I have summarized all the car rental insurance available with your Canadian credit card issued by all major banks of Canada.
- American Express Car Rental Insurance
- BMO Car Rental Insurance
- CIBC Car Rental Insurance
- RBC Car Rental Insurance
- Scotiabank Car Rental Insurance
- TD Car Rental Insurance
If you do not want to read through all the coverage information, the most important question is, which is the best credit card in Canada for car rental insurance?
I had to break it out into two different categories, one for a traditional car rental agency like Hertz. Another for car sharing membership programs like Modo in BC or ZipCar and Enterprise Car Share in Ontario.
Best Car Rental Insurance Provider for Traditional Car Rental Agency
Any American Express credit card that provides Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance.
My favorite? The American Express Marriott Bonvoy credit card.
Not only does it come with a $120 annual fee, but you also get car rental insurance and one free night certificate every year you hold the credit card, from the second year onwards. As a credit card, that provides a great set of benefits for a low annual fee.
Maximum MSRP of C$85,000
While most credit cards have a maximum MSRP of C$65,000, however, for American Express, it is consistently C$85,000 across all credit cards. Most of the Visa Infinite Privilege come with $85,000 coverage, however, the annual fees are quite extensive. With American Express, even the credit card with an annual fee of C$120 also provides a generous maximum coverage for the slightly more expensive cars.
As a National Executive Elite, Hertz Presidents Circle and Avis President’s Club member, there are often times multiple opportunities to get upgraded cars. With a $85,000 coverage, every single vehicle I have rented is below that threshold. That is not the case had my card had a limit of $65,000.
Maximum Rental Duration of 48 Days
There have been multiple occasions in the past where my monthly car rental rate was $600. I think of it like leasing, without any km restrictions, and no maintenance to worry about. For those times, the 48 days rental duration was extremely helpful. It allowed me to keep a car as long as possible, having to only change it every 6 weeks, instead of every 4 weeks.
Best Car Rental Insurance Provider for Car Sharing Services
I want to explicitly call out that Turo is not being explicitly covered. I consider there to be two types of car sharing services. Some of them are Modo or Zipcar or Enterprise CarShare. These programs are run by companies, and not just renting out a private individual vehicle. The alternate car sharing provider is Turo, which of course, is just someone renting their car on a private platform.
Many banks have explicitly called out that coverage is included for car sharing services, however, it hasn’t been clear whether Turo will be covered. For example, BMO explicitly asks for the membership agreement for car sharing programs, something that Turo will not provide.
Hence, the CIBC Aventura Visa or CIBC Aeroplan Visa are the best credit card for car rental coverage when using a car sharing service.
No Annual Fee
Having a no annual fee card to cover your insurance requirements is amazing. You are getting an incredibly valuable perk for no annual fee.
Conclusion
When I started writing the series of articles, once again, I imagined American Express Platinum to be the gold standard in car rental insurance. However, I learnt that while American Express continues to be the gold standard for a traditional car rental agency, they do not explicitly cover car sharing programs. CIBC once again is the best for car sharing services, as they have multiple credit cards that cover car sharing programs with no annual fees, something I never quite imagined to be true!
