Effective immediately Hertz in Israel is requiring you to furnish a letter of coverage stating that your credit card covers car rental CDW insurance. If you don’t have that letter you will be compelled to purchase CDW from Hertz. Worse than that, like all CDW policies sold in Israel, the Hertz provided CDW comes with a deductible that you will have to pay on top of the daily CDW coverage in case of any alleged damages. Plus your credit card will not cover CDW if you do not decline the car rental agency CDW coverage.
Car rental companies in Israel love to ding people with alleged scratches and dings whether they caused the damage or not. My assumption is that this is likely the reason Israel is one of just 3 countries in the world that is excluded from most credit card coverage. To save yourself a lot of headache always take extensive pictures of your rental car while it’s still on the lot and make sure the agent signs off on every miniscule scratch on the car.
To get a letter of coverage you can call World Mastercard at 800-622-7747 and then push prompts 1, 1, and 3 to speak to someone.
It used to be that all World Mastercards covered CDW in Israel even though almost every other credit card excludes coverage in Israel, Ireland, and Jamaica.
The reason for the requirement now is due to numerous World Mastercards no longer covering Israel including Chase United, Chase Ink, Barclays Arrivals, and Barclays USAirways.
Cards that currently still provide coverage include the Sapphire World Mastercard. There’s no public link for the Sapphire World Mastercard but if you call or send a secure message to Chase they can still convert the Sapphire Preferred Visa or the Sapphire Non-Preferred Visa into a World Mastercard. The Preferred card card gives 2.14 points per dollar on all dining and travel including car rentals and it has no foreign exchange fees, making it the best card to use for rentals in Israel. The non-preferred version gives 1 point per dollar and has a 3% foreign exchange fee.
Those World Mastercards cover up to $50,000 in damages to your rental car for rentals up to 31 days in length.
Coverage is primary if your own personal auto insurance does not cover rentals outside of the USA. I called Geico and they confirmed that on my policy I’m only covered for rentals in the USA, so coverage from the World Mastercard anywhere else in the world is primary. This means that the credit card will pay for damages without having to get your personal insurance involved which can raise your premiums.
Even if your card does give CDW coverage agencies in Israel require you to purchase liability insurance for damages caused to other people as CDW only covers damages to your own vehicle. Reputable agents like Noach build this into their quote but most prices online that you’ll find do not include this daily fee.
As far as rentals in the US go, if you have your own policy you’ll most definitely want to rent on the United Explorer card as it is one of the few cards that give free primary CDW coverage. Almost every other credit card will not cover damages if you have a personal car insurance policy.
Thank you card cover?
The chase ink card doesn’t cover in israel?
I’m almost sure the ink bold card covers. . .
@Yoy:
I posted the cards that I researched. Feel free to call World Mastercard about others.
@Anonymous:
I just called and was told it did not.
Feel free to call World Mastercard yourself and let us know.
It’s worth noting that business cards officially only cover car rental damage if the car rental was primarily for business purposes. While they won’t investigate that for a small claim you better believe they will in case you total the car.
Thanks!! I am about to rent from Hertz on Friday and they did not warn me about this. Now I will be prepared!!!
Thanks Dan!!!
@about to rent a car in Israel:
Happy to help.
Just got an email from someone thanking me for letting them know about the Sapphire Preferred World Mastercard.
He was shocked that they actually paid out on the alleged damage like they promised they would 😀
Nesiya Tova!
i just picked up my car from hertz this morning. i booked with noach and used my chase sapphire mastercard. the woman asked me if i was sure that it covered israel and she allowed me to use it. it seemed like she
knew that it provided coverage. we tried calling and they were not able to confirm israel coverage until 8am est.
anyway thanks for all the useful info you continue to provide. TYVM greatly appreciated.
there’s 3% transaction fee how do you get around that??
@dov:
Good to know but you may have gotten lucky with a nice agent.
I’ve seen the new policy letter and it’s pretty clear they want to see proof of coverage.
@bob:
Sapphire Preferred and Discover IT do not have any foreign fees.
Dang i cancelled my SP WMC to get approved for the Visa version, assuming i can you the chase ink WMC for rentals in Israel.
can i ask chase to convert the fresh SP Visa back to a mastercard?
