Have you used your credit card Roadside Assistance benefit?

[TheAmericanTravelProject]

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 Doctor of Credit and 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.
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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.

Have you used your credit card Roadside Assistance benefit?​

The post Have you used your credit card Roadside Assistance benefit? appeared first on The American Travel Project.

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