Virgin & the AMEX Premier Plus policy

[pauldents]

Hi,

A couple of weeks back, i bought the AMEX premier plus insurance policy - thankyou Rob for the info, you posted on this board regarding this policy.

With the money i saved, buying the AMEX insurance, i thought i would put it towards an upgrade from the compact car i had booked through Virgin, to a convertible.

Having checked the Virgin brochure for the upgrade price of £110.00 per week, i rang customer services this morning and asked for the car to be upgraded to a convertible.

The Virgin Rep told me the upgrade would cost for the 2 weeks £80.00 ( result ) and an insurance premium of £460.00 !!!

I told her i wouldn't need Virgins insurance because i have the AMEX policy which includes North American car hire. After putting me on hold for about 10 mins, she come back and told me Dollar would not let me have the car if i didn't take their insurance !

On the Premier Plus policy it warns you that you don't have to buy the CDW offered by the rental agency (ie Dollar) or the company from which you hire the car ( ie Virgin ) and that you may find they will try to force you to buy their own.

I then reminded her of this fact and she had a word with her supervisor, who then said that i could hire the vehicle if pay a £20.00 per person charge on top of the £80.00 upgrade charge.

The total cost worked out at £120.00 and i had a £100.00 Virgin gift voucher which they sent me, after they screwed up the the admin on the last holiday. So in all the upgrade to a convertible cost £20.00 ! What a result ! Thanks Virgin !

Paul

 

[Janice]

Great to hear of a good deal Paul - thanks for sharing and enjoy the upgrade

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Hi Paul

Sounds a good deal on the upgrade. Just to confirm, there is no problem with decling Dollar's insurance. If Virgin tell you that Dollar will refuse to supply you with a car they are talking rubbish. It seems that some companies will tell you anything in order to sell you their rip-off insurance.

I've just returned from Orlando and declined Dollar's insurance: they didn't bat an eyelid, and I don't think they even bothered to take a $1,500 deposit on my credit card.

Regards

Rob

 

[kazzie]

Great result Paul A convertible eh!

Although we know on here (mostly from Rob) to stick to your guns about declining Virgin/Dollar's insurance,I'm sure many other people would not be so assertive and still get forced in to taking it

 

[pauldents]

Cheers Rob,

Hope you had a good trip.

I think the problem is, most holidaymakers are not aware of policies like the AMEX ( i certainly wasn't, before i visited this board )and automatically think they have to have the most expensive insurance. Holiday companies like Virgin can play on this and set rip off prices. I would imagine car insurance is a great moneyspinner for them, hence the hard sell and the scare tactics.

Paul

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Originally posted by kazzie
Great result Paul A convertible eh!

Although we know on here (mostly from Rob) to stick to your guns about declining Virgin/Dollar's insurance,I'm sure many other people would not be so assertive and still get forced in to taking it

I wish I could be assertive, but I'm just too shy!!

I've used the Amex policy for the past four years and have never, not once, been given the hard sell about taking the rental companies own insurance policy. When I tell the person at the desk that I'm declining their insurance the usual answer is a straightforward "OK".

Regards

Rob

 

[Jade90]

Hi,
I am new to this forum. I have read about the Amex insurance policy. Does it cover the USA and Canada?
How many times can it be used within a year?
Where can I find out more info please.

 

[pauldents]

Jade90,

The AMEX premier plus policy will give you CDW and SLI in North America and Canada.The policy gives you a full year of travel insurance for multiple trips of up to 120 days each.

paul