I was asking about the AMEX premium coverage of $24.95 yesterday and was told the residents of the following states are no longer eligible for the preium plan. Those states are:

GA,IA, ID, OK,PA and NH.

According to the Amex rep, NH has been on the list but the other 5 states were added on the 25th of January 2012. Apparently something to do with licensing approval. No one that I talked with as yet has specific knowledge as to why those states' residents are not eligible for the premium coverage. They are still eligible for the basic free cdw coverage however.

The coverage is activated when the charge on the CC is paid. Being in NH, I have been told that I am grandfathered in, but I get all answers by e-mail. They did covered us in September, 2009 for 2000 euros.

When using a broker such as Autoeurope or Kemwel, the car rental charge is not readily identified as such and the AE insurance coverage is not automatically triggered. It would be prudent to call AE to confirm that you indeed want the coverage for the rental.

Am I correct in understanding that this benefit is not part of the regular cdw offered by AMEX, but that you must "buy" the coverage? Thanks.

I just checked and my AMEX doesn't offer any kind of rental insurance, it is a low end Delta Skymiles Option Card. I do have Cap one Visa Signature card and that looks like it offers rental insurance.

You also need to check that the car rental firm accept AMEX as it's not always accepted in Europe.

I used to use the $24.95 option with my Delta Amerxo card till I found out that ANY Visa card offers the same insurance coverage for nothing. It's provided by Visa whatever the brand of card. As someone mentioned, Mastercard may provide the same.

I just read this old post and have my own questions. I am renting a car from AutoEurope to drive from Provence, France to Florence, Italy. I was advised by American Express that they do not insure car rentals in Italy (and a few other countries). Will I be able to use the American Express insurance for the portion of the trip in France then purchase the insurance from AutoEurope for the portion of the trip in Italy?

Lillian: Not really. But do you even want to do that? One way rentals have very large drop off fees. It might be better to rent one car for France and a different car in Italy. It would be cheaper and solve the insurance 'problem'.

(You might want to start a new thread w/your own specific questions)

How do you specifically anticipate that AmEx and AutoEurope split the coverage of one rental with two destinations; France and Italy? I do not see any solution for dividing insurance coverage between two carriers. You need to ask AE.

Bedar (I know this is two months later) - AmEx coverages is full Primary insurance coverage. Visa and Mastercard offer secondary coverage on collision. There is no comparison between the two coverages and they are emphatically not the same.

FWIW- after realizing that for $24.95 [per use] I can have the AMEX car rental coverage. I made my reservation almost 2 months ago with kemwel. I called today and they will refund my original payment and recharge on AMEX card - at the SAME rate. The current rate is significantly higher, so I am very pleased at their willingness to do this for me.

Again, got to love the info you get here. Thanks~

<i>AmEx coverages is full Primary insurance coverage. Visa and Mastercard offer secondary coverage on collision. There is no comparison between the two coverages and they are emphatically not the same.</i>

But does it make a difference in the final analysis since liability is included in any European rental?

<i>But does it make a difference</i>

The difference between primary coverage and secondary coverage is huge in and of itself. It´s the difference between walking away from an accident and paying for all damage then waiting to be reimbursed by the credit card insurer. If you have ever made a claim with a credit card insurer, you will not necessarily want to do it a second time.

There are also differences in maximum duration of coverage, dollar amount of coverage, what type of cars are covered, medical coverage, and loss of personal property.

_____

Separately, after reviewing the AmEx policy coverage, they state that vehicles rented in Italy are not covered. However, this does not mean that a car rented from outside of Italy is not covered when it is driven into Italy which is what Lillian_Laszlo is asking about. AmEx coverage should extend into Italy if the rental was picked up in France.

The good thing about EX

About AX'S insurance coverage, is it makes them the primary insurer. You don't have to go throught your own car insurance at home and then your credit card coverage. Lots of paperwork. I know by an experence in Germany, when AX covered the whole 2000 euros. While they cover from dollar one, they do not cover 'loss of use'. But they did get Sixt to accept whatever AX offered and I didn't pay a CENT. The insurance with AX cost me $19.95. Having just rented a car in Florida and then New Mexico, the AX coverage kicks in when you refuse all insurance coverage and the rental company charges your credit card. I like AX being the primery insurer.

Re coverage by AmEx:

We had a minor accident in Switzerland.

Filled out all the forms. Provided all the necessary information.

Filed the police report that said I was stopped and the other car drove into me.

