Does My Credit Card Cover the Rental Car? Amex, Chase, Capital One, Visa
Pick your card and your rental: see whether the card covers the car, primary or secondary, up to how much and for how many days, with the sentence from the card’s own terms. Every other card is compared under it.
Does your card cover the rental car?Pick your card, the country and the days.
At the counter
Every card, same rental
Each card’s own benefit terms or its issuer’s page, read 2026-10-16.
Quick answer: most American Express cards cover a rental car’s damage and theft as secondary cover, up to $50,000 ($75,000 on the Platinum Card and ten other premium cards), for the first 30 days. Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve and Capital One Venture X are primary: they pay before your own car insurance. The Amex, Chase, Capital One and Visa benefits all ask you to pay for the whole rental with the card and decline the counter’s collision damage waiver, and none of them covers injury to people or damage to other cars.
How to use it
Pick your card, the country you rent in, the number of days and the vehicle. Under More, say whether you rent from a car sharing app or a moving company, the state you live in and whether you have car insurance of your own. The answer says whether the card covers this rental, primary or secondary, up to how much, and quotes the sentence of the card’s own terms each part rests on, with the steps at the counter, what it never covers and the claim deadline. Under it, every other card for the same rental, so you can see which card in your wallet to pay with.
Every card, side by side
From each card’s own benefit terms or its issuer’s page, read on October 16, 2026. “Not printed” means the page does not say: your card’s Guide to Benefits does.
| Card | Cover | Pays up to | Days | Not in | Not for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express (most cards) | secondary | $50,000 | the first 30 | Australia, Italy, New Zealand | car sharing, moving companies, vans over 8 seats, box trucks, motorcycles, RVs |
| Amex Platinum and the other $75,000 cards | secondary | $75,000 | the first 30 | Australia, Italy, New Zealand | car sharing, moving companies, vans over 8 seats, box trucks, motorcycles, RVs |
| Amex Premium Car Rental Protection | primary, $19.95 or $24.95 a rental | $75,000 (Basic), $100,000 (Plus) | the first 42 (30 for Washington residents) | Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, New Zealand | moving companies; not sold in New Hampshire or the U.S. territories |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | primary (secondary in the U.S. for New Yorkers) | $60,000, on cars up to $125,000 new | under 31 | none named: call Chase before you go | car sharing, moving trucks, vans over 9 seats, motorcycles |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | primary (secondary in the U.S. for New Yorkers) | $75,000 | under 31 | none named: call Chase before you go | car sharing, moving trucks, vans over 9 seats, motorcycles |
| Capital One Venture X | primary | not printed | not printed | not printed | not printed |
| Other Capital One cards | secondary on most, if the card has it | not printed | not printed | not printed | not printed |
| Visa Infinite | primary, if your bank gives it | the car’s value, on cars up to $75,000 new | 15 at home, 31 abroad | Ireland, Northern Ireland, Israel, Jamaica | cars over $75,000 new, trucks and pickups, big vans, motorcycles, RVs |
| Other Visa cards (Signature and others) | secondary at home, primary abroad, if your bank gives it | the car’s value | 15 at home, 31 abroad | Ireland, Northern Ireland, Israel, Jamaica | Tesla, Porsche, Corvette and other exotic cars, trucks and pickups, big vans, motorcycles, RVs |
| Mastercard | your bank’s Guide to Benefits | not printed | not printed | not printed | not printed |
The cards American Express links to its $75,000 guide: the Platinum Card, the Business Platinum Card, the American Express Platinum Credit Card, the Platinum Cards for Schwab, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the Centurion Card, the Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Delta SkyMiles Reserve for Business cards, the Hilton Honors Aspire Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card. Mastercard’s own US pages refused our reader, so its row says only who decides: the bank that issued the card.
Primary or secondary: what changes
Primary cover pays first: you claim from the card, and your own car insurance never hears of it. Secondary cover pays after any other insurance: American Express says its cover is intended to Pay only for amounts not covered by any other insurance or agreement
, and Capital One explains That means your personal auto insurance is applied first.
With no car insurance of your own, Visa says the benefit reimburses You for covered theft, damage, or administrative and loss-of-use charges imposed by the rental company
.
Worked examples
- Ten days in Italy on a Chase Sapphire Preferred. Sapphire Preferred: yes, primary cover, up to $60,000, on cars up to $125,000 new. American Express cards leave Italy out.
- A week on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way on a Visa Signature. Visa (Signature and others): no cover for this rental. Most Amex cards do cover Ireland, as secondary cover.
