One more reason for Fidelity Visa

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47Percent
Posts: 365
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 9:59 pm

One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by 47Percent »

The 2% unlimited cash back is great and hard to beat unless you dance around very targeted promotions for narrow spends like groceries, gas etc.

In addition to that, I found a little nugget looking through their fine print. I always refuse Loss Damage Waiver offered by rental car companies at $15-$20/day. Many good credit cards cover you for that. But they all usually cover the damage to car, and that too only as a secondary insurance. Among the many cards I have including AMEX and Costco Visa, Fidelity Visa is the only one that covers "loss of use" costs claimed by rental car companies. i.e. to compensate them for lost revenue/profit while the car is being repaired. This is also not covered by any personal auto insurance.
david99
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by david99 »

Thanks for the info. I'll have to read the fine print when I get a chance.
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munemaker
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by munemaker »

I seem to remember seeing a few premium credit cards that will cover loss of use. The catch is they require the rental company to show their rental logs, demonstrating that the car would have been rented out if available. If the utilization of their fleet is low, there would be no loss and they would not pay loss of use. The rental companies generally do not want to show this information.

Our insurance agent tells me our auto policy does cover loss of use. I don't have anything in writing so if push came to shove, I really am not 100% sure.

A family member was involved in an at fault accident with a rental car. Our auto insurance paid the claim. No idea if there were charges for loss of use; nothing came back at us. This rental was from a local outlet carrying the name of a national chain. I think the airport rental locations tend to be the ones where all sorts of issues occur; they are impersonal and really don't seem to care about you as a customer.
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47Percent
Posts: 365
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by 47Percent »

munemaker wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:30 pm I seem to remember seeing a few premium credit cards that will cover loss of use. The catch is they require the rental company to show their rental logs, demonstrating that the car would have been rented out if available. If the utilization of their fleet is low, there would be no loss and they would not pay loss of use. The rental companies generally do not want to show this information.

Our insurance agent tells me our auto policy does cover loss of use. I don't have anything in writing so if push came to shove, I really am not 100% sure.

A family member was involved in an at fault accident with a rental car. Our auto insurance paid the claim. No idea if there were charges for loss of use; nothing came back at us. This rental was from a local outlet carrying the name of a national chain. I think the airport rental locations tend to be the ones where all sorts of issues occur; they are impersonal and really don't seem to care about you as a customer.
Typically the loss of use language in print or explained verbally in personal auto insurance policies refer to paying for your renting a car while your car is in the shop. As far as I know they don't explicitly address the loss of use as a business claimed by the rental car company.

By the time an accident claim is being handled by the back office of the rental car company, the process is long out of the hands of the guy who greets you or handles your rental from behind the counter. So neighborhood outlets may have an edge in forgiving your late returns or in giving you a free upgrade, but I doubt their insurance claim process will be any different.
Nissanzx1
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by Nissanzx1 »

47Percent wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:02 pm
munemaker wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:30 pm I seem to remember seeing a few premium credit cards that will cover loss of use. The catch is they require the rental company to show their rental logs, demonstrating that the car would have been rented out if available. If the utilization of their fleet is low, there would be no loss and they would not pay loss of use. The rental companies generally do not want to show this information.

Our insurance agent tells me our auto policy does cover loss of use. I don't have anything in writing so if push came to shove, I really am not 100% sure.

A family member was involved in an at fault accident with a rental car. Our auto insurance paid the claim. No idea if there were charges for loss of use; nothing came back at us. This rental was from a local outlet carrying the name of a national chain. I think the airport rental locations tend to be the ones where all sorts of issues occur; they are impersonal and really don't seem to care about you as a customer.
Typically the loss of use language in print or explained verbally in personal auto insurance policies refer to paying for your renting a car while your car is in the shop. As far as I know they don't explicitly address the loss of use as a business claimed by the rental car company.

By the time an accident claim is being handled by the back office of the rental car company, the process is long out of the hands of the guy who greets you or handles your rental from behind the counter. So neighborhood outlets may have an edge in forgiving your late returns or in giving you a free upgrade, but I doubt their insurance claim process will be any different.
I worked for Enterprise for 10 years. I never once saw a charge for loss of use. Their biggest segment is insurance replacement and trust me when I say that insurance companies aren't paying for anything they don't have to.
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munemaker
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by munemaker »

47Percent wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:02 pm
By the time an accident claim is being handled by the back office of the rental car company, the process is long out of the hands of the guy who greets you or handles your rental from behind the counter. So neighborhood outlets may have an edge in forgiving your late returns or in giving you a free upgrade, but I doubt their insurance claim process will be any different.
I get that, but maybe with some companies/locations, a loss of use claim is less likely to be made in the first place.