3 mos later I got a bill for $1000 from the rental agency.

I sent the bill off to AmEx.

They handled absolutely everything. The only thing I did was read their updates.

((I))

ok - so now my next question is - reading back on all these posts, it seems that the AMEX charge [$24.95 or 19.95] doesn't appear automatically with kemwel payment since it doesn't see it as a car rental. I paid in full for the rental but still need to pay local charges when we pick the car up. From what has been said up thread, this amount since it comes from an actual car [Europcar] rental triggers a second charge. I am guessing that BOTH amounts need to be paid with AMEX to get AMEX coverage. And that the second charge is removed after calling AMEX to indicate that it was the SAME rental.

Am I getting this right??

You should pay for the "basic" rate, and I doubt that it will be lowered because AMEX would normally carry the full cost. Airport and RR fees are a separate issue as is the road tax and the pollution tax for an automatic.

I meant that AMEX will carry the full cost of the insurance, not the rental.

To be sure of getting complete AmEx insurance, pay both the rental (from Autoeurope or Kemwel) and the road tax, location surcharge, additional driver fees, environmental fees, and any other charge imposed by the rental company typically paid at drop off, all of these things on the AmEx card just to be sure of insurance coverage.

A rental from Autoeurope or Kemwel or some other broker will probably not trigger the AmEx insurance at $24.95 or $19.95. It would be prudent to call AmEx explain the situation which is what AmEx suggested that I do when I asked them this very question. It will also clarify any possible second charge when paying the required fees at drop off.

I am also faced with this dilemma as I am planning to rent a Fiat 500 in Barcelona Spain, drive along the coast to Pompei, Italy then to Venice, Italy then back to Barcelona Spain, hitting every town along the way in two weeks. The CDW (Collision damage waiver) can be prohibitably high in some countries from $11.00 day Germany to $33.00 day Spain the best deal is to get the 24.95 premium car insurance from American Express.
1. 24.95 one time charge covers 42 days (Washington state 30 days) $19.95 for California residents (Dont know why they get a break)
2. The coverage kicks in when you charge the car rental on the Amex card. You do not have to pay the credit card bill first.
3. Coverage is primary, covers all theft/damage to rental vehicle.
4. There in zero deductible (CDW in europe you have to pay $500 ded first)
5. All European vehicle rentals come with free 3rd party liability insurance which covers damage to other vehicles & injuries if YOU are at fault
6. Coverage is worldwide except for vehicles RENTED in australia, ireland,israel,italy,jamaica & new zealand. As long as you RENT from another country you are covered driving in these countries
7. Covers most vehicles including SUV's, pick ups, luxury
8. $100K theft/damage to vehicle, $100K death/dismemberment to you or your passengers ($250K for california residents) 15K excess medical coverage for you or your passengers
9. You must DECLINE the CDW for this to kick in, rental clerk may try to scare you as they make commission off CDW (but most are nice, i only had one in costa rica pressure me)
10. Your own auto insurance does NOT cover you outside the USA except for Canada & Mexico & Mexico ONLY up to 50 miles from the border
11. Amex is supposed to charge you but ive noticed at times they did not but you would still be covered. I would call them before your trip to make sure they charge you
12. Obtain an International drivers permit from AAA before your trip you will be fined on the spot if not. You need to fill out the application, 2 passport photos, front/back of drivers license & $15.00 fee

BTW I'm an Insurance Claims Adjuster and former Rental car clerk so have knowledge of this, if you think your regular credit card is gonna cover all this you are in for a nightmare of calls & paperwork especially if the rental car companies repair estimate is excessive...

I think you have one error - "2. The coverage kicks in when you charge the car rental on the Amex card. You do not have to pay the credit card bill first."

The coverage starts when you pick up the car, not when you charge the car rental. This per Am Exp. I paid upfront in April for a trip in September. Therefore, my coverage starts in Sept. And also, as a followup to my post on Apr 25- I did talk to the rep and they made a note in my account that the although it might not show up as a car rental, that it was indeed a rental. No need to worry, the charge came through from Kemwel and from Am Exp for the $24.95. Now I will just have to see if a second charge comes through in Sept when I pay direct fees to Europcar.

<The coverage starts when you pick up the car> Exactally. We have had this coverage from AX for a number of years and it's as DeebitNM explained. Actually, I don't think NH residents can currently get this coverage from AX. We are 'grandfathered in'.

