How to rent a car from Europcar without paying extra for insurance

You might be able to obtain a rental car from the rental car company Europcar (also known as Carhire.ie) without paying extra for insurance/protection (also known as Collision Damage Waiver (CWD) and Theft Protection (TW)) if you follow these quick instructions:

  1. Go to MyCardBenefits.com and enter all of your credit card numbers into the website to find a card that has the MasterRental benefit. If you have multiple cards with MasterRental, the safest bet is probably to select the one with the highest currently-available credit.
  2. On that website, after entering your credit card number, click MasterRental and then click Create Eligibility Certificate to create a "Proof of Coverage" letter that you can show to Europcar to convince them that your card has insurance benefits. Read this certificate and make sure you are able to comply with all the conditions necessary to receive coverage.
  3. Print out your eligibility certificate and bring it with you to the Europcar office when you are picking up your car. If you don't have access to a printer, then save it to a PDF file and be prepared to email it instead. Note that the certificate might be valid for a limited time, and also Europcar currently requires the certificate to be dated within 21 days of the pickup date. Therefore, you might need to wait and do this step later, closer to the time that your rental begins.
  4. Pay for the entire rental using the credit card you selected, including the €5000 deposit that Europcar charges when you pick up the car. Decline any extra charges for insurance that you are offered when booking the car. I recommend booking the car directly on Europcar.ie because I think it explains the insurance situation more clearly than third-party rental car booking websites.

FAQ: My credit card says "world elite mastercard" on it, so it has the MasterRental benefit, right?

Incorrect. I have a credit card that is a World Elite Mastercard but according to MyCardBenefits.com and to the customer support person I talked to, it does not have the MasterRental benefit. You should just look up your benefits using MyCardBenefits.com.

FAQ: Why should I trust MyCardBenefits.com?

If you don't trust my word, call Mastercard's customer service and ask them if MyCardBenefits.com is a scam or if it is actually run by MasterCard before you share any private information with them.

FAQ: Who are you?

My name is David Grayson and I am a United States citizen who booked a Europcar rental car in Ireland using hotels.com (i.e. cartrawler.com) in 2022. I was confused by misleading, incomplete documents and ended up paying Europcar hundreds of extra Euros for insurance when I picked up my car, increasing the cost of the rental by about 33%. Weeks later I realized I could have avoided this extra charge if someone had just given me a few little tips. I published this document hoping that I can help future travellers in the same situation. I am not sure how generally-applicable this information is: some details might be different depending on your nationality, the nation where you are renting your car, and the company from which you are renting.