Chase Sapphire Preferred Rental Car Insurance
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® offers primary coverage for rental cars. Learn what this covers, how to use it, and how to file a claim.
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With 1:1 transfer to airline and hotel partners and a ton of travel benefits, Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the most popular travel rewards credit cards.
Perhaps one of the most useful benefits is the complimentary car rental insurance. It offers superior coverage compared to other travel rewards cards.
Read to learn everything you need to know about Chase Sapphire Preferred rental car insurance.
What is Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
- Offers primary collision and damage coverage up to the actual cash value of the car.
- Save money by declining the insurance offered by the car rental company.
- Do not have to file a claim with your auto insurance policy.
- Authorized users and additional drivers are also covered.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card offers primary coverage for Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver (CDW). This benefit reimburses a rental for collision or theft of the vehicle.
You are covered up to the actual cash value of the car of most rental vehicles in the U.S. and abroad. Rental periods cannot be over 31 days.
All car rental companies will offer this protection at extra cost. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you automatically have primary insurance when you decline the rental company's CDW (or similar provision).
This can also save you a good amount of money each time you rent a car, since CDW fees can be as high as $20 - $30 per day.
Primary vs. Secondary Coverage
There are two types of coverage: primary and secondary.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card provides primary coverage. This means that you DO NOT need to file a claim with your own auto insurance company if a mishap occurs. You handle the whole process directly through Chase.
This is a huge advantage because your insurance company doesn't have to know about the accident. So your personal premium won't increase.
Most auto rental CDW policies and credit cards offer secondary rental coverage, which is not as extensive. This means you first need to report to your own insurance firm.
The credit card benefit will then only cover costs not covered by your insurance company (such as the deductible and expenses over your coverage amount).
If you add an authorized user to your Chase Sapphire Preferred card, they also get the same primary rental car coverage when renting a car with their card. It's free to add authorized users to your Preferred card.
What is Covered
This benefit covers most private passenger automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles in the U.S. and abroad, up to the actual cash value of the car.
Covered losses include:
- Car rentals up to 31 consecutive days
- Physical damage of the covered rental vehicle
- Theft of the rental vehicle
- Reasonable towing charges to the nearest repair facility
- Valid loss-of-use charges assessed by the rental company while the damaged vehicle is not available for rent
What is NOT Covered
Here is what is not covered under the Chase Sapphire Preferred's insurance policy:
- Exotic or expensive vehicles
- Motorcycles, mopeds, and motorbikes
- Injury of anyone or anything inside or outside of the vehicle
- Damage due to the driver being under the influence
- Damages due to using the car off-road
- Loss or theft of personal belongings
- Any violation of the auto rental agreement or this benefit
- Personal liability
- Wear and tear, gradual deterioration, or mechanical breakdown
- Rentals that exceed 31 days
- Antique automobiles, vans with seating for more than 9 people, vehicles with an open cargo bed, trucks, limousines, and recreational vehicles
For a full list of what is not covered, review the Chase Sapphire Preferred card Benefits Guide.
Selected models of Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Infiniti, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, and Range Rover ARE covered.
Who is Covered
Chase Sapphire Preferred's car rental protection applies to:
- The primary cardholder whose name is on the card. You must be listed as the primary renter.
- Additional drivers listed in your rental agreement.
- Authorized users on your Preferred card when they rent a car with their card (and any additional drivers).
Is There Liability Coverage?
Chase Sapphire Preferred's CDW does NOT cover personal liability insurance, which protects against damage and injuries to others while driving the rental car. If you're at fault in an accident and someone gets hurt, the Preferred card won't cover medical costs and property damage to the other party. It'll still be your responsibility.
The card also doesn't cover injuries to yourself or your passengers if you get into an accident. It also doesn't offer any travel emergency medical coverage.
You should never drive without liability coverage. Your own personal car insurance may offer this protection. If not (or you don't have auto insurance at all), you can purchase it from the car rental agency.
Are International Rentals Covered?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card does cover you when renting a car in a foreign country.
Many credit card companies exclude certain countries in their car rental coverage. Examples include Ireland, Italy, Israel, Jamaica, Australia, and New Zealand - all popular destinations to rent cars. The Sapphire Preferred's CDW does NOT have these exclusions.
