lead person on car rental (insurance)

[newrygirl]

We have an Alamo car booked for next week, my husband is an Alamo insider so it is booked in his name with me as an additional driver. We booked it on my credit card as I have car insurance with that card, we have done this every time before but just now reading over the fine print of my credit card it says for the insurance to be used the car has to rented in the cardholders name, would I then have to have it in my name or am I ok with having us both listed on the rental agreement? does it make a difference that its my hubby listed first and I am the additional driver. Can I phone Alamo and have them switch us around or will I need to cancel and book a new reservation in my name, we got such a good deal with my hubbys insider that I would hate to lose it.

 

[newrygirl]

bump

 

[goofy4tink]

I had a 'similar' situation with Dollar. Booked a great rate, in my name. About 2 months later, I realized we had no credit cards anymore due to a refi. And of course, the primary person on the reservation has to have a credit card in their name. But dh has one for business in his name. I called Dollar to see if I could just switch him to primary person...they said that was fine. But, my reservation never showed a change of name. I emailed them and she said they can't actually change the name on the reservation..you have to cancel it and rebook in the new person's name. But, they did note it on the reservation form, and the counter at the airport would see that and expect dh to be the primary person. I copied that email to take with me...just in case.
Now, I have to either deal with my dh's driving (which I hate) or pay the addtl $10 a day to add myself as an addtl driver.
I would call Alamo and see what they say in your case..it may be a bit different.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Question I would have, is it worth the effort? Is the card primary, or the more common secondary coverage. If it's secondary, which 98% are, then it would only apply after all other insurance is exhausted (ie. personal insurance). If your personal insurance carries over (most US insurance does) to rentals, then you're risk of not being covered is pretty low.

Statistically speaking you are more likely to get into a car accident at home then you are on vacation.

 

[mareed]

I think Alamo requires you to present a credit card in the primary driver's name when you're picking up the car. At least National did for us and Alamo and National are sister companies and use the same checkout lanes. DH was Emerald Club member and I was a covered addtl driver and they wouldn't take a credit card that showed my name. It was just more convenient for us so DH didn't have to get his wallet out, so we had no trouble handing over his card (for the same account even), but the point is that they did require the card to be in his name.

 

[newrygirl]

we are from Canada so our car insurance doesn't cover in the U.S. that is why I pay to have coverage on my U.S credit card but it is in my name only and not my Hubbys, I am going to phone Alamo tomorrow and see what they say, i hope I haven't lost my awesome rate and have to switch, although in that case I may be better off going to my car insurance broker and just purchase insurance for this trip as it is around $75.

 

[formill]

we are from Canada so our car insurance doesn't cover in the U.S. that is why I pay to have coverage on my U.S credit card but it is in my name only and not my Hubbys, I am going to phone Alamo tomorrow and see what they say, i hope I haven't lost my awesome rate and have to switch, although in that case I may be better off going to my car insurance broker and just purchase insurance for this trip as it is around $75.

We are from Canada- had a couple different insurance companies within the past few years and both cover us for insurance on a rental car anywhere in North America. We have an endorsement on our policy that covers us year round and it is not expensive.

 

[dancin Disney style]

we are from Canada so our car insurance doesn't cover in the U.S. that is why I pay to have coverage on my U.S credit card but it is in my name only and not my Hubbys, I am going to phone Alamo tomorrow and see what they say, i hope I haven't lost my awesome rate and have to switch, although in that case I may be better off going to my car insurance broker and just purchase insurance for this trip as it is around $75.

I don't know when your trip is....can you get a supplemental CC for your DH? Most banks don't charge for it and the cards often only take a week to 10 days to arrive.

 

[newrygirl]

We are leaving On monday, I just talked to Alamo and they told me that they will change it when we get there with no problem only thing being we will probably now have to go inside instead of using the kiosk.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We are leaving On monday, I just talked to Alamo and they told me that they will change it when we get there with no problem only thing being we will probably now have to go inside instead of using the kiosk.

I'm not sure that they can change it. I think it requires a cancel/rebook of the reservation which would result in the rate changing.

Try calling Alamo and telling them that if they don't make the change, while you are on the phone, that you will most likely not take the car. Tell them that you will rent from one of the competitors....Budget or Dollar. I did this once when I wanted to change my pick up date by only 1 day (later). If I had cancelled the new rate would have been double so I told them I would take the car if they adjusted the dates....I was also willing to still pay for the extra day. Anyway, they made the change over the phone and sent me a new confirmation via email that included the changes.