We'll be renting a small car in France for one week. We will use our Capital One MasterCard to pay for this. Capital One covers collision damage and theft for up to $50,000. To buy the insurance from Avis is quite expensive. Has anyone had experience with this? Should we decline the Avis insurance or pay for it? Merci!
Posted by
Westminster, CO, USA
194 posts
Capital one no longer covers the vat portion of any claim, vat (value added tax) runs about 20% of just about anything you spent money on in Europe. On a claim last year they thus didn't pay about $300 of the claim. This in the fine print, thus this year I went with the AMEX plan
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
Always be very careful about any restrictions or fine print with your own or credit card insurance coverage. This includes things like deductables, which may leave you on the hook for somewhat minor damage (like a big scratch) that can still cost hundreds of dollars. For foreign rentals, I always include the full CDW as part of the cost of renting.
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
One very important "fine print" item you should familiarize yourself with is your credit card company's claim reporting requirements. This might include a police report (even if no other vehicle was involved), photos of the vehicle, repair receipts, etc. If you want "walk away" hassle-free coverage, you pretty much have to cough up the dough for the rental company's insurance.