Yes, the Costco credit card does cover rental car insurance. The Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi includes a worldwide rental car benefit that pays up to $50,000 for collision, theft, vandalism, natural disaster damage, and towing to the nearest repair facility when you pay for the rental with the card and decline the rental company’s damage waiver. Coverage is primary outside the United States and secondary within it, and the rental cannot exceed 31 consecutive days.
What the Benefit Pays For
The card covers physical damage to and theft of the rental vehicle itself, up to $50,000 or the vehicle’s cash value, whichever is less. That includes collision damage, vandalism, damage from natural disasters, and reasonable towing charges to the nearest qualified repair facility. The rental period must be 31 days or shorter for coverage to apply.
Primary Abroad, Secondary at Home
The most important detail is where you’re renting. Outside the United States, the Costco card’s coverage is primary: it pays first, without any need to file through your personal auto policy. Inside the United States, it’s secondary. That means you file with your own auto insurer first, and the card picks up what your policy doesn’t cover.
Primary coverage is generally more useful because it keeps a claim off your personal auto insurance record and avoids the premium consequences that can follow. If most of your rentals happen on international trips, the Costco card’s primary international coverage is a genuine benefit at no annual cost beyond the Costco membership.
What You Have to Do at the Counter
Two things activate the coverage, and both are firm:
- Charge the entire rental cost to the Costco Anywhere Visa, or pay with the card’s cash back rewards. Partial payment doesn’t qualify.
- Decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver or loss damage waiver.
Accepting the counter agent’s waiver alongside the card benefit voids the card coverage. The counter pitch can be persistent, but turning it down is what triggers the benefit you’re already paying for through the card.
What Isn’t Covered
The benefit has real limits, and several of them catch renters off guard:
- Liability. The card covers damage to the rental car. It does not cover injuries to other people, damage to other vehicles or property, or medical expenses. Those belong to a personal auto policy or a separate liability policy.
- Peer-to-peer rentals. Vehicles booked through Turo and similar car-sharing platforms are excluded. The rental has to come from a traditional commercial agency.
- Certain vehicle categories. Exotic and luxury cars, motorcycles, trucks, and large passenger vans are typically excluded. Citi advises reviewing your specific benefit terms for the full list.
- Rental agreement violations. Using the car in a way that breaks the contract, such as prohibited off-road driving, voids the coverage.
- Cars used for hire. Carrying paying passengers eliminates the benefit.
- Rentals longer than 31 consecutive days.
Loss-of-use charges, which rental companies bill for revenue lost while a damaged car is being repaired, sit in a gray area. Some Citi-issued cards cover a limited amount of these charges while excluding diminished value and administrative fees. Call the benefits administrator before you rent if this matters to your situation.
If You Don’t Have Personal Auto Insurance
Renters without their own auto policy sometimes worry that secondary coverage is worthless because there’s no primary policy to file through. According to the Insurance Information Institute, secondary credit card coverage generally converts to primary for collision damage when the cardholder has no personal auto policy, so the card benefit steps in as the first layer.
The gap that remains is liability. The card won’t cover injuries to other people or damage to their property in any scenario. If you rent regularly without owning a car, a non-owner liability policy fills that gap at a modest cost.
How to File a Claim
Claims are administered by Assurant on behalf of Citi. To start one, call 1-866-918-4670 or go to cardbenefits.citi.com, enter the first six digits of your card number, create an account, and select “File a Claim.”
You’ll need the credit card statement showing the rental charge, the opening and closing rental agreements, a repair estimate and itemized bill, proof of payment for repairs, the rental agency’s accident report, a copy of your driver’s license, and photos of the damage. A police report is required for claims over $1,000. For a domestic rental, you also have to include your personal auto insurer’s final settlement or declaration page, since the card benefit is secondary.
All documentation must be submitted within 180 days of the incident. Assurant typically takes five to ten business days to assess a claim once every required document is in hand. Missing paperwork stalls the file, and claims won’t be approved until the record is complete.
A Note on Costco Travel Bookings
Rentals booked through Costco Travel do not automatically include insurance. Costco Travel’s own help documentation lists the card benefit as one of several separate options a member might rely on, along with purchasing Zurich travel insurance through Costco, buying the rental agency’s coverage, or using a personal auto policy. What triggers the card’s insurance is paying for the rental with the Costco Anywhere Visa, not booking it through Costco Travel.