How the rental car collision damage waiver works
If you have car insurance or other insurance, the CDWs from Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® help pay for the part of the deductible you need to pay. It will also help with any extra fees the car rental company makes you pay as well as any potential towing fees.
If you don't have any insurance, this benefit will help cover theft or damage and fees from the rental company. When renting outside your own country, this coverage is primary and will help cover theft or damage and potential fees from the rental company.
Other Chase credit cards provide primary insurance, which steps in before your personal car insurance when you make a claim. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one such credit card, but unlike the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited®, it carries an annual fee of $95.
How to get this benefit
You receive a CDW from the Chase Freedom Flex® or Chase Freedom Unlimited® when you use the card to pay for the entirety of the car rental transaction and decline similar coverage from the car rental company.
Here's the two-step process for getting a CDW:
- Complete the entire rental transaction using your card that's eligible for the benefit.
- Decline the rental company's collision damage waiver or similar provision if it's offered to you. The company may refer to the collision damage waiver as a CDW or LDW (loss damage waiver) in their contract or when speaking with you. If you accept the collision damage waiver offered by the rental company, you will not be eligible for the auto rental CDW.
This benefit applies when you have the rental car and ends when the rental company takes it back. You can use this benefit in the U.S. and most foreign countries, except in places where it's not allowed by law or by the rental company. If you're not sure if this works in a certain area, contact Chase before you go.
What's covered?
The CDW reimburses cardholders for any covered damage or loss up to the cash value of the rental car. This benefit only covers rental periods of up to 31 consecutive days, and the entire transaction must be initiated and completed on your Chase credit card.
Here are some of the common covered losses:
- Physical damage and theft of the covered rental vehicle
- Reasonable towing charges to take the vehicle to the nearest qualified repair facility
- Valid loss-of-use charges the rental company assesses while the vehicle is being repaired
Loss-of-use coverage is very important, as few people realize that they're responsible for paying to rent the car while it's in service for repairs. For example, if a collision results in damage that takes a week to fix, the renter has to pay for that week it was out of use. Credit card rental car insurance can be very valuable here.
Note that the coverage does not cover any liability or damage to other cars. It also doesn't cover any bodily harm or other liability. The coverage is solely for the cost of repairing or replacing a damaged or stolen vehicle you rented. On the bright side, state laws typically require that car rental companies provide liability and bodily injury coverage for people who rent cars.
Some vehicles aren't covered
This benefit does not cover some types of vehicles, like expensive ones, very old cars, and antique cars. Here is a full list:
- High-value motor vehicles
- Exotic and antique cars (cars over 20 years old or that have not been manufactured for 10 years or more)
- Cargo vans
- Vehicles with open cargo beds such as trucks (other than pick-ups)
- Motorcycles
- Mopeds
- Motorbikes
- Limousines
- Recreational vehicles
- Passenger vans with seating for more than nine people, including the driver (passenger vans with seating for nine or fewer, including the driver, are covered)
Examples of expensive cars that are not covered include Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin and Tesla. Some models of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz are covered. Contact Chase to find out which cars are covered and which cars are not.
What else isn't covered?
In addition to certain cars not being covered, here are some of the other items the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver does not cover:
- Things you agree to in an agreement (except for your insurance deductible)
- Breaking the auto rental agreement or this benefit
- Injuries or damage inside or outside the rental vehicle
- Loss of personal belongings
- Personal liability
- Insurance offered by, or purchased through, the auto rental company
- Depreciation of the car caused by an incident
- Expenses covered by your insurer, employer, or employer's insurance
- Damage due to intentional acts, alcohol/ drugs/ contraband/illegal activities
- Wear and tear on the car
Check the terms to verify what else is not covered.
Who gets covered?
When you use a Chase Freedom Flex® or Chase Freedom Unlimited® to pay for a rental car, you are covered as the primary renter. Any additional drivers that the rental contract permits to operate the car are also covered.
Your card's CDW will cover other people only if you add them to the rental contract. Note that car rental companies usually charge a fee for additional drivers, often $5 or $10 per day, per additional driver.
How to file a claim
If your rental car is stolen or damaged, you will need to file a claim. First, ask the rental car company for a copy of the accident report form, both sides of the rental agreement, repair estimate and bill, photos of the damaged vehicle (if any), police report (if available), and demand letter.
There is a deadline to notify Chase within 60 days from the day of the incident. You then have up to 100 days to submit the waiver form, and 365 days to submit all of the documentation, or it may be denied.
How to think about the collision damage waiver
A CDW is really a protection for the financial cost of a damaged or stolen rental car, and little more. If you return a car with damage, the card's coverage will kick in after other forms of insurance, including your personal car insurance. For that reason, secondary rental car insurance is most valuable for people who have a high deductible on their existing car insurance policy.
Frequent car renters would be better off with a credit card that provides primary rental car insurance, since it steps in before your personal auto insurance policy. Cardholders who have primary rental car insurance can avoid a claim, and thus higher premiums on their car insurance, because the card, rather than other forms of insurance, covers the claim.
That's not the case with the secondary insurance most credit cards provide, which require you to make a claim on your personal car insurance before it pays out on any excess expenses.
For cards with better primary car insurance policies, consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which offers primary car insurance and has the lowest annual fee of any card that offers the benefit. On the downside, the only cards that offer primary insurance carry an annual fee, but for frequent renters, the annual fee more than pays for itself, given that rental car companies charge as much as $10 or $15 a day for CDWs. So, a $95 annual fee on a card with primary coverage pays for itself for people who rent cars for at least one week each year.