- A New Yorker on a Sapphire Reserve renting in Florida. Sapphire Reserve: yes, secondary cover, up to $75,000: Chase’s New York rule makes it secondary inside the U.S.
- A Turo car on a Sapphire Preferred. Sapphire Preferred: no cover for this rental: Chase says
peer-to-peer and hourly car rentals—are not covered
. - A New Zealand road trip on an Amex Gold. Amex (most cards): no cover for this rental.
Common mistakes
- Taking the counter’s collision damage waiver “to be safe”. Visa says accepting it
will cancel out Your benefit
, and the Amex, Chase and Capital One benefits ask you to decline it too. - Paying part of the rental with another card, or with cash at the counter. Chase’s step is
making sure the full amount of the car rental booking is charged to a Sapphire credit card
. - Thinking the card covers everything. It covers the rental car itself; Amex leaves out
injury of anyone or Damage to anything other than the Rental Vehicle
, and Premium Car Rental Protectiondoes not include coverage for Liability
. - Keeping the car past 30 days on Amex or Chase. Amex covers only the first 30 days; Chase says
Only rentals lasting less than 31 consecutive days are covered.
- Renting a big van for a group. Chase leaves out
Vans with more than nine passengers
, and Amex any van witha seating capacity over 8 passengers
. - Letting a friend drive who is not on the agreement. Capital One leaves out
Incidents with the vehicle involving a driver not listed on the rental agreement
.
More for the drive
Several cards leave Ireland and New Zealand out, so check yours before an Ireland road trip on the Wild Atlantic Way or the self-drive New Zealand itinerary; Amex leaves out Italy, home of the Amalfi Coast drive. Closer to home, plan the California coastal drive or one of the epic American road trips you can plan in a weekend, and pack from the road trip essentials. At the counter, Renting a Car With a Debit Card has each company’s hold, How Old to Rent a Car its young renter fee, and Rental Car Additional Driver Fee the second driver.
FAQ
Does American Express cover rental car insurance?
Most Amex cards cover damage to and theft of the rental car when you pay for the whole rental with the card and decline the counter’s collision damage waiver. It is secondary: Yes, it is secondary to any other coverage which may be available to You or the Eligible Renter.
It pays up to $50,000 ($75,000 on the Platinum Card and the other premium cards), for the first 30 days, and not in Australia, Italy or New Zealand.
What is Amex Premium Car Rental Protection?
A paid plan you enroll your Amex card in once: then each rental you pay with that card costs one flat fee, $19.95 for Basic or $24.95 for Plus ($12.25 and $15.25 for Florida residents, $15.95 and $17.95 in California), and the cover is primary, up to $75,000 or $100,000, for the first 42 days. It is not sold in New Hampshire or the U.S. territories, and it does not cover Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica or New Zealand.
Is Chase Sapphire rental car insurance primary?
Yes, on both. Chase Sapphire Preferred pays up to $60,000 on cars that cost up to $125,000 new, and Sapphire Reserve up to $75,000, for rentals shorter than 31 days. For New York residents renting inside the U.S., Chase says inside the United States coverage is secondary to your personal automobile insurance.
Does Capital One cover rental cars?
Venture X cards include primary rental car protection.
On most other Capital One cards that have it, the cover is secondary, and Capital One warns Not all cards offer rental car protection, and the coverage can vary.
Its page prints no limit or day count: your card’s Guide to Benefits has them.
Does a Visa card cover rental car insurance?
Many do, if the bank that issued yours includes the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver: Visa Infinite cards as primary cover, other Visa cards as secondary at home and primary outside the country you live in. Rentals are covered up to 15 days at home and 31 abroad, and not in Israel, Jamaica, the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.
Does my credit card cover a Turo or Zipcar rental?
Not on American Express or Chase Sapphire: both leave car sharing out. Visa’s and Capital One’s pages say nothing about it, so ask the benefits line on your card’s back before you book.
Does credit card rental car insurance cover liability?
No. These benefits cover damage to and theft of the rental car itself. Visa leaves out Injury of anyone, or damage to anything, inside or outside the Rental Vehicle
, and Capital One Bodily injury to you or other people
. Liability comes from your own car insurance, the rental company, or the cover the law makes the rental include in some countries.
How long do I have to make a claim?
Report it quickly. American Express says notice should be provided within thirty (30) days of the loss or as soon as reasonably possible
; Visa says no later than forty-five (45) days from the date of the incident
. Keep the rental agreement, the damage report and the final receipt.