate. You were charged by Hertz at the prevailing exchange rate when the accident happened. You were paid by Chase at the prevailing exchange rate when they processed your claim.
He could have made money!!
What other credit cards provide damage coverage other than sapphire reserve?
Leaving on a trip without that card.
Amex Mercedes paltinum ? Or others
Thank you
So glad to hear the benefit really works! Does Chase Ink also offer primary rental car coverage?
I know the Ink Plus definitely does, but it’s only for rentals when traveling for business rather than leisure.
United business card provides 2ndary coverage inside US for personal use but primary internationally.
You really need to read the FINE PRINTS of the card you intend to use. there is no substitute of it – i.e. read the fine prints carefully to decide what your card would cover. and call the insurance provider for further clarification / letter.
I’ve been told in the past that all cards that offer this sort of rental insurance become primary when you are out of the country (since your domestic policy that is in effect in the USA does not normally provide coverage in foreign countries). So the distinction between a card that offers primary versus secondary coverage is really only relevant when discussing domestic rentals.
Could you confirm that this is an accurate understanding?
That’s a great question and not something I’d actually thought about. What you’re suggesting would make sense, but hopefully someone can confirm one way or the other. If not, I’ll check with Chase.
One thing to bear in mind is that we rented vehicles in Australia and New Zealand, which are countries that not all credit cards offer auto rental cover for.
Yes it is. For Chase cards, the business cards are primary domestic but secondary if used for personal travel. However it becomes primary even for personal travels. I know because we have read it carefully 2 years ago when we discovered our SPG AMEX Biz only covered rentals INSIDE US! (it has since changed to cover international rental sometime last year.)
It depends if your car insurance covers you outside of USA. For example our car insurance covers Canada and Mexico do Amex would be secondary there. Since our car insurance doesn’t cover European rentals then Amex is primary. Citi Prestige is primary outside of USA regardless of your own car insurance, IIRC
Sounds like you could rack up lots of UR by deliberately damaging your rental vehicles 🙂
I’ll admit – I was a little disappointed that the damage wasn’t more expensive once we found out that it was definitely covered
“The benefit we’d declined was called ‘Collision Damage Waiver’ but, strictly speaking, there hadn’t been a collision.”
Technically it’s a “Collision/Damage Waiver” (with a slash), meaning either/or… at least that’s how it was on the paperwork when I worked there years ago.
Ah, that’s good to know – that makes more sense.
I’m currently going through this process after an accident in South Africa on February 17. Until now I have no charge from the rental company, not even for the rental, so I went ahead and submitted the claim with no documentation as you have 60 days to initiate a claim but 100 days to provide documentation.
Sounds like the charge may take a while, but no doubt it’s in the works (the car was totaled).
Dumb question, but I assume the $101 wasn’t the cost of the rental and thus deducted from the settlement amount?
Not a dumb question at all, but no it wasn’t the cost of the rental – I think it had cost about $350.
Hi Audrey, how did this all work out for you? I’m travelling to South Africa in a couple months and renting a car in JNB and CPT. Did you manage to decline the CDW as the card suggests? In my previous travels to South Africa, they really try force the insurance and call it mandatory.
I don’t have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Does the Chase Sapphire Preferred offer the same type of coverage? This is good to know as I would book ALL of my future car rentals with this card based on your post!
Yes, the Chase Sapphire Preferred also offers primary coverage.
Hmm, that “Auto Insurance Declaration Page” explanation on your screenshot above makes it look like it’s secondary coverage. Did they just tell you to skip that?
I’d ignored that section as we weren’t renting in our country of residence. However, if we’d be renting in the US I’d have still ignored that seeing as it’s primary coverage. I think that section lists all the possible documents that might be needed; not all cards that they process the claims for will offer primary coverage, so in those cases they’d need a copy of your regular auto insurance.
An FYI–most US Visas and MCs offer primary insurance abroad: since US car insurance doesn’t cover you outside of the country, credit card insurance is by definition primary insurance since it’s the only one you have!
Great write up! Just another reason I can’t wait until I go under 5/24 in 12 days!
We were fortunate that she was pre-approved in branch back in November 2016. She was way over 5/24 but it meant she was able to get the 100k signup bonus.
Let us know about the missing $101 when you find out
Will do 🙂
Could have been exchange rate fluctuations between the different transaction dates.
There has been a lot of rate volatility in your timeline which could easily cause a $100-ish swing:
http://xe.com/currencycharts/?from=AUD&to=USD&view=1Y
Will Chase pay if you use UR points from the account linked to the CSR? What about a combination of pints and cash?
Thanks
Yeah, a combination of PINTS and cash… lol
this is my guess.. we