Does the club card give you primary CDW coverage in the US?
Excellent advice Dan. I have rented in Israel, and have always noted every single slight smudge on the vehicle! (Oh, they will get you with other fees though..in my case, they charged me a cleaning fee, as i had bamba crumbs left in the car).
@Dan:
i just got off phone with discover it seems all cards are covered for insurance.
What is the deductible using World MasterCard for CDW? And why doesn’t Israel include liability in their price. Since this is mandatory, most countries do so
@Kidooo:
Ink does not cover Israel.
You can convert back, just transfer the points to another card/airline before converting.
@Sam:
Yes, United Explorer and Club both are primary.
@sholom:
They’re unreal there.
Leaves such a bad taste in so many people’s mouths as their last experience in Israel is so bad.
@bob:
Yup.
@Eric:
There is no deductible with any credit card CDW.
It’s not about Israel including it, it’s up to the agent to include it. Reputable ones do though online most don’t and people are in for a shock when they pickup their car and the price is more than double what they expected.
@Eric:
whats the point of getting liability??
Thanks Dan
Very nice a and clear article.
I rented a Car from All Set Travel Rentals, about three months ago, he warned me that the Chase ink, doesn’t cover, so i took CDW, and he sold me for 32.00 Insurance, that will cover the deducible. that is probably the best way around. if you don’t have any Credit card Coverage.
I did not find rental agents in Israel to be on my case about dings and stuff. And once when I actually did damage the car a bit, they were decent about it, and the final charges were not exorbitant, as they would have been here in the States. [That happened with Hertz.]
I was just in Israel and rented through Hertz. Hertz told me that they weren’t sure whether United Presidential Plus WorldCard covered or didn’t cover CDW in Israel. Hertz called up Chase and were told that it covered in Israel. I assume that the person they spoke to had no idea what country was or wasn’t covered. Best to be sure beforehand!
I called Citi and received a print-out of the credit card benefits in the mail, which says that there are no geographic exclusions on my card. Do I need a more specific letter from them than the regular benefits package?
I use Budget and pay the extra few hundred shekel for the week for their insurance to be 100% covered with no deductible. It makes sense mainly because, like you said, they can’t be trusted so the heck with it.
@kishke:
YMMV.
I’ve had bogus claims made by Israeli agencies made against me twice.
I’ve never had a problem anywhere else in the world after hundreds of rentals.
@Warren:
You’re lucky you didn’t need the coverage as it would have been rejected.
@Andrew:
Call World Mastercard for a letter saying you’re covered in ISrael to be safe.
@shimmy:
Or get a card that will do that for free?
Just rented with Hertz in Israel in Sunday. The lady made me call MasterCard with my card info so the guy could confirm to her my card covered CDW in Israel.
SAPPHIRE MASTER CARD IS COVERED AS WELL
@bob – liability is mandatory everywhere. It covers if you do damage to anyone else. It is usually included in the rental price. but I guess some companies in Israel don’t include it
what about avis
I just called Master Rental. It’s weird: Citi Thank You is covered and they gave me a letter, but was told my Citi Thank You Premier (same card just more benefits) isn’t. Guess I’ll be using the lesser card for rentals.
@citi:
Interesting but not surprising.
The trend now is to bring WMC benefits in-house and once they bring it in-house it typically excludes Israel.
Thanks for letting us know!
Clarified: Citi Thank You Premier is covered by Citibank themselves, without having to go through Master Rental. So both Thank You and Thank You Premier work (though only Premier has no foreign transaction fee).
Dan,
I rented from Hertz in Israel in late January, using a Citi AA world MC. The car was covered in scratches so I pointed them out and took pics. When I returned the car, they claimed I caused new damage, and made me sign a damage report. I wrote on the report that I have pics,etc. to prove but they charged my card. I disputed it, and they responded with said damage report and repair estimate. I never filed a claim though, bc I was sure Citi would back me up being that they were trying to defraud them (I remember you had a story where you successfully fought it, Dan!) Now I have the charge but the claim submission deadline has closed. Do you have any suggestions? HELP!
What about citi world elite mastercard ?
The USAA World MasterCard also covers Israel.