Are some of these rental car locations franchises, where they are perhaps owned by entrepreneurs rather than the name of the corporation they bear?
Ben10
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by Ben10 »

THIS:
47Percent wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:00 pm The 2% unlimited cash back is great and hard to beat
tibbitts
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by tibbitts »

47Percent wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:00 pm The 2% unlimited cash back is great and hard to beat unless you dance around very targeted promotions for narrow spends like groceries, gas etc.

In addition to that, I found a little nugget looking through their fine print. I always refuse Loss Damage Waiver offered by rental car companies at $15-$20/day. Many good credit cards cover you for that. But they all usually cover the damage to car, and that too only as a secondary insurance. Among the many cards I have including AMEX and Costco Visa, Fidelity Visa is the only one that covers "loss of use" costs claimed by rental car companies. i.e. to compensate them for lost revenue/profit while the car is being repaired. This is also not covered by any personal auto insurance.
You are saying the card offers primary coverage? I can't believe it will pay loss of use with no documentation, and no rental company will provide documentation.
cresive
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by cresive »

47Percent wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:00 pm The 2% unlimited cash back is great and hard to beat unless you dance around very targeted promotions for narrow spends like groceries, gas etc.

In addition to that, I found a little nugget looking through their fine print. I always refuse Loss Damage Waiver offered by rental car companies at $15-$20/day. Many good credit cards cover you for that. But they all usually cover the damage to car, and that too only as a secondary insurance. Among the many cards I have including AMEX and Costco Visa, Fidelity Visa is the only one that covers "loss of use" costs claimed by rental car companies. i.e. to compensate them for lost revenue/profit while the car is being repaired. This is also not covered by any personal auto insurance.
Great information!!
afan
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by afan »

Don't know what is required for documentation but CSR says it covers

"Valid loss-of-use charges incurred by the rental car agency"

Maybe it would pay if the rental company would cooperate and they never do? I did find a few reports of people saying they used it. Never had occasion to try.
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essbeer
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by essbeer »

My Visa Infinite card says it covers "valid and substantiated" loss of use charges by the auto rental company. I assume the only recourse the rental company would have would be to charge my credit card, and any charges that aren't valid or substantiated should be easily removed.

My Barclays Uber card has the same language.

Actually my lowly Wells Fargo Visa signature has this as well.

So including my Fidelity Visa, all four of my Visa cards have this.

I'm really surprised that AMEX wouldn't cover this
yoyo6713
Posts: 154
Joined: Thu May 10, 2018 8:48 pm

Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by yoyo6713 »

Yes one more reason is right but if it doesn't provide primary insurance (likely does not) then it is useless to folks who already have regular car insurance.
sergio
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by sergio »

I love the card because it basically "forces" me to save. Not that I'm a big spender by any stretch, but it's kinda nice knowing that through no extra work of my own, my kid's 529 is getting a extra trickle of deposits and I don't have a chance to "blow" the rewards.

And 2% on EVERYTHING is pretty damn good for a "one stop" card. I use this card for 90% of my purchases, the only other cards I have are Target, Delta, and IHG.
Dottie57
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by Dottie57 »

sergio wrote: Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:51 pm I love the card because it basically "forces" me to save. Not that I'm a big spender by any stretch, but it's kinda nice knowing that through no extra work of my own, my kid's 529 is getting a extra trickle of deposits and I don't have a chance to "blow" the rewards.

And 2% on EVERYTHING is pretty damn good for a "one stop" card. I use this card for 90% of my purchases, the only other cards I have are Target, Delta, and IHG.
I like putting the 2% into taxable account.
investor997
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by investor997 »

Couple things as I understand it:

Most credit cards provide some sort of LDW car rental insurance. The question is whether or not the insurance is *primary* or *secondary*. Most cards offer secondary coverage, which means your own personal auto insurance has to cover damage first and the credit card's insurance only covers above and beyond what your personal policy won't - usually the deductible. I believe this also means that it's likely your own insurance rates may go up as a result of having a collision claim. The primary coverage offered by other cards is therefore much more valuable since you don't have to get your own insurance company involved. Examples of cards that offer primary car rental coverage are Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase United Explorer. Amex Platinum coverage is - surprisingly - secondary. The Fidelity Cash Back VISA coverage is secondary.

Also, as far as 2% no-fee cash back credit cards go, it's arguable the Citi Double Cash card is the better of the two. It earns the same base cash back but you also get perks like Price Protection/Price Rewind and Extended Warranty (up to 24 months extra). Citi also has its own shopping portal (Bonus Cash Center) where you can get additional cash back on top of the 2% the card already earns. For example, right now there's a 2% cash back deal for Wal-mart, so anything you buy online through the portal gets you 4% total.
Saving$
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Re: One more reason for Fidelity Visa

Post by Saving$ »

From: https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/advice-aut ... irect=true

"If you rent through USAA's Alliance Services, which offers exclusive discounts on car rentals and other services, your policy will cover the damages previously mentioned. The rental car companies will waive fees for administrative, loss-of-use and loss-of-value fees you may face that aren't covered by your insurance.
(bolding by me)
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