Amex Rental Car Insurance: What's Covered and What's Not

fact checked icon

Updated: August 30, 2026

Advertising & Editorial Disclosure

Key Takeaways
blueCheck icon

Most Amex cards offer secondary CDW coverage, meaning your personal auto insurance pays out first and the card benefit covers whatever remains.

blueCheck icon

Any Amex cardholder can add primary CDW through Amex Premium Car Rental Protection: $17.95 for rentals up to two days or $24.95 for up to 30 days per trip.

blueCheck icon

The Amex Platinum's $695 annual fee doesn't include primary CDW. Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve both do, with no per-trip charge.

Does Amex Cover Rental Car Insurance?

Start with what the Platinum card doesn't do. At $695 a year, it provides secondary CDW, which is the same tier as a no-annual-fee Amex card. Secondary coverage pays only after your personal auto insurance is exhausted. If you don't carry a personal auto policy, secondary CDW offers no protection at all.

Most Amex cards cover physical damage and theft of the rental vehicle, loss-of-use fees and reasonable towing and administrative costs, but only after your personal policy settles first. The one Amex product that pays first is Amex Premium Car Rental Protection, an optional per-trip enrollment available for $17.95 for up to 2 days or $24.95 for up to 30 days.

To activate any Amex CDW benefit, decline the counter CDW, pay the full rental with your qualifying Amex card and be listed as the primary or additional cardholder. Authorized users are excluded from most cards. Check the Amex website for current terms before any rental, and review our guide on when car insurance covers rental cars.

  • carAccident icon

    Collision damage to the rental vehicle

    CDW pays to repair or replace the rental car after a collision. For secondary coverage, this applies only after your personal auto policy deductible and claim are settled first.

  • theftSecurity icon

    Theft of the rental vehicle

    If the rental car is stolen, Amex CDW covers the loss up to the vehicle's actual cash value, under the same primary or secondary rules as collision coverage.

  • coins icon

    Loss-of-use fees from the rental company

    Amex CDW covers the daily loss-of-use fee the rental company charges while the vehicle is being repaired, which is a gap that most personal auto policies and many other card benefits don't cover. Verify current terms on the Amex website.

  • takingNotes icon

    Administrative fees and towing costs

    Reasonable towing costs and administrative fees tied to a covered rental claim are included in Amex CDW protection.

mglogo icon
MONEYGEEK EXPERT TIP

Coverage applies only when counter CDW is declined and the full rental is charged to the qualifying Amex card. Verify current terms at americanexpress.com before relying on this benefit.

Amex Rental Car Insurance by Card

CDW type and cost vary by card. The table below shows which Amex cards include CDW, whether coverage is primary or secondary and the per-trip cost where applicable.

Card Name
CDW Type
Per-Trip Cost
Key Limitation

Amex Gold

Secondary

$0 (built-in)

Requires full payment on Gold card; secondary only

Amex Green

Secondary

$0 (built-in)

Requires full payment on Green card; secondary only

Amex Platinum

Secondary

$0 (built-in)

NOT primary despite premium tier; secondary only

Amex Delta SkyMiles cards

Secondary

$0 (built-in)

Verify which Delta variants include CDW

Amex Business Platinum

Secondary

$0 (built-in)

Secondary only; authorized users excluded on most

What Amex Rental Car Insurance Does NOT Cover

Both secondary CDW and primary CDW through Premium Car Rental Protection cover the same categories of rental car loss. What differs is the order of payment. Primary bypasses your personal auto policy entirely. Secondary requires it to pay out first.

  • injury icon

    Personal injury to the driver or passengers

    Amex CDW covers the vehicle, not medical costs. Bodily injury falls under personal accident insurance (PAI), your health insurance or your personal auto policy.

  • insurance2 icon

    Liability to third parties

    CDW doesn't cover damage you cause to other vehicles or injuries to other people. Your personal auto liability coverage or the counter SLI product handles that exposure.

  • car2 icon

    Excluded vehicle types

    Trucks, cargo vans, motorcycles, ATVs, antique and classic cars, and luxury or exotic vehicles above a stated value are excluded from Amex CDW on most cards.

  • Globe icon

    Excluded countries

    Some countries are excluded from Amex CDW on most cards. Australia, Italy and New Zealand have appeared on past exclusion lists, but the list changes by card product. Check the Amex website before any international rental.

  • driverLicense icon

    Rentals exceeding the maximum rental period

    Most Amex CDW benefits cap coverage at 30 consecutive days. Days beyond that limit aren't covered.

mglogo icon
MONEYGEEK EXPERT TIP

Exclusions vary by card product and may change. Always review the current benefit terms in your card's benefits guide or on the Amex website before relying on CDW for a specific rental.

Primary vs. Secondary Amex CDW: The Difference in Practice

With secondary CDW, you file a claim with your personal auto insurer first, pay the deductible and wait for the insurer to settle with the rental company. Amex then covers what's left up to its limit. The process takes weeks, puts a claim on your policy record and can raise your rate. Primary CDW skips all of that. Amex Premium Car Rental Protection pays first, no personal claim gets filed, no deductible applies, and your rate stays untouched.

Frequent renters and anyone without a personal auto policy will find the $17.95 to $24.95 per-trip cost worth paying for primary coverage. Renters with a low-deductible, full-coverage policy who rent occasionally can get by with a secondary CDW because the personal policy absorbs most of the exposure. To see how other card issuers handle this distinction, check our Rental car insurance guide to compare providers.

Should You Rely on Amex for Rental Car Insurance?

If you don't carry a personal auto policy, don't rely on standard Amex CDW. Secondary coverage needs a personal policy to exhaust first, and without one it may not pay at all. Enroll in Amex Premium Car Rental Protection at $17.95 to $24.95 per trip, or look at Chase Sapphire cards, which include primary CDW as a standard benefit at no per-trip cost.

If you carry full coverage with a deductible under $500, secondary Amex CDW is workable for occasional rentals. Your personal policy absorbs most of the exposure and Amex handles what's left. Drivers who want primary protection without switching cards can enroll in Premium Car Rental Protection at $17.95 to $24.95 per trip, which is worth it any time keeping a claim off your record matters. Before your next rental, review whether to get rental car insurance to weigh all your options.

FAQ: Amex Rental Car Insurance

About Mark Fitzpatrick

Mark Fitzpatrick, Licensed P&C Insurance Expert, MoneyGeek

Mark Fitzpatrick, a licensed Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance Producer in Connecticut, is MoneyGeek's resident expert in insurance and economics. He has spent nearly a decade covering the insurance market at LendingTree and MoneyGeek, analyzing hundreds of carriers and millions of rates across auto, home, renters, health and life insurance.

His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times and NPR. He draws on independent cost and consumer experience data, and no insurance company partnerships affect his recommendations.

Mark studied at Boston College and later earned a master's in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University. He worked in financial risk management at State Street before joining MoneyGeek. He's also a five-time “Jeopardy!” champion.

Read Full Bio »