Capital One car rental insurance Spain
 

I'm going to opt to use my Capital One "No Hassle miles" Visa card to rent a car in Spain. I've read their statement about covering rental cars outside of the U.S. and it all looks good -- but it doesn't say anything about a deductible. Does anyone have experience with this for car rentals in Spain? The customer service agent didn't have any more info than what I have in front of me.

I've done a search on this and I've read other threads but some of them go back to 2002 and I was wondering is anyone has had recent experience with this specific card.

I use my Capital One card to rent cars every time we go to Europe, including Spain.

But I have never had an accident.

The MasterRents agreement (My Capital One is a MasterCard) covers all deductibles EXCEPT for certain circumstances i.e. driving recklessly, driving while under the influence of drups or alcohol. I believe tires, windshields and antennas are not covered, but I have to recheck that.

For a regular fender bender, there is no deductible. You can check the voice activated system which gives a lot of information by dialing 1-800-MCASSIST.

thanks for your input -- if I can avoid purchasing CDW it would save me a lot of money. Many of the EU car rental sites I've been looking at include the CDW in the final cost.

Which car rental companies have you found offering low rates in Spain?

Got a great rate for 10 days, picking up and returning to Malaga, 3/27 - 4/6, from Carjet. Don't have my file nearby but think it's about $234 which includes EVERYTHING except the initial fill up of gas (you return it empty). No extra charges for extra drivers, insurance, or anything else.
I used Carjet 2 yrs ago in Spain and was happy. They did make us drive the car back to the airport when we had trouble with it but I suspect any company would have (rather than sending someone out to where we were) but perhaps I'm wrong about that. They replaced the car with no problem and didn't charge us for a second fillup when my friend and I gave them static about having only had the car 2 days. No problem with 2nd car.
BTW, I plan to use my CapitalOne Visa to rent the car next week. Thanks for posting.

That's a great rate. Carjet won't allow me to quote a one-way rental for my destinations... AutoEurope is quoting me $153 USD for 3 days for a VW Golf excluding CDW. This seems pretty high to me although it does include tax so maybe I just have to accept car rentals are more expensive in Europe?

All car rental agreements are great, even Capital One's, but just remember if you don't take the CDW and have an accident, it could end up coasting you a small bundle. My standard deductible two years ago cost us $935 for a fender bender and the insurance covered the rest. The zero deductible insurance we purchased when we picked up the replacement car cost only 10 euros/day and was well worth the peace of mind for the next two weeks.

We had a blowout the year before and lost the wheel cover. Total cost was for the tire and wheel cover was 245 euros and was not covered by the credit card. Visa and MC stopped covering road damage (broken glass, damaged mirrors, blowouts, etc.) a few years ago.

Hi robert,

Patrick posted the exact opposite experience, sigh... He paid nothing out of his pocket with his CC insurance (when he totalled a car) but he would have paid a large deductible had he purchased the CDW. Sounds like you had the opposite experience. The rentals including the CDW are actually pretty reasonable -- so you mean you paid 10E on top of the CDW rate you were already paying so that you were guaranteed to pay nothing no matter what happened?

I'd love to know which credit card company paid for Patrick's car after he totaled it. I'd switch cards tomorrow, but I'm afraid the story may not be what we think it is. I am not aware of any CC company today, or at anytime in the past, that would pay for a car totaled in an accident. If it were someone else's fault, you would still be held liable until the account was settled, which may take years.

Yes, we decided to purchase the zero deductible after that incident and have done so since them. We rent a lot of cars during our travels and having a zero deductible is worth the extra money. I don’t care if someone runs into the car, breaks into it, seals it, whatever, it’s covered as long as I have the keys with me when someone steals the car, which can happen.

There was a time when renting without buying the added insurance was more or less acceptable, but with the price of cars being what they are and the lack of coverage by the CC companies, it’s just no longer worth the chance. My other advice would be for you to purchase some travel insurance to cover unexpected.

Hi F,

Ask Capital One to send you a copy of the insurance contract.

In general, it will cover the whole car in an accident with zero deductible on your part.

Tires, glass, underbody damage are usually not covered.

((I))

Fortunately, . . . car rental insurance through Credit Cards is not controlled by the banks (other than included with the card or not). Both Visa & MasterCard have a single program (each) for all flavors of their cards. Both contract this benefit out to third parties. Both require you to use the card at the origination of the rental, decline CDW, . . . and there are a few other requirements (simple to meet).

I would call either Visa (number is on Visa’s website where they talk about benefits - car rental) or MasterCard (number on their website under MasterCare/MasterRents - also posted above).

They can tell you 1) if you are covered (based on your bank's agreement) 2) exactly what is/is not covered 3) the countries you are covered in (or excluded) 4) requirements for the insurance to be valid & 5) they can provide you with a written letter of coverage.

For my upcoming trip to Scotland - the people that cover Visa rentals sent an electronic letter that explained everything and is proof of coverage. This letter can be used if challenged by the car rental place when declining the CDW (the rental company I am using said in their T&Cs that written proof would be required – hence the reason I requested a letter).

