One of the big revenue sources for rental car companies is the additional insurance they try to upsell when you come and pick up your car. It used to be the case that between my own automobile insurance and my credit card, everything would be covered in the case of an accident.
This includes "loss of use," which is the lost revenue the rental car company would (could? might?) have made had the car been available for rental instead of in the shop. If you do not buy their insurance, they can bill you for this lost revenue. This always smelled fishy as hell to me, because you, the renter, have no control over how long the rental car company dawdles before getting the car fixed. They have no incentive to fix the car in a timely manner and I strongly suspect this is another revenue path for them. But no matter, it's covered by the card.
Well. I have two Citibank credit cards, a Platinum Dividend card I use for business purchases, and a Citibank Advantage card I only use on occasion to keep my American Airlines miles alive. Today I got two letters from Citibank stating that "for purchase made on or after July 29th, 2018 [...] Program coverage won't apply to charges or expenses for loss of use of the rental car, rental agency fees, or taxes." I checked the card benefits section of the website, and it says plain as day "Coverage does not apply to the following charges or expenses: The diminished value to the rental car; The loss of use of the rental car; Any additional fees or taxes."
The card I actually use on a regular basis is a Capital One cash back card, and as of now that one still covers loss of use. But I wonder if it's only a matter of time before they follow suit.
So that's a real pisser. Renter beware!
Submitted June 10, 2018 at 12:42AM by secretlyloaded https://ift.tt/2y0KyOq
