All about rental car protection through Capital One cards

Vacations are great. But trouble with a rental car while you’re on vacation? Not so great. The good news is rental car protection is available through some Capital One credit cards.

With rental car protection, you may be covered in the event of a collision or the theft of your rental.

What you’ll learn:

• Rental car protection through a Capital One card may cover theft and damage to a rental car due to a collision.

• Rental car protection is available through many Capital One cards, including Venture X as well as some Venture and Venture One cards.*

• Venture X cards include primary rental car protection. For the majority of covered Capital One cards, though, the coverage is secondary.

• To use the protection, you’ll need to decline the rental car company’s collision damage waiver and pay for the full rental with your Capital One card.

Rental car coverage may be available through several Capital One cards. You can check your Capital One card’s benefits guide to see what benefits come with your Capital One card.

To be eligible for this benefit, you’ll need to decline the collision damage waiver (CDW) that’s typically offered by rental car companies. Then use your eligible Capital One card—or rewards earned with it—to pay for the full amount of the rental.

Reading your card’s benefits guide can give you a better idea about requirements. For example, some say losses aren’t covered if you fail to report them within 45 days of the incident.

Capital One cards offer rental car protection as primary or secondary coverage.

Venture X and select small business Capital One cards offer primary coverage. This means that your card protection benefit is applied when making a claim. Other Capital One cards offer rental car protection as secondary coverage. That means your personal auto insurance is applied first. From there, your personal auto policy deductible may be reimbursed through the car rental coverage on your credit card.

With rental car protection through a Capital One card, you could be covered for the following events:

• Collision: When an accident results in physical damage to your rental car

• Theft: In case your rental vehicle is stolen

Some types of claims aren’t covered through the protection benefit offered through Capital One credit cards. They include: 

• Incidents with the vehicle involving a driver not listed on the rental agreement

• Bodily injury to you or other people

• Mechanical breakdown of the rental vehicle 

• Damage to other vehicles

• Damage to other people’s property 

• Theft of luggage or other items from the rental vehicle

Regardless of which covered credit card you use, the process for starting a claim is mostly the same:

1. Report your covered event. Tell your card’s benefits administrator as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days from the date of the incident on some cards. To begin a claim, refer to your card’s benefits guide for the phone number or website to begin the process.

2. Provide documents. You’ll need to present copies of your vehicle rental agreement, repair estimate and itemized repair bill, among other documents.

3. Wait for next steps. Your card’s benefits administrator should be in touch with information about what to do next.

Check out the answers to these frequently asked questions about rental car protection through Capital One credit cards:

Several Capital One credit cards come with rental car protection as a benefit. This coverage can provide peace of mind while you travel as it helps to cover the costs related to rental car damage or theft.

If you’re thinking about getting a card that comes with rental car protection, you can get started by comparing Capital One credit cards. You can even see if you’re pre-approved, without harming your credit scores.