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Ever been stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire? Locked your keys in your car? Run out of fuel? Having access to roadside assistance when you have car troubles can be a lifesaver.
No matter which state you’re traveling in, one quick call can put you in touch with a roadside assistance dispatch center — a team of helpers who will stay on the phone with you while organizing the help you need. And the best part? If you hold one of the credit cards listed below, you can use this service up to several times a year free of charge!
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The Best Credit Cards for Roadside Assistance
Many rewards credit cards offer roadside assistance among their other benefits, but just a handful of those cards offer the service free of charge. Most provide a 24/7 dispatch service, but you pay for the services you use. For example, if you lock your keys in your car, you can call the dispatch service and ask the customer service agent to find a locksmith. The dispatch service connects you with the locksmith free of charge, but you’ll pay the locksmith for the services provided.
The list of rewards cards we’ve put together below all provide complimentary roadside assistance. You call the dispatch center, they organize the service technician and, provided it’s an issue covered by your card’s policy, the tow operator, mechanic, or locksmith will show up to help you at no cost.
You can access this complimentary roadside assistance up to four times per year, although you cannot use the benefits offered through Chase cards more than once in a seven-day period for the same issue.
Related: 22 Credit Card Benefits Every Traveler Should Know About
Chase Roadside Assistance
Chase limits each service event to the value of $50, and you can only claim one service event for the same cause during any consecutive seven-day period. Cards providing free roadside assistance include:
- The New United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees)
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees)
- The New United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees)
- United MileagePlus® Club Card
- The New United℠ Business Card (Rates & Fees)
- United℠ Explorer Business Card
- United Club℠ Business Card
- The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card (no longer open to new applicants)
While all the cards above charge an annual fee, note that Chase provides complimentary roadside assistance on the United Explorer Card and the United Business Card. These cards offer the same full-service roadside assistance as you'll find on premium credit cards with annual fees in the hundreds of dollars. However, the United Explorer Card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150, and the United Business Card charges a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150 annual fee, making these cards less-expensive options for the long-term.
Chase Roadside Assistance will cover you for:
- Battery Boost: If your vehicle doesn’t start because of a dead or weak battery, someone can come and jump the battery.
- Flat Tire Service: If you have a flat tire, they'll install your inflated spare.
- Fuel Delivery: If you run out of gas, someone can deliver an emergency supply to you. The cost of fuel is covered for up to two gallons.
- 24-Hour Towing Assistance: If your car breaks down and needs to be towed, the representative will arrange transport to get your vehicle to the nearest repair facility or location of the motorist’s choice. Services will be covered up to $50 for each event.
- 24-Hour Lockout Assistance: If you accidentally lock yourself out of your vehicle, a qualified locksmith will be sent to help, up to a $50 value for each event. Note that you'll pay the cost of any replacement keys required.
Chase Roadside Assistance eligibility requirements
To be eligible for this coverage, you must be driving a vehicle you own or lease or be driving a car furnished to you by the owner (meaning no rental vehicles), and services must be arranged through Cross Country Motor Club at 866-860-7978. The policy only covers private, on-road transportation, with trucks limited to a carrying capacity of up to 2,000 pounds. Commercial vehicles are not covered; coverage only applies to the U.S. and Canada.
It's worth mentioning that several other Chase cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), offer roadside assistance on a pay-per-use basis. However, we haven't included those cards in our list because the options for free service are clearly better.
Roadside Assistance From Other Credit Card Providers
We've got bad news and semi-bad news; there's little positive to say here.
Wells Fargo, Capital One, and Bank of America offer roadside assistance on a pay-per-use system across some of their credit cards, meaning all that's free is your phone call and linking you with someone who can provide help. You'll receive a bill once the tow truck or mechanic shows up. With Visa cards, for example, you'll pay $79.95 each time you obtain roadside assistance service.
You can use Google to find this information and then call a nearby mechanic, so the ability to call a help center really isn't much of a benefit.
There are also issuers that don't offer this benefit at all. In September 2019, Citi removed many of its travel and purchase protections across numerous credit cards. Sadly, roadside assistance was removed as a benefit for most cards and hasn't returned. A few months later, American Express eliminated Roadside Assistance benefits in January 2020.
Related: The Master Guide to Credit Card Insurance Benefits
Final Thoughts
Complimentary roadside assistance is one of the hidden benefits of credit cards — a perk many cardholders may not realize they can use multiple times per year. Unlike other perks on your card, there's no requirement for enrollment or certain monthly activities to keep the roadside assistance benefit active. You receive the benefit free of charge simply for holding one of the cards on the list.
If you’re looking for free roadside coverage without paying a premium rewards card's annual fee, it’s hard to beat the United Explorer Card, which offers complimentary roadside assistance and the lowest annual fee on the list. That can provide real savings while helping you and your car get back on the road.
- Limited-Time Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150
- 2x miles on United® purchases, dining, and hotel stays when booked with the hotel
- Enjoy priority boarding privileges and visit the United Club℠ with 2 one-time passes each year for your anniversary
- Free first checked bag - a savings of up to $160 per roundtrip. Terms Apply.
- Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit
- Earn a $100 United travel credit after spending $10,000 on purchases with your United℠ Explorer Card within a calendar year
- Over $400 in partner credits each year
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 2X miles per $1 spent on purchases from United®
- 2X miles per $1 spent on dining and hotel stays when booked with the hotel
- 1X mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The New United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), The New United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees), The New United℠ Business Card (Rates & Fees), and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees)
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