Best Credit Cards for Car Rentals: Earn Rewards and Get Insurance Coverage in 2026

Car rental spending averaged $347 per transaction in 2025, making your credit card choice worth $10-20+ in rewards each time you rent. The bigger win: avoiding $15-30 daily insurance fees by using a card with built-in rental coverage.

Most travel cards offer rental car insurance, but earn rates and coverage limits vary significantly. Some cards earn 3x on car rentals while others treat them as general purchases at 1x.

Chase Sapphire Reserve: Premium rental coverage

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3x points on travel, including car rentals. Points transfer to partners like Hyatt and United at 1:1, valued at roughly 2.1 cents each by TPG.

• Earn rate: 3x on car rentals
• Value per dollar: ~6.3 cents (3 × 2.1¢)
• Annual fee: $550
• Rental insurance: Primary coverage up to actual cash value
• Coverage territory: Worldwide

Primary coverage means the card insurance handles claims first, before your personal auto insurance. This prevents claims from affecting your auto insurance rates.

The card also includes a $300 annual travel credit that applies to car rentals, effectively reducing the annual fee to $250.

Chase Sapphire Preferred: Mid-tier option

The Sapphire Preferred offers the same 3x earning rate with a lower annual fee.

• Earn rate: 3x on car rentals
• Value per dollar: ~6.3 cents
• Annual fee: $95
• Rental insurance: Primary coverage up to actual cash value
• Coverage territory: Worldwide

The coverage matches the Reserve card. You lose the $300 travel credit and some other perks, but save $455 annually in fees.

Capital One Venture X: Flat-rate alternative

The Venture X earns 2x miles on everything, including car rentals. Capital One miles transfer to partners or redeem for 1 cent each toward travel.

• Earn rate: 2x on car rentals
• Value per dollar: ~2 cents (using 1¢ baseline)
• Annual fee: $395
• Rental insurance: Secondary coverage up to $50,000
• Coverage territory: Worldwide

Secondary coverage kicks in after your personal auto insurance. The card includes a $300 annual travel credit and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles worth $100.

American Express Gold: Rental insurance gap

The Amex Gold earns 3x on travel but lacks rental car insurance entirely.

• Earn rate: 3x on travel (including car rentals)
• Value per dollar: ~5.4 cents (3 × 1.8¢ TPG valuation)
• Annual fee: $250
• Rental insurance: None

Without rental insurance, you'll need coverage from the rental company ($15-30 daily) or ensure your personal auto insurance covers rentals.

Hertz rewards credit cards

Hertz partners with several card issuers for co-branded options. The Hertz President's Circle Credit Card offers:

• Earn rate: 3x on Hertz rentals, 1x elsewhere
• Value per dollar: Varies by redemption
• Annual fee: $0
• Rental insurance: Secondary coverage
• Hertz benefits: President's Circle elite status, rental discounts

The card makes sense only if you rent exclusively from Hertz and value elite status benefits like expedited service and vehicle upgrades.

How cashew handles this

cashew automatically routes your car rental purchases to the card earning the most rewards in your wallet. If you carry both the Sapphire Reserve and Capital One Venture X, cashew will choose the Reserve (6.3¢ vs 2¢ per dollar).

The app tracks your rental insurance coverage by card, showing which cards provide primary vs secondary coverage when you're booking. This prevents accidentally using a card without rental insurance when you need protection.

cashew also monitors rental company promotions and elite status benefits, factoring those into routing decisions. If Hertz offers double points for elite members, the app weighs that bonus against raw credit card earning rates.

cashew provides tools to optimize your spending but isn't a financial advisor. Consider your full financial picture when choosing credit cards.

Quick reference: Car rental cards

Card	Earn Rate	Annual Fee	Insurance Type	Coverage Limit
Chase Sapphire Reserve	3x travel	$550	Primary	Actual cash value
Chase Sapphire Preferred	3x travel	$95	Primary	Actual cash value
Capital One Venture X	2x everything	$395	Secondary	$50,000
Amex Gold	3x travel	$250	None	N/A
Hertz President's Circle	3x Hertz	$0	Secondary	Varies

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire cards offer the best combination of earning rate and rental insurance for most people. Primary coverage and 3x earning beats other options unless you have specific loyalty to Hertz or prefer the Venture X's simplicity. Factor in annual fees and your rental frequency — someone renting twice yearly might skip the Reserve's $550 fee, while frequent renters benefit from primary coverage and the $300 travel credit.