Credit card rental car insurance in Canada: which cards cover it

Credit card rental car insurance pays for damage to, or theft of, a rented car. For the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+ Card, Scotiabank’s certificate describes what it pays: Rental Car Collision/Loss Damage insurance pays the amount you are liable to the rental agency up to the actual cash value of the damaged or stolen vehicle, plus valid documented loss of use, reasonable and customary towing and administration charges; includes malicious vandalism and theft.

On the certificates quoted below, the conditions include declining the rental agency’s own damage waiver and charging the rental to the card. The tables list cards whose providers state rental car cover, no-fee cards first.

What credit card rental car insurance pays, and what it doesn’t

The cover is for the rented car and the charges the rental agency adds for it. RBC’s certificate for the RBC Avion Visa Infinite sets out what the cover pays for:

Covers your responsibilities to the rental agency under the rental agreement for loss or damage up to the actual cash value of the damaged or stolen rental vehicle, plus valid towing charges, storage, loss of use charges and up to a $50 rental agency administration charge.

Liability for injury to other people or damage to their property is a different kind of insurance. These providers say their rental cover doesn’t include it:

• Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard: Rogers Bank's certificate says the rental coverage does not provide any form of third party automobile, property damage or personal injury liability insurance, and that it is the cardholder's responsibility to have adequate third party insurance.
• RBC Visa Platinum, WestJet RBC Mastercard, RBC Avion Visa Infinite, RBC Avion Visa Platinum, RBC Cash Back Preferred World Elite Mastercard, WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard, RBC British Airways Visa Infinite and RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege: RBC's certificate says it does not cover third party liability coverage, and tells the cardholder to check with their personal automobile insurer and the rental agency that all drivers have adequate third party liability cover.
• BMO VIPorter World Mastercard, BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard and BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard: BMO's product summary says the rental coverage does not provide any form of third-party automobile, property damage or personal injury liability insurance, and that it is the cardholder's responsibility to have adequate third-party insurance.
• CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card, CIBC Aventura Gold Visa Card, CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card, CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Privilege Card and CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card: CIBC's product summary lists, among the car rental circumstances not covered: personal injury, damage to property or third-party liability.

A card’s travel accident and baggage cover are on credit card travel insurance.

Cards with rental car insurance

These two tables list cards whose providers state rental car cover, with the cover summarised from the provider’s page or certificate for the card. A card’s name links to its page at the provider, or to the provider’s list of cards, and the certificate or product summary each cell is summarised from is in the Sources list at the end of the page.

No-fee cards

These cards have no annual fee. More cards without a fee are on no annual fee credit cards.

Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

For the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard: Rogers Bank says that effective November 18, 2026, important changes will be made to the insurance benefits included with the card, and that other changes will also apply, including newly defined terms and updates to some existing terms.

Cards with an annual fee

These cards are in order of annual fee.

Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

Which cards from RBC and American Express include it?

Which RBC credit cards have rental car insurance?

RBC lists rental car cover for these cards, by annual fee:

Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

The certificate of the RBC U.S. Dollar Visa Gold has the same section; its fee is in U.S. dollars. RBC’s other cards are on its credit cards page.

RBC’s certificate for the RBC Avion Visa Infinite sets these conditions, including what happens when the rental agency’s own waiver is bought:

You must book or reserve the rental with the card, be present at the rental agency, have the rental agreement executed with the card, and pay the full cost including taxes and fees with the card and/or points (a partial points payment requires the entire balance on the card). The card must be declined for the rental agency’s CDW; if you accept it or none can be declined, only the deductible is covered. Coverage is limited to one rental vehicle at a time; covered persons must be permanent residents of Canada; report a claim within 48 hours; third party liability is not covered.

Does the Amex Cobalt have rental car insurance?

Amex lists this rental cover for the American Express Cobalt Card: theft, loss and damage coverage for rental autos with a suggested retail price up to $85,000, for rentals of 48 days or less, when the full cost of the rental is charged to the card and the rental company's collision or loss damage waiver is declined.

