Have you used your credit card Roadside Assistance benefit?
We recently returned from another trip to Jamaica. Because Southwest flies direct from Baltimore to Montego Bay (and because we have 2 Southwest Companion Passes), we chose to drive 2 hours to the BWI airport instead of flying from our ‘home’ airport in Philadelphia. We have done this a bunch of times now, and we often find that it makes sense to stay at one of the many BWI airport hotels using a park & fly rate. We can often get a good deal for the hotel night, and it includes parking for the duration of our trip. We leave our car in the hotel parking lot, and take the airport shuttle.
This works beautifully, most of the time. This past time, not so much. Not because of BWI or the hotel (Hyatt Place) or the flights. The issue was that we landed at 5pm, got back to the hotel by 6pm, and the car wouldn’t start. One of the kids (lets blame them, since they aren’t reading this) left a light on in the car & the battery died while we were partying in Jamaica. Our first instinct was panic. We were 2+ hours from home and had given up our AAA membership a while back.
Then a light bulb went off & I remembered that some of our credit cards have a Roadside Assistance option. The one that stuck out in my mind was the Ritz-Carlton card. I remembered some comprehensive posts written about the card by The Lazy Traveler’s Handbook back when I had applied (when the offer was 140.000 points).
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards Visa:
You are provided up to $50 per event in the United States and Canada if you need help with towing, delivery of two gallons of gas, jump start, spare-tire change or lockout services.
I pulled out my card and called the number on the back, where I was directed to someone who could help me with roadside assistance. They hooked us up with a local company & sent an immediate text with a timeframe for arrival (within an hour). The kids and I went to the Ruby Tuesday’s in the same parking lot to order dinner, while my husband waited for roadside assistance. He was able to join us for dinner before we even got our orders. The service showed up, jump started the car, and didn’t require any additional payment. My husband gave the guy a tip, but the service cost must have been under the allotted $50 because we never saw a bill or made a payment.
Crisis averted.
Traveling to all 50 states before we turn 50! 
Very useful reminder… now comes the part where I make an annoying comment that is going to get other people fired up, too (but hopefully not). I’m actually serious here and not just trying to stir up trouble… is it normal to tip the guy that jump starts your car? I thought it was a job with a non-tip requiring salary.
It’s pretty much common that you tip anybody that helps you out in the USA these days.
Seems to be the cultural norm, right or wrong.
I’m thinking about this some more, and considering how long I’ve waited for my car to get started after a dead battery, maybe I should tip them if they get there in time for me to join my family for dinner and not spend over an hour waiting in a parking lot.
I don’t know if it’s standard practice to tip or not because (thankfully) it was the first time we’ve ever been in the situation. I wasn’t there when the guy came, but my husband was probably feeling generous with the relief he felt:)
Almost needed this recently, found a wheel nut was rusted on and didn’t have good tools… my worry was the $50 coverage without a frame of reference for charge to come out. I was concerned that a call out might be a standard $150 so I’d be taking on the extra cost.
The perils of being a clueless foreigner
Also – tipping is really weird.
Matt – we were pretty desperate in this situation and didn’t really know how the financial part would play out. Luckily it was somewhere less than $50, but it could have been much more and we would have had to pay. We were pretty much out of options (although I could have called the company the CC referred me to and asked for an estimate).
Yes, we Americans pretty much tip everyone.
Went through a stretch last year where we used AMEX Platinum’s car assistance monthly! Definite perk that doesn’t get discussed enough.
One thing you may want to check on for roadside assistance is your car. If you have a new or used newer model car with low miles they often come with roadside assistance for X number of years and/or miles just for owning the vehicle. Most of the ones I checked transfer over to secondary owners. It may vary depending on the brand, however.
The real roadside assistance too. Not just the ‘we will dispatch, but you gotta pay for it’ kind.
What other cards have this feature. I have AMEX PRG, but I don’t think,it has $ 50 coverage.
Thanks for your marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you are a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and may come back someday.