However, before traveling abroad, call your Benefit Administrator first to confirm your coverage. You may also want to get a letter stating that your Preferred credit card includes CDW coverage.
In many cases, rental car agencies will want to see this proof of coverage since you're declining their CDW.
How to Use the Sapphire Preferred CDW Benefit
To correctly receive CDW coverage when you rent a car, you MUST do the following:
1. Reserve and charge the entire rental car transaction to your Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card.
2. Decline the Collision Damage Waiver or similar insurance (it may also be called Loss Damage Waiver or LDW) offered by the rental car company.
If you do not decline the car rental company's CDW, Chase Sapphire Preferred's auto protection will not be eligible.
Yes. Chase allows you to use Ultimate Rewards points (or a combo of points and credit card) to pay for car rentals. You will still receive primary CDW coverage if you use points.
How to File a Claim
If your rental car received damage or was stolen, take the following steps:
1. Report the incident within 60 days.
Ideally, you should report all incidents immediately. It's easiest to file the claim online through eclaimsline.com. Or you can call your Benefits Administrator and request to have a form mailed to you.
2. Take photos.
Take clear pictures of the damaged vehicle and accident scene to help document the incident.
3. Send the claim form within 100 days.
Even if you don't have the other documents ready, it's extremely important you send the claim sheet within 100 days of the incident. Otherwise, your claim may be denied.
4. Send other required documents.
Within 365 days of the incident, there are several other paperwork that you need to send, including:
- The entire car rental agreement
- A copy of the repairs estimate or itemized repair bill
- At least two (2) photographs of the damaged vehicle
- Police report, if applicable (required for stolen cars)
- Your card receipt or monthly billing statement showing that the entire rental transaction was charged to the Chase card
- Accident Report Form from the rental car agency and Demand Letter indicating the costs you are responsible for
Once you've submitted all required info, Chase will handle the rest.
Important Contact Numbers
If you need to report an incident, have issues filing, or just have general questions about your benefits, call your Benefits Administrator anytime at 1-888-320-9961 or the number on the back of your card.
If you're outside of the US, you can call collect at 1-804-673-1691.
How Long Does the Claim Process Take
Generally, Chase will review and issue payment within 15 days of receiving all required documentation. There is no more action on your part.
This benefit is a reimbursement. This means the rental car company will first charge you for the damage. However, you can have it charged directly to your Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card (and earn some points to boot).
Once Chase reviews and accepts the claim, they'll reimburse you. But you'll have to cover the cost during the claims process, which can take 3 months or more.
Users have reported that while filing a claim with Chase is pretty straightforward, dealing with the rental agency can be a bit more challenging. Make sure to follow up with them often to get the documents.
Other Benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Points can be redeemed for travel purchases for 25% more value on the Chase Travel℠ portal, or be transferred 1:1 to partner airlines and hotels.
It also comes with a list of travel insurance benefits, including trip cancellation and delay, lost baggage reimbursement, and 24/7 emergency assistance referral.
Other Chase Credit Cards With Primary Car Rental Insurance
The Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card offers primary collision damage waiver protection. The difference is that the coverage is up to $75,000, which is enough to cover many luxury models. It also gives you special perks and discounts when renting a car with National, Avis, and Silvercar.
The Chase business credit cards offer rental car insurance perk too. Chase Ink Business Preferred®, Ink Business Cash®, and Ink Business Unlimited® offer coverage up to the actual cash value of the car when renting for business purposes. If renting for personal reasons within your country of residence, coverage becomes secondary.
Bottom Line
Chase Sapphire Preferred offers perhaps the best rental car benefits of any credit card. It offers peace of mind when renting a car on vacation, and can save you a lot of cash in case of an accident.
The coverage is primary, which means you don't have to file first with any other kinds of insurance. This helps you avoid your personal premium going up.
Just note that personal liability is not included, so make sure you have that coverage elsewhere.
Restrictions, limitations and exclusions apply. See your Guide to Benefits for full details.
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Editorial Note: This content is not provided by Chase. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Chase. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser's affiliate programs.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser's affiliate programs.
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