The Cobalt’s certificate sets conditions, among them how points may pay for the rental:

Among the conditions in the certificate: the Cardmember must start and finish the whole rental with the same valid card and charge the full cost, including taxes, to it (Membership Rewards points can pay if taxes go on the card; points from another program do not qualify); the Cardmember must decline the rental agency's collision or loss damage waiver (only the Cardmember can; where the waiver cannot be declined, the insurer pays up to the deductible in the waiver purchased); only one rental auto at a time is covered; claims must be reported within 48 hours; cover is only available to Canadian residents; the insured person must not already have been paid for the same damage through personal insurance. The rental auto may be driven on publicly maintained gravel roads and across provincial and state boundaries in Canada and the U.S. and between Canada and the U.S.

Amex's certificate says all rental car claims must be reported within 48 hours of the theft, loss or damage occurring.

Its sentence on primary cover is under primary or secondary cover, and the card’s other features are in the Amex Cobalt review.

Conditions at the rental counter

The conditions are the certificate’s, and they differ in detail from card to card. Four cards’ condition lists, summarised from their providers’ documents:

• TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card: The TD credit card must be in good standing; the cardholder must rent the vehicle and decline the rental agency's collision damage waiver (CDW) or equivalent; the whole rental transaction must be started and completed with the same TD credit card and the full cost charged to it (or paid with Aeroplan points); only one rental vehicle at a time is covered; claims must be reported within 48 hours. The card page notes that in some places rental agencies may require the CDW to be bought.
• Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+ Card: You must start the rental with the card, decline the rental agency’s collision or loss damage waiver, rent the car in your name, and charge the entire cost of the rental to the account (Scene+ points may pay part if the rest is charged to the account). Coverage is limited to one rental vehicle at a time
• Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard: Book or reserve the rental with the Tangerine World Mastercard, pay the full cost of the rental with it, rent the vehicle in your name and decline the rental agency's collision/loss damage waiver or similar provision; limited to 1 rental vehicle at a time
• Capital One Quicksilver World Mastercard: Start and complete the whole rental with the Capital One Mastercard, pay the full cost of the rental including taxes to the account, rent the car in your name and decline the rental agency's CDW option; coverage is limited to one rental car at a time. Where the rental agency's CDW is required or included in the price, the cover only pays up to the deductible of that CDW

Tangerine’s certificate for the Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard also insures another licensed driver who has the cardholder’s permission:

Covered cardholder is the primary cardholder (a natural person, resident of Canada) and any supplementary cardholder who is also a natural person resident of Canada; for the rental cover, any other person with a valid driver's licence and the cardholder's express permission to operate the rental vehicle who would otherwise qualify under the rental contract is also insured

How long, which cars and where

How long. The table cells give the longest rental where the provider’s line states it. On some certificates, a rental that runs past the limit has no cover at all, not even for its first days. Scotiabank’s certificate for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+ Card sets the rental length:

Rental period must not exceed 48 days; if it does, no coverage is provided even for the first 48 days. Coverage cannot be extended past 48 days by renewing or taking a new agreement

Amex’s certificate for the American Express Cobalt Card also says when back-to-back rentals count as one:

Up to 48 consecutive days with the same vehicle. If a rental runs past 48 consecutive days, there is no cover for any of it, including the first 48 days. A full calendar day between rentals breaks the 48-day cycle; renewing or taking out a new agreement for the same or another vehicle does not extend it.

Which cars. A certificate lists the vehicles it leaves out; RBC’s list for the RBC Avion Visa Infinite:

Excluded vehicles include: vans and cargo vans (other than mini-vans), trucks and pick-ups, vehicles not solely for personal use (including Uber, Lyft, commercial or delivery use), limousines, off-road vehicles (unless used to enter and leave private property), vehicles used on roads that are not publicly maintained or on flooded or blocked roads, motorcycles, mopeds and scooters, trailers, campers, RVs, ATVs, dune buggies, tractors, snowmobiles, golf carts, vehicles not licensed for road use and vehicles used for towing, mini-buses and buses, vehicles with an MSRP over $65,000 CDN, exotic, kit-car, hand-made and limited-production vehicles, antique, vintage or classic vehicles (over 20 years old or not manufactured for 10 years or more), and tax-free cars.

Tangerine’s summary for the Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard: Not covered: certain types of rental vehicles such as trucks, vans, and any vehicle with an actual cash value over $65,000 at the time of loss.