Also note that not all Amex cards qualify for the coverage. For example, one of my Amex is a Macy's card and I almost blew it booking a car w/ that card instead of my 'regular' Amex.

On hunch, I phoned them to make sure, w/ the Macy's Amex you cannot purchase that coverage.

I have a Delta Skymiles Amex and I don't think you can purchase it on that, either. I like my card okay for the miles, but there are some Amex benefits you don't get with it, like the deal about buying some theater seats in NY.

Mine is a plain old basic Delta Skymiles card and I was able to buy it.

I have a Costco American Express and it is covered and I also have a Delta Platinum American Express card and it is covered AS LONG AS YOU CALL AMERICAN EXPRESS AND ENROLL THE CARD.

I just enrolled my Delta card and I recieved a confirmation from American Express in writing. I have the original information from some years ago but it never hurts to have something updated

The letter says in the first paragraph and I quote:
Thank you for enrolling in Premium Car Rental Protection. Simply by using your enrolled American Expres Card to reserve and pay for a Rental Car, you have the security of knowing that you are automatically protected.

I will also say that as previously stated if you rent a car through a third party like Orbitz, you must tell them the charge is specifically for a car as American Express does not assume that the charge from a third party is for a car.

Christina - We have the Gold Delta Skymiles Amex cards and have enrolled my husband's card in the $24.95 plan.

Interesting, though, I booked a car last year with Kemwel, used the card to prepay, and called Amex Assurance to inform them. The $24.95 insurance charge did not appear on the next statement. I called Amex Assurance again and reported that no charge had yet appeared. They assured me it would be taken care of. I called again just before departing for our trip and was told that the charge would be put through right away. It wasn't. I also used the card to pay Europcar for their additional charges. Still no charge from Amex. Thankfully, we had no issues where insurance coverage would have been needed, but just in case, I had documented every call as to date/time/person I spoke with. They seem to be in need of a better system for dealing with these types of prepaid rentals.

WELL. I had enrolled in the plan and while traveling in Portugal we returned to our car in a garage and discovered that someone dinged it.
Avis charged our card E225. It was a very small scrape but noticeable. Now we will see what happens.

Less than a month after filing the report with the American Express Premium Car Rental Protection they settled the claim we had with Avis for damage on the car.
Very easy and I am very well satisfied.

You just discovered the difference between AE's $25 primary coverage vs. Visa/MC's free, secondary coverage. Had you made a claim with Visa/MC, you would still be exchanging emails and forwarding forms and other paperwork. AE covers the expense, Visa/MC reimburses you.

I am curious about liability. What if you damage another vehicle, or injure someone in another vehicle. Amex does not cover this, so what happens if the unfortunate occurs? (I just had a phone conversation about rental insurance with an Amex rep and she stressed that none of their policies cover liability).

"<i>I am curious about liability. What if you damage another vehicle, or injure someone in another vehicle. Amex does not cover this, so what happens if the unfortunate occurs? (I just had a phone conversation about rental insurance with an Amex rep and she stressed that none of their policies cover liability).</i>"

Liability is a legal mandate. Cars are not rented w/o it - so usually it is included in the base rate.

I appreciate this is an old thread; lots of good info here. I found this via Google when looking for AMEX and Autoeurope.

I called AMEX to confirm my coverage (I'm already enrolled in the Premium plan) and they mentioned that calling was the right thing to do. They did a "manual adjustment" to make AutoEurope charge look like a car rental so it would trigger the $24.95 payment.

I don't anticipate any charges in Europe (we'll see), so I wanted to make sure they "knew" I was renting. If I do have a charge, then I will likely need to sort it out upon return as I will likely have a duplicate $24.95 charge.

FYI.

Hopefully not needed!

We always rent with AutoEurope and I have been through this with AMEX a couple of times now. The first time, I called them after paying AE and they said they would take care of it. Shortly before leaving on the trip, they had still not charged us and I called them back. This time I got the name, etc., of the person I spoke with and we went to France and got a car from Europcar. There were no issues when returning the car and all was well. AMEX never charged us. The next trip I called them again and was again told they would take care of it and charge us. This time they did. We will rent from AE again in September, and again I will call. I would just advise you to document that AMEX was advised about your rental.

Hope you will post another of your great trip reports when you get back.

I guess I'll have to now, MaineGG. :D

Wow! I'm glad to see that this information is still pertinent. Enjoy your holiday!

Robyn :)>-