Does the BankAmericard credit card offer roadside assistance?

Bank of America rental car insurance is a complimentary benefit that comes with all Bank of America credit cards. The coverage is actually provided by Visa and Mastercard, depending on which network your BofA card is on. The specifics vary by card network, too, but you’re generally covered against damage and theft up to a rental vehicle’s cash value.… read full answer

Not all situations are covered by Bank of America rental car insurance. Certain types of vehicles are excluded, and there are restrictions on the length of the rental period as well as eligible countries. You can find all the specifics in your card’s benefits guide.

Here’s how Bank of America credit card rental car insurance works:

• Eligible cards: All Bank of America credit cards.
• Coverage period: 31 or fewer consecutive rental days for Visa. 15 for Mastercard.
• Coverage amount: Up to the cash value of most vehicles for Visa. Up to cash value of vehicles worth $50,000 or less for Mastercard.
• Covered situations: Damage to and theft of rental cars, loss of use charges, and towing charges.
• Non-covered situations: Driving while intoxicated, driving off road, damage/theft of personal items, general wear and tear/deterioration, and more.
• Non-covered places: Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Israel and Jamaica.
• Non-covered vehicles: Exotic/antique cars, large vans, vehicles with open cargo beds, trucks, motorcycles and more.

• Other requirements: Must decline the rental agency’s insurance offer.

Bank of America credit card rental car insurance is secondary to other insurance you have. So if you have a personal auto insurance plan that covers rental cars, you need to get reimbursed through that first. Then, Bank of America may give you more money after you show them what you got from the first source.

The best credit card with free roadside assistance is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. The coverage includes towing, flat tires, dead batteries, lockouts, and empty gas tanks. You’re covered for up to $50 per service call, with a maximum of 4 events per year, for $200 in annual coverage.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s annual fee is $550. Some of the additional perks helping to cover that cost include 60,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months and a complimentary Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership.… read full answer

Travel credit cards work just like any other rewards credit card, though they tend to reward cardholders more for making travel-related purchases than anything else. The points or miles that travel credit cards provide are also usually worth more when redeemed for travel, compared to other redemption methods. Plus, travel credit cards commonly offer features such as travel insurance, no foreign transaction fee, airport lounge access, and reimbursement for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry application fees.… read full answer

Travel rewards credit cards offer rewards in one of two currencies: miles or points. There isn’t much of a difference between the two, but miles are more frequently used in the context of airline rewards, while points are often associated with hotels. On that note, co-branded travel cards tend to give higher rewards rates and special perks with specific airline and hotel brands, while non-cobranded travel cards don’t favor any particular brand but give good rewards on travel purchases in general.

How Travel Credit Cards Work

They often reward you more for travel.

Travel purchases are usually going to be a lot more profitable rewards-wise than other types of purchases. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred gives 5 points per $1 spent on travel purchased through Chase, 2 points per $1 on all other travel purchases, 3 points per $1 on dining and online grocery purchases, 3 points per $1 on select streaming services, and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. But this isn’t true for every card. Capital One Venture, for instance, gives 2 miles / $1 on almost all purchases.

Travel redemption is usually the best value.

In most cases, you don’t have to spend your rewards on travel, but the credit cards companies give big incentives for you to do so. Take Chase Sapphire Preferred, for example. You get 25% more value from your points when you redeem them for travel.

No foreign transaction fees.

Very few travel cards will charge you extra for using your card abroad or with foreign merchants online. But you should check your cardholder agreement just to be sure.

There may be booking restrictions.

Some travel cards, like Capital One Venture, pride themselves on rewarding you equally for any type of travel, no matter where you book it. But other cards, especially airline or hotel cards, may only give travel-specific rewards rates if you book directly through the issuer.

You may need at least good credit.

Travel rewards cards are typically available only to people with good or excellent credit. You should shoot for a credit score of 700+ for cards that require good credit and 750+ for excellent credit.

You’ll often get travel insurance & other perks.

Travel insurance is a big plus. Some cards will cover you for trip cancellation, delays or accidents. Many travel credit cards still offer rental car insurance, too, though many regular credit cards have dropped that benefit. Certain cards, generally those with annual fees, also give you a yearly credit toward airline or travel purchases. You may even get other perks like free airport lounge access and the ability to transfer your points or miles to hotel and airline loyalty programs.

So if you travel frequently, getting a travel credit card is a good idea. After all, you might as well get rewarded for trips you’d go on anyway.