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According to this article on AwardWallet:

The easiest and fastest way of obtaining proof of coverage from your credit card provider is to call the Benefits Administrator and request it. You can call the number on the back of your card or supplied in your guide to benefits, and ask for a proof-of-coverage letter stating which countries the policy covers, what damage it covers. Get a hard copy, and take it with you to the rental agency when you pick up the vehicle.

That is what I did, but after spending 10 minutes on the phone with my credit card issuer, and after finally getting transferred to the "claims department", where I spend another 5 minutes (answering the same questions) they agreed to email me a letter to serve as proof of CDW coverage. But
and they apparently ignored my request; I still have no letter and I'm leaving tomorrow.

Normally, I would not bother with the letter since the only time I've been really required to have a hard-copy letter was when renting outside of the US. But on the rental car site it says this:

From the rental car web site / my booking:

Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) - Your booking does not include Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and if you decline to purchase CDW at the counter you must: sign a 'statement of personal responsibility for the total value of the car', and present a letter from your credit card provider, confirming that your card's CDW is valid in the whole of Mexico and complies with CNSF (Comision National de Seguros y Fianzas) regulations.

I'm less interested now in wasting more of my time on the phone to try to get them to do their job (provide me a letter), so am looking to see if anyone has come up with a source for these letters, which are probably just boilerplate text.

My search turned-up one such letter for a Merrick Bank credit card. Searching the Internet for the phone number posted in that letter [804-673-1164], I see that Card Benefit Services of Richmond Virgina seems to service many card types, including:

  • Capital One
  • Citibank
  • Barclaycard
  • Credit Unions
  • City National
  • (many, many more)

If my card was in the list, above, it seems to me that I could just copy this letter and put my name, card name, first four digits of my card number, and that would satisfy the rental car counter clerk.

Are there any quick online sources to get this type of letter so I'm not forced to pay for overpriced insurance sold by the rental car company?

ADDITIONAL DETAILS - AFTER RENTAL:

The rental car representative at the Fort Lauderdale airport did not mention needing the letter, nor was I presented a personal responsibility document.

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  • 1
    CDW is always optional from the rental car company, in my experience. Do you have specific reason to think you would be "forced" to pay for it from the company? Or is it possible you're mixing up CDW (which covers damage to the rented car) with liability insurance (which covers injuries to other people and damage to their cars or property)?
    – Nate Eldredge
    Jun 27, 2019 at 3:08
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    The only requirement I've ever seen for putting in place the credit card rental car protections (if your card has them) is declining all supplemental coverage when offered by the rental agency. I've always just said "No thanks," and that's the end of it; they never ask for evidence. Note, however, that the requirements for successfully claiming under credit card rental car protections are significant, often requiring police reports, inspections, etc.
    – DavidRecallsMonica
    Jun 27, 2019 at 4:17
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    @David On at least one occasion when declining CDW etc coverage in in the US I have been asked by the agent who my car insurance company was. But that is as far as it has gone (of course that is after all of the scare tactics to get me to pay for the ripoff insurance).
    – Peter M
    Jun 27, 2019 at 15:35
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    Why would a car rental in Fort Lauderdale need an insurance that is "valid in the whole of Mexico and complies with CNSF (Comision National de Seguros y Fianzas) regulations" ?
    – hmakholm left over Monica
    Jul 1, 2019 at 23:23
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    On general principle, though, if they actually do demand a letter from the credit card company, and you present a letter that purports to be from the company but you actually wrote it yourself, you're probably committing fraud. So whatever the issue, I don't think that's the right solution.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Jul 2, 2019 at 0:32

1 Answer 1

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When renting in the US, the largest companies make it optional, including:

  • Alamo/Enterprise/National: "The purchase of DW is optional and not required in order to rent a vehicle."
  • Avis/Budget: "Collision damage waiver or Loss Damage Waiver is not required for a car rental"
  • Hertz/Dollar/Thrifty: "You are under no obligation to purchase LDW or any other optional service as a condition of rental."

To answer your original question, there isn't an source of these types of letters for when you do need them outside of your card issuer. A benefits guide might work in a pinch, but Mexico in particular may a letter from your card issuer with specific requirements, and CDW is not optional there. Other countries require that the CDW is included in the rate, but it depends on the specific situation.

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  • Florida has never been part of Mexico.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Apr 3, 2022 at 22:41
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    I've rented cars in Mexico many times (usually Hertz/Avasa or Europcar), have always declined the CDW and, even after a hard sell of the CDW, have never been asked for a letter like that. Perhaps some companies in some places do that, but it certainly isn't an "always in Mexico" thing.
    – user38879
    Apr 3, 2022 at 23:29
  • Updated to be more clear.
    – billatq
    Apr 6, 2022 at 4:02

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