BTW - there is no deductible with this coverage - it is better than CDW in most countries in my opinion. What is worse, the CC coverage is not valid if CDW is taken by the renter. How many people have simply accepted CDW, use a CC with coverage, . . . and don’t know that it cost them more money for less coverage? Then . . . if they unfortunately got into an accident, don't have the CC coverage because of CDW acceptance, and have to pay a deductible – wow – an extra hit to the wallet!

Always ask if the CC insurance is Primary, i.e., covers the liabilities/loss/damage BEFORE your own auto insurance might be called upon, or Secondary which is just the reverse.

When renting outside the U.S., I don't know of any car insurance company that will function as a primary insurer for rental cars in Europe, etc. So I think by default, none of us from the u.s. have primary auto insurance -- it's either our credit car or what we purchase from the car rental company that will function as our primary.

I'm looking at this Carjet quote for $167 that includes insurance, a good rate since Avis is quoting me $132 without insurance. However, it's clear from Carjet's explanation that I'm responsible for the first 500 E of damage, i.e. a deductible, the insurance is only covering me "in excess" of 500E. There's a column says that says "buy out" per day, 9 E. So, if I purchase this as well, I have $0 responsibility for any damage (except for negligence and window breakage)? If I pay for all this insurance, I just want to make sure I'm getting what I want -- which is no money out of my own pocket if there's damage to the car.

This is what is on the Diners Club web page.

Travel Insurance
Use the Diners Club Card to travel, and automatically receive a package of travel insurance coverages such as travel accident, excess lost baggage and primary rental car collision damage insurance at no additional cost.13 In fact, you can save up to $16 per day for rental car collision damage insurance. Included in your Card is a comprehensive package of no-charge travel insurance with high coverage.

Primary Rental Car Collision/Loss Damage Insurance

* Automatic primary coverage, anywhere in the world (except where prohibited by law), any time the entire cost of a car rental is charged to a Diners Club Card.
* For most Cardmembers there's usually no need to file a claim with your own insurance company, so your personal insurance premium won't be affected. For Cardmembers, the insurance covers physical damage and theft of the vehicle, reasonable loss of use charges, reasonable towing charges, and includes Secondary Personal Effects insurance.
* Protection covers rental cars with Manufacturers Suggested Retail price up to $50,000 for covered damages.
* To qualify, you must decline the rental agency's collision damage waiver (CDW), thereby saving up to $16 per rental day.

We have what is actually a Mastercard from Diners Club Citi Bank. So does the Diners Club rules go or Mastercard if it is different?

Just to add to the confusion!

I just got off the phone with Visa Capital One Program Enhancements and I've decided to go with Capital One's Insurance for my rental.

The agent assured me that all physical damage was covered, including any road damage that involved a tire blowout, etc. She said as long as I'm not driving off-road and not in violation of their basic terms (not being drunk, etc.) that VISA would cover all physical damage to the car. She said there's no deductible.

Robert, I'm not sure what happened with your claim since you clearly had to pay out of pocket. I have a copy of the Auto Rental CDW Program and it doesn't state any exclusions about road damage although there is something about about not covering "wear and tear and gradual deterioration". Could your blow-out have been considered "wear and tear" if the tires were worn? (That sounds like a pretty sketchy excuse on the part of VISA to me) At any rate, I'm going to make sure to check the tread on the rental car tires -- if they look worn, you think they'd give me another car if I ask?

She told me to look at www.visa.com/benefits for more info although I think this is the same as the written info packet they sent me with the card.

As far as I am aware, no American car insurance company provides rental car coverage outside of the continental United States and Canada.

According to VISA (www.visa.com/benefits) you are responsible for all damages caused by a collision or theft to a rental vehicle and will be reimbursed if and when all of the conditions are met. This may take some time.

VISA not longer covers road damage (blowouts, windshield damage, broken mirrors, etc.), damage on the inside or outside of the vehicle (scratches, vandalism etc.), nor do they cover the loss or theft of personal belongings.

You are also responsible for personal liability, should you injure someone or are yourself injured, so consider a good travel insurance policy.

Is it true that car rental companies' insurance also don't cover loss/theft of personal belongings, nor do they cover personal liability? i.e. personal injury, medical, etc? I thought all these plans only cover property damage. sorry for all these reptitive questions....

Hi fishee
>Is it true that car rental companies' insurance also don't cover loss/theft of personal belongings, nor do they cover personal liability? i.e. personal injury, medical, etc? I thought all these plans only cover property damage.<

You are correct.

The CDW covers the car.

AMEX has a Premium plan that provides coverage for the persons in the rental car.

((I))

I called a claims processing agent at VISA and they said there's no exclusion about road damage concerning tire blowouts, etc. This is the second agent I've asked and I'm hoping their info is accurate but it's so hard to tell with CSA's.

I don't expect coverage for medical or for personal belongings since no car rental place covers these things anyway and I'm O.K. if it takes several months for any claim to process since I have a lot of credit cards and even some savings if I have to pay up-front. Of course, hopefully none of this will ever matter... knock on wood.

I found a discount code with Avis that knocked off almost 40%... I'm a little frightened to use it since it's such a huge discount although someone in Germany used it without any questions asked. I'll have a back-up reservation as well in case they reject this if I don't have the proper ID, etc. thanks everyone!

Hi F,

>I found a discount code with Avis that knocked off almost 40%..<

Please don't keep it a secret.

((I))