Master rental is no more the underwriter for the insurance benefits on the Ink card the new Insurance company is ACE insurance according to chase, I will call them tomorrow to see if they cover Israel as they are closed already for the day
@DingScratch: Dispute the charge and send the pics to the CC dispute dept
We have been renting from Avis and Budget for years and never had a problem regarding scratches etc. Never paid anything for damages. Thanks for the tip abt the Chase World Master Card. We use the Citi card and they do charge foreign transaction fee.
I just everyone to be aware that the coverage on the AA World Mastercard does not cover some of the losses from an accident that may be charged by the rental car company in the event of an accident. In November, an Egged bus hit my Eldan car ( I went on one of those cheap tickets; thanks Dan). The damage was 2,000 dollars. Insurance only covered 1200 of it. Eldan charged me over 700 dollars for depreciation, towing and assessor fees (most of it for depreciation), that insurance did not cover. I have fought Eldan and Mastercard for the past six months to no avail. It was recharged this month, and I have no choice but to pay it.
Two years ago I sent my son to Israel for the year with a discover card bc no ftf, I reasoned. He ‘discovered’ that no one took the card, wherever he tried anyway. I called Discover & they confirmed but said they were working on it. So is it now the case that it has wider acceptance?
My recent experience (one time 18 months ago) I found that I could get a better rate reserving & renting after I got there. I used SIXT. If you don’t need the car straight from the airport I think you can find better deals that way.
@M Friedman:
Depreciation sounds bogus. Did you try a chargeback?
@Joe s:
Yes, Discover does have a wider reach in Israel now.
I recently rented Avis using CDW with my Mastercard Sapphire preferred card. Someone hit me. I took pictures. Mastercard wanted my Travellers Insurance information tso move forward on the event. I was charged about $500 in damages. If I claimed the event and they contacted Travellers, Travellers wouldn’t be paying since I have a $500 deductible. However, that would have resulted in my car insurance here in the USA going up on all of my cars, more than the $500. So I decided that it wasn’t worth claiming it. It just seems simpler and easier to just take the insurance from them, even though it is costly. IMHO.
@NJMACMAN:
I guess that’s why I never take out travel insurance 😉
@Dan: I tried for months with Citi to get a charge back. They were very unhelpful and basically told me that it is very hard for them to work with a company based out the country. If I signed that I would pay for damages, then I am responsible to pay for whatever the company says were. I spoke to numerous supervisors to no avail. I am extremely frustrated with them. Basically their insurance is useless.Use with caution.
got a small scratch on my hertz rental they charged my capital one wmc $150 i opened a claim and after much effort and paperwork i got tha money back from wmc minus vat
Dan, does the citi AA elite world mastercard have the same CDW benefit in IS as the as the Citi AA world mastercard ? Please respond.
Do not use credit card CDW protection!
Some times in Israel and many countries, will charge you for the loss of amount of days, that the car was not able to be rented out. The credit card will not pay for it and it could be a huge amount!
DOES ANYONE KNOW ABOUT THE FIDELITY WORD MC?
THEY SAY IT COVERS BUT THEN THEY SAY LIKE ALL OTHER MC WORLD
Dear agent,
After reviewing the matter, I am sending you this clarification.
Customers are requirement to present an approval for their coverage by the CC when they pick up the car.
However, if they arrive without the document, we will contact the CC company to determine whether or not the customers have the relevant coverage for rentals in Israel.
The requirement to present the approval from the CC company is to save your customers time during the pickup.
Additionally, this will prevent the inconvenience of discovering that customers are not covered and that the rental will cost more than they expected.
I hope that the matter is now clear.
All the best.
M. Friedman – The only way to save yourself trouble, is to ask the rental car company to either 1) charge a separate fee for damages on your card or 2) to ask them to charge a different CC. The reason: When you went back to CITI to do a chargeback, you’re only disputing part of the charge (you’re not disputing the actual rental, only the alleged damage). The CC company are less likely to honor your request to chargeback.
If it’s a new charge or another CC, you can dispute the entire ammmount as fraud. Unfortunately, it won’t help you for the past but may help you or someone in the future.
