Hi all,
Planning to rent a car in NZ.
I bought my flight ticket using Westpac Altitude Black which comes with free insurance.
This makes me wonder if I still need to opt for getting insurance when I book the car rental.
Is there a benefit/advantage of having the additional cover or will the insurance that comes free with my credit card be sufficient?
Btw, what is a good car rental in NZ?
Thanks
what have you found out so far?
Where in NZ? Lots of little windscreen smashing stones in the southern island. Assuming you have booked at least $500 worth of travel on your Black card, then it will reduce a $5000 or $6000 hire car company excess to $500.
I used Jucy a couple of times (note, they are usually a few km away from airports and taxi's can be $$. Ie, in CHC we dropped off our bags, then the car at Jucy, then walked 2km back to the airport. In July…at 4am and wasn't too bad a stroll (this was pre uber).A taxi was around $40!
hi, yes south island during winter.
bought flight tix > $500 with my Black card but now I just saw the PDS and it says "Rental vehicle excess insurance in
Australia policy"
https://www.westpac.com.au/content/dam/public/wbc/documents/…
Does it mean that it only covers for rental car in Australia, not overseas??
I am considering Jucy, Ace and Apex as they seem much cheaper than big chains like Hertz (~300NZD difference for 14 days).
People in TripAdvisor gave lots of negative reviews about Jucy and Ace and Apex seem to be better (?)
Have you had experience with Ace or Apex (or any other)?
These are two separate insurance policies. Your overseas car rental is covered under the overseas travel insurance policy. The Australia car rental is if you hire a care in Australia. The difference is the amount covered depending on the type of card, which can be lower under the international travel policy.
For your hire car try a car hire aggregator they can sometimes be cheaper.
You need to look at Benefit 6 (page 43).
Re Apex vs Jucy, note my comment below.
Thanks @robbyjones and @ughhh. Found the clause under Overseas Travel.
Benefit 6: Rental vehicle excess.
We will reimburse you for any insurance excess or
deductible which you become legally liable to pay in
respect of a claim under the rental vehicle insurance policy
of the rental vehicle during the rental period …
This makes me wonder if I need to choose for the highest cover during the booking of the car since my complimentary travel insurance will cover the excess based on the clause above. I can save money this way
This is my understanding.
Do I miss anything?
Why would I still need to choose the highest car rental cover otherwise?
This makes me wonder if I need to choose for the highest cover during the booking of the car since my complimentary travel insurance will cover the excess based on the clause above. I can save money this way
Afaik, there's 3 types of cover: basic (full excess), limited (less excess but still need to pay if claim is made for extra $X per day), full (zero excess, for extra $XX per day).
Your insurance will only pay/cover the excess if you need to make a claim/get into an accident. They won't cover the extra $XX per day or any other extras you choose. There's no point in choosing the limited or full cover to obtain zero excess, if your insurance is going to pay the excess.
@Ughhh: yeah I was thinking not to take the full cover but take the basic (full excess) one because my travel insurance will pay for the excess should I need to claim. The excess for the travel insurance is $250 AUD that as per my understanding this is all what I need to pay out of pocket if something goes wrong.
However, though in the event of things go wrong (multiple damages from different events), then I'd cough out more than $250 AUD..
The difference between basic cover and full cover (no excess) is $280 NZD.. so now I am wondering whether it's worth just go with full cover for piece of mind…
My impression is that car rental companies can be an 'arse', i.e. claim that you damage the car while you did not.
decision decision..
@OzFrugie: Defs go the basic cover, chances are you will not have to pay for anything and I'm not sure why you would have to pay multiple excesses. Just make sure you have a largish credit card because they might hold a 2k deposit.
I went with Hitch when I went to NZ they were good in that they said they weren't going to slug you for minor scratches on the car and true to the word they didn't mention the minor scratches when I returned the car (the initial sheet didn't include the minor scratches that were already on the car).
Used Apex and jucy as they allow you to take their Cars into the snow.
Jucy is great, just be nice. I saw a manager acting a bit "unprofessional" towards a customer. But the customer was being super rude and impatient, and the manager let then know it. I was next, told the manager to take a moment, relax, take her time, I'm in no hurry (even though I was) etc. She was really nice to me, even gave me an upgrade for nothing. Cars were a bit rougher, but mechanically all good. Apex similar, they just have more paper work than your Avis etc. But I prefer the thorough inspection vs Avis that ask you to sign a sheet before you have even seen the car. Just be prepared for a 10 min process vs 2mins.
thanks for the tips. just wondering though if there are operators that do not allow you to take the car to the snow??
havent seen it in my research with apex, ace, and jucy.
I used Jucy a couple of times (note, they are usually a few km away from airports and taxi's can be $$. Ie, in CHC we dropped off our bags, then the car at Jucy, then walked 2km back to the airport. In July…at 4am and wasn't too bad a stroll (this was pre uber).A taxi was around $40!
I assume CHC is Christchurch? I rented and return my Apex Rental car in Christchurch. Similar to Jucy, they dont have a dropoff at the Airport and car had to be dropped off at a different location, but they had free shuttle to and from the airport.
My GF is in NZ at the moment. She has an Apex car. Pick up AKL / return WLG. It was $600 for 16 days for an Echo sized 3yr old car.
I booked it for her (we meet up on Thursday) and she said the pick-up arrangements at AKL weren't as clear as it could have been.
We now have an issue (my fault) where we need to return the car before the office opens, so can't get the shuttle. So we have to book a taxi (extra cost).
Last year i booked with Thrifty with my NRMA road side assist it was cheaper with insurance out of the other cars. When i went there is quite a bit of snow and black ice depends on the car i would get insurance regardless