Italy car rental CDW--decline with a Visa Signature card?
 

We've got a Visa Signature card, and according to their information we are covered for CDW in Italy when their card is used, But, then there is also this little disclaimer, "Additionally, this benefit is not available where precluded by law or in violation of the territory terms of the auto rental agreement or prohibited by individual merchants. Because regulations vary outside the United States, we recommend you check with your auto rental company and the Benefit Administrator before you travel to make sure Visa Signature Auto Rental CDW will apply."

So, has anyone ever rented a car in Italy using their Visa Signature card and used that as coverage? Or, is this the loophole that forces one to get all of the pricey coverage that the rental agencies pile on top of the rental fee?

Thanks.

My vague recollection is that when I rented a car through http://www.economycarrentals.com/ I declined the CDW because it was included in the rental agreement with the broker even though the broker only took a small fee and I paid for the rental to the agency itself (unlike Autoeurope). However, it is unclear that any rental agency would accept a credit card insurance because of Italian law. It might be best to inquire directly from the car rental agency and get a written reply.

I don't think there is any loophole relating to the country or violation of law, but if some particular rental company won't allow it, that's that. And I think some do not, you'd have to check with the company you want to rent from.

You might want to read this thread from someone who did just that(used Visa Signature in Italy) and actually had an accident http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...c-question.cfm

Thanks for the link. It is so hard to know about all of this and so much is a crap shoot balanced out by the rip off factor.

About ten years ago we had someone back in to our car in a parking lot in Romania (car rented from Budapest). It was quite a lesson in seeing how things worked there. We went through all of the rigamarole, accompanying the guy who had backed into our car to the police station and the insurance agency (and most fascinating of all the their apartment where they invited us for lunch). Supposedly his insurance was going to cover everything. But, we still had months of hassle after we got home about the charges for this.

Hi J,

May I suggest that you "check with your auto rental company and the Benefit Administrator before you travel to make sure Visa Signature Auto Rental CDW will apply"?

((I))

Hi Ira--

Ultimately a good suggestion, but we were trying to figure this our before we researched and booked so we'd be able to make some comparisons of the different prices. One company might be a better deal if we could use that CDW, but the other a better deal if we had to pick up their insurance.

Julies, surely the answer is in the quote your post - check with the car rental company and with Visa Signature.