AMEX card for car rental in two countries

No Susan and Monte. Every time you rent, it will automatically kick in and show up separately on your statement.

You have read? How good is "almost as good?" I have yet to file a claim so I cannot say what works better. I may waste $25 with AmEx Premium but I like the odds.

I was just looking at the AMEX website and the insurance is $17.95 for California residents.

As far as foreign spending, if you book through someone like Auto Europe you would be renting through a U.S. company. No foreign spending then!

It's a flat fee for the insurance, no surcharge. Amex also has a free lower level of insurance comparable to the free Visa coverage. The only way to know if one is better is to have to file a claim.

My reading of AMEX coverage is that it excludes liability. Yes?

I had the Amex coverage on a recent rental in France -- felt very comfortable knowing I had good coverage at a reasonable rate. BUT when Hertz put through a charge to Amex for sending info to the French government so they could bill me for a speeding ticket, it automatically triggered another $17.95 insurance charge as another rental. Amex quickly reversed the insurance when it was pointed out -- but if you're not a nit-picky accountant at heart (like me) you might not notice this.

So it looks like they would charge two insurance fees on two real individual rentals.

We had the experience of filing a claim on our AMEX Premium insurance this past October. I can tell you that it was handled very efficiently. The charge against our card was immediately put on hold, and we were notified of the claim being settled in about 6 weeks. We also used the insurance that comes with the cc about 12 years ago. No complaints about the handling of that one either. I just feel that $17.95 is so little that I don't want to settle for "almost as good." Oh, and we do rent through Autoeurope, so there's no foreign conversion fee involved with paying for the rental.

Well they don't make it simple, do they? Bruce's question triggered a memory of having seen something on our Autoeurope rental voucher, which I recently printed out. I dug it out, and there it was. The basic rental includes liability insurance for injuries or damages to persons or things OUTSIDE the vehicle; therefore, no need to get it elsewhere. The AMEX Premium gives you coverage for people INSIDE the car, damage to or theft of car, and some other stuff. There's no deductible. Tire damage is excluded, unless it's part of a larger accident. (I think this the case with almost all rental car insurance.) With AE, you can also opt for an "insurance package," which virtually doubles the price of the rental. Though I probably should, I haven't compared that to what AMEX offers. If I get really obsessive and do that, I'll post what I discover.
BTW, the AMEX cover document states that you are billed each time you use your card to rent a car.
So, rent twice; get billed twice.

Thanks to everyone for your information. In the past we've just used our coverage on our Visa, but for such a low price I think it is worth the peace of mind. But, I guess my cheapness shows when I'm trying to get two rentals covered for the price of one!

Not all businesses in Europe accept AMEX either. You might want to check with your particular company. We use Capital One, as there is no transaction fee.

FWIW, Amex has just announced no overseas transaction fees, at least for my card.

Not only that, but I've yet to see an airline or car agency that won't take it.
Also, the idea of it not being widely accepted has almost become a myth. I travel cheaply and it has the most charges by a large factor.

Susan and Monte,
We've used the AX 17.95 CA coverage several times. I called AX multiple times to make sure I was clear on the policy. Be sure the name on reservation/car rental contract's is the same as the card holder and driver. And you use AX for everything from reservation, pickup, and final charges. AX also covers loss of use for rental cars. My husband had a minor incident with a stone wall that scratched the paint on the bumper, so we called AX to make sure we had all the bases covered if the car rental agency noticed and AX was very helpful. Didn't end up filing a claim. I use AX domestically for car rentals as its primary, not secondary coverage to your personal auto insurance.

Everything's been covered already but fwiw I'll mention our experience. While in France for a month a couple of years ago we needed a van to move several people around for a few days. After they left I swapped the van for a smaller car for my wife and me. Amex charged an insurance fee on each vehicle which I fully expected.

There are so many ifs-ands-and-buts that I hardly know where to start.

First, consider the "Premium Car Rental Protection" from American Express. Search for that and read it. This seems to be the best of these plans. This provides "primary" coverage.
- But Liability (personal injury, damage to someone else's car, property damage, etc) is not included, only damage or theft of the rented vehicle.
- When you purchase the car rental through Priceline, Hotwire, Orbitz, etc you will need to call the Premium Car Rental Protection department, 800-326-2078, so they can manually add the coverage fee. (From an AmEx blog posting.)
- Does NOT include cards issued by a third-party bank partner of American Express. Therefore, a Fidelity card issued by FIA card services is not included.

Second, you may be tempted to rely on the free American Express "Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance Plan". Search for that and learn that coverage is automatic whenever you use your American Express card (unless issued by a 3rd party bank) and provided you decline CDW, etc, etc. This coverage is secondary, meaning that American Express will expect any other insurance to pay first - meaning more time and work for you.

Third, you could use a different credit card. I filed a claim over a year ago for a car rented in Germany relying on the free coverage provided by a Capital One Mastercard. There is no phone number, only a third party website that says I have submitted all required documentation and my claim is pending.

In summary, this is complicated. Assume nothing. Read all the boring terms and condition and then think about what it all means.

I still have questions about liability coverage. Do we just rely on our homeowner's policy? Our umbrella policy? Our own car insurance? Or just wing it and hope no one files a claim against us??

Concerning Liability Coverage:

From Gemut.com:

"All European rental companies are required by law to protect themselves and their rental customers with millions of euros in third-party liability insurance. In other words, the rental company covers you for damage to property and persons outside your vehicle. What you are responsible for is damage to, or theft of, the car you rented. For that you need Collision (CDW) and theft insurance."

http://www.gemut.com/images/stories/report/carrentalspecialreport.pdf

Paul

Paul, Thank you for the link about liability coverage. Just what I needed.

Ellen