Credit Card Merry-go-round, or how I got to touch base with several people in (probably) several countries....
 

In an effort to detemine if my Sears MasterCard would provide the CDW coverage when I rent a car in Scotland this year, I called the 800# listed on their website. To make a short story long, over the course of the afternoon I got to speak with five different people at five different phone numbers, all with a variety of accents, most of whom had no idea if MasterCard provided the coverage. Finally, FINALLY, I spoke to a nice woman who (I think) said that yes, MC did provide that coverage. She tried reading the information to me but after asking her to repeat most of it about three times, I finally asked for a web site address. After another three or four attempts at imaginative uses of letter identifications ("No, no - s as in science, a as in Andrew.....) I got it straight - www.mastercard.com/rentandsave.

So, yes, it seems to cover the CDW as long as certain restrictions apply (and aren't there ALWAYS restrictions). The rental period must be 15 consecutive days or less, I must decline the CDW offered by the rental company and (this is the interesting one), I can only rent a vehicle intended for bound surfaces such as concrete or tarmac. (Note to self - stay on the road, stay on the road....)

You're certainly more patient than I am. Glad you got it figured out.

You should have come to Fodor's first.

bettyk, I did do a search on Fodors, but most the people kept saying "Check with your credit card company," so I did! And, really, how else would I have had the opportunity to speak with Paula, Mehta, Sonia, Carlos and the last lady, whose name I couldn't understand? ;) They were all very pleasant and polite, but I got really tired of punching in my credit card number and answering my secret question. Also, Mehta told me that the reason I was having problems was the card was issued in France and offered to transfer me to that "branch." That was news to me as I opened the account in Altoona, Pennsylvania 32 years ago!

Yes, it was definitely an "experience"!!