I have not followed this entire thread … BUT.. I checked with MasterCard (who provides this coverage for rental cars) and I was told that the application of this coverage is up to the individual bank! JP Morgan Chase has CHOSEN to exclude Israel from their offered coverage… This is true for BOTH the [premium] Visa AND MasterCard offerings. It is a bit tricky because the coverage package originally states that there is rental car coverage and you have to read “the fine print” to see that Israel one of a VERY small number of places excluded. Nobody at Chase could tell me WHY there is this exclusion. However, I found that the Bank of America [Premium] MasterCard offered for NYU Alumni still offered coverage in Israel (though it is likely a good idea to check on this periodically)… I think that if you call MasterCard International, they will tell you which banks continue to offer Israeli coverage…
@Zvi Weiss:
True, it is up to the banks. But even among banks it dpeends which card.
Thus Chase provides their own coverage for Ink and United and excludes Israel.
However Sapphire is covered by Mastercard World which includes Israel.
dont call chase today july 4 they cant help ymmv
@save time:
Chase doesn’t give coverage you need to call Mastercard.
I recently had a new scratch with Hertz in Romema- not so small a scratch. They actually were very nice about it and let it slide because they knew someone else opened their door on me. So as always YMMV
I don’t really understand what all the fuss is about. Isn’t it well worth it to pay $12 for the super damage waiver, which has no deductible, and not have to worry at all?
@RF:
Last year I used a rental agent for a month rental in Jerusalem booked via Hertz. I tried to use my Sapphire World Mastercard but was told by Hertz agent in Jerusalem that for this monthly rate you can not use the credit card protection but use the regular with the high deductible per incident. Is this correct?
i called mastercard (the number above) and they insist all MC World cover Israel. i did huca and got the same response.
@Rachel: Yes, these card protections will only be accepted for coverage for rental periods of less than 28 days in any calendar year.
@rf i have chase sapphire mcw they told me they cover 31 days consecutively or less
i rented from hertz jul 1 and they didnt ask for it but they did check that i have not been in israel for more than 1 yr consecutive or they would not rent to me claiming i need an israeli license
@At: I was referring to the rental companies’ policies. What you were told by Chase is from the underwriter’s standpoint, which is 31 days.
This isn’t anything new. I rented from Hertz in TEl Aviv in march and the email confirm clearly requires a letter showing coverage. As a renter, it is your responsibility to read the terms of your agreement, and if you do, this should not come as any surprise.
I easily received the necessary letter re: my TY Premier.
@eldan car rental and avis they don’t make u crazy for scratches Eldan is the best car rental in israel
@Dave who did you contact?
@mozy: Yes, this is an issue with some rental places recently. I am not sure if it is a real issue or just what they think is important. If someone has a USA DL and an Israeli DL too, in some branches, they do not let you use the online rate. @Shalom: Eldan is the best in what way, most prestigious sounding prices? :p
I was able to get the Chase Sapphire Visa, about a month ago, but they said they don’t have the Mastercard anymore. How do you get them to allow you to convert your card to a MC? Thanks!
i just received my chase sapphire MasterCard and it says explicitly that Israel is not covered
@gary:
Chase doesn’t provide the coverage, read the post for what to do.
i have the chase sapphire preferred world mastercard is their another version >
@gary:
Call the number in the post.
The coverage from sp wmc requires that in the event f damage, to submit a police report, an itemized receipt from certified repair facility amongst other things. try taking care of those things and getting them notarized into English. For the basic car it actually only saves you 3 bucks a day! I rent often and don’t have a lot of nerven, so I decline, cause in the worst case scenario I’ll be covered and get the kapparas avonos of a week-long head-ache, but I know lots of people (my wife included) who don’t see the logic of this. By the way, with chase sp wmc, if you make the reservation through their site you get better rates and 4 points per dollar.
@tichgtig in yerushalayim:
1. It’s more than $3 difference on most cars.
2. That level of cDW from the car agency has a deductible. MCW has no deductible.
@Dan: I’d like to know if antone got the ins. to pay for damage, and if it needed the paperwork in English. it would save the deductible, true, but only if it works.
I just called on my SW premier VISA and they said they cover CDW in Israel. They also emailed me letter as well. Am I missing something? I’ve read the thread and thought VISA doesn’t cover CDW in Israel. Please let me know if I’m mistaken. Thanks!!
@Scott:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/35857
Dan as of today what will be my best option booking a car in israel for a good price and not getting ripped up in the airport with hidin fees i