Credit card Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) typically covers theft, damage, valid loss-of-use charges imposed by the auto rental company, administrative fees and customary towing charges to the nearest qualified repair facility.
Amex Platinum card is frequently discredited for having “secondary auto insurance”, compared to other premium travel cards (e.g., Chase Sapphire & Capital One Venture X). It is important to know that this secondary insurance only applies for auto rentals within the US.
If you are traveling overseas without any other type of auto insurance, secondary insurance automatically acts as the main auto insurance. This is not clearly mentioned in the benefits guide, but I have clarified this with a supervisor at Amex insurance and from friends who dealt with Amex after overseas auto accidents.
Common Carrier Insurance vs Auto Rental CDW
Chase Sapphire & Capital One Venture X both provide up to $1,000,000 per person for common carrier and Amex Platinum removed this coverage in 2020 (https://awardcracker.com/premium-credit-card-travel-benefits-comparison/).
Common Carrier is any mode of transportation by land, water or air operating for hire under a license to carry passengers for which a ticket must be purchased prior to travel.
Common carrier examples include the following:
- Buses, taxis, and vans
- Cruise ships
- Planes
- Trains
- Ski lifts
The car rental agency is a non-common carrier who rents vehicles out to third parties (you) to operate.
Chase and Capital One cards DO NOT provide coverage for the following:
- Injury to anyone, including you, or damage to anything, inside or outside the Rental Vehicle
- Loss or theft of personal belongings
- Personal liability
Amex Platinum is the only premium travel card that covers accidental death or dismemberment along with personal property coverage after an auto accident. See screenshots below from the product benefits guide (Amex Guide).
Auto Rentals from 3rd Party Providers
If you frequently rent cars from 3rd party providers (e.g., rentalcars.com or discovercars.com) to save money, most of them come with partial CDW coverage. In these cases, it is beneficial to use Amex Platinum since it does not restrict you from having additional coverage. Chase and Capital One card benefit guides clearly state that you should decline any type of coverage from the rental company.
Conclusion
Amex Platinum Auto Rental provides excellent CDW along with personal property coverage and accident, death and dismemberment benefits which are very important and rarely mentioned. Amex Platinum customer service agents are very easy to talk to in case of auto accident related issues when traveling overseas. Just remember NOT to use Amex Platinum when renting cars in Australia, New Zealand or Italy (coverage is not provided).