Native German here but live in the USA visiting my home town Fulda Germany many times through the years. Next I will be there for 45 days. With shock I realized my Capital One Card only will insure my rental car for 15 days. My American Express card for just 30 days. I don't know how to make this work. Has anyone else had this problem? The added fee to add insurance from rental companies is starting at 11 $ a day which is insane. Does anyone have any good ideas? I always rent at the Frankfurt airport. Thanks guys
Posted by
Fort Myers, FL
1888 posts
Rent under Capital One for 15 days return it and rent another car for 30 days under AMEX....if the rental rates are equal or close.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23627 posts
Ask you local car insurance agent if he/she offers any type of extended car insurance for rentals.
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
In the past I've used my Cap One credit card for rental coverage in France, and while the limit was 15 days domestically, it was 30 days overseas. But even if that's the case with yours, it still won't be sufficient. You might want to do a search for a rental through AutoEurope and see what the difference is between a Basic rental (no collision coverage) and a rental with partial or full collision coverage. I'm renting in France in 2 weeks, Hertz through AE, and decided to take the full coverage (no deductible) because I thought the difference was fairly reasonable. For decades I always relied on cc coverage, but I'm a little hesitant now.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7172 posts
I reserve my rental online ahead of time and have never had a problem using my CapOne card for 3 week rentals. Sometimes I’ll pay in advance to save a little money. For CDW, in addition to the CC coverage, I get it through Allianz for $9 a day. I do know that with CapOne, I can’t rent a car for more than 30 days.
Posted by
1221 posts
For US-issued AmEx cards (excluding Washington State residents) their Premium car insurance will go 42 days and is $20-$25 per rental rather than per day
https://feeservices.americanexpress.com/premium/car-rental-insurance-coverage/home.do
It looks like Europcar has an office in Fulda. I'd do something two rentals- the first week with the Capitol One card and then swap vehicles for a second rental with the AmEx card. Fulda and Frankfort are close enough that any one way drop fees shouldn't be insane. Or you could find a reason to do other things in Frankfort for a day and swap cars at the airport there if you have a different preferred rental company.