Where. These certificates state where the rental cover applies:

• RBC Visa Platinum, WestJet RBC Mastercard, RBC Avion Visa Infinite, RBC Avion Visa Platinum, RBC Cash Back Preferred World Elite Mastercard, WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard, RBC British Airways Visa Infinite and RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege: RBC's certificate says the rental cover is applicable worldwide where permitted by law or under the terms of the rental contract.
• Capital One Quicksilver World Elite Mastercard and Capital One Quicksilver World Mastercard: Capital One's certificate says the rental cover is available on a 24-hour basis anywhere in the world, except where prohibited by law or where the coverage is in violation of the terms of the rental contract in the jurisdiction in which it was formed.
• Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite+ Card and Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+ Card: Scotiabank's certificate says the rental cover is available on a 24-hour basis anywhere in the world, except where prohibited by law or where the coverage is in violation of the terms of the rental contract in the jurisdiction in which it was formed.

Primary or secondary cover?

Several certificates call their rental cover primary insurance, some with exceptions in their own words. What these providers’ certificates say, summarised:

• CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card, CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card, CIBC Aventura Gold Visa Card, CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card, CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Privilege Card and CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card: The certificate says "This insurance is primary insurance, except for losses that may be waived or assumed by the rental agency or its insurer, and in such circumstances where local government insurance legislation states otherwise."
• RBC Visa Platinum, WestJet RBC Mastercard, RBC Cash Back Preferred World Elite Mastercard, WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard and RBC British Airways Visa Infinite: The certificate says this coverage is primary insurance, except if the covered person buys the rental agency’s CDW option or its equivalent (then it covers only the deductible), or where applicable government insurance legislation states otherwise
• Capital One Quicksilver World Elite Mastercard and Capital One Quicksilver World Mastercard: The certificate says the cover is primary insurance and protects against direct losses, valid and documented loss of use, reasonable and customary towing charges and administration charges for damage or theft while the car is rented in your name
• TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum Card, TD Platinum Travel Visa Card, TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card and TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card: The certificate says the Collision/Loss Damage insurance is primary insurance, except for losses that may be waived or assumed by the rental agency or its insurer and where local government insurance legislation states otherwise.
• RBC Avion Visa Infinite, RBC Avion Visa Platinum and RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege: The certificate says this coverage is primary insurance, except if the covered person buys the rental agency’s CDW option or its equivalent (then it covers only the deductible), or where applicable government insurance legislation states otherwise.
• Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite+ Card and Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+ Card: The certificate calls it primary insurance
• American Express Aeroplan Card, Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card, American Express Cobalt Card, American Express Gold Rewards Card, American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card and American Express Platinum Card: The certificate says: "This insurance is primary insurance, except for losses that may be waived or assumed by the rental agency or its insurer, and in such circumstances where local government insurance legislation states otherwise."
• TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card: The certificate says the insurance is primary insurance, except for losses that may be waived or assumed by the rental agency or its insurer and where local government insurance legislation states otherwise.
• TD Cash Back Visa Infinite Card: TD's certificate says its car rental collision/loss damage insurance is primary insurance (except for losses that may be waived or assumed by the rental agency or their insurer, and where local government insurance legislation states otherwise).
• Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card: The certificate calls it primary insurance; if you do not decline the rental agency’s CDW/LDW it is secondary and covers only the deductible

Capital One’s certificate for the Capital One Quicksilver World Mastercard calls the rental cover primary:

For the car rental cover, the certificate's insured persons are a cardholder and any other person with a valid driver's licence and the cardholder's express permission to operate the rental car. The certificate covers accounts opened on or after September 1, 2026, and coverage ends when the account stops being in good standing. The flight delay, baggage delay, purchase assurance and extended warranty sections say their benefits are in excess of all other insurance; the rental car section calls its cover primary insurance.

Making a claim

The condition lists above for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card, the RBC Avion Visa Infinite and the Amex Cobalt include a deadline for reporting a claim. For the Capital One Quicksilver World Mastercard, on claims:

Capital One's certificate says to notify the insurer within 48 hours of a rental car loss (failure to do so may result in denial of the claim or reduction of the benefit), and to send the required documentation within 90 days of the date of loss, damage or theft.

Related pages

• Credit card travel insurance
• Travel credit cards
• Credit cards with airport lounge access
• No foreign transaction fee credit cards
• Best Aeroplan credit cards
• No annual fee credit cards
• Card reviews for some of the cards above: TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite, RBC Avion Visa Infinite and Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard; RBC credit cards compared; the Tangerine Money-Back card on cash back credit cards