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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 mechanical issues 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 which will keep you on the phone 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 four times a year free of charge!
Rewards Cards That Offer Complimentary Roadside Assistance
There are plenty of rewards cards offering roadside assistance as one of the listed 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 rep to find a locksmith. The dispatch service organizes the locksmith free of charge, but you’ll pay the locksmith for the service 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 attend the incident at no cost to you. You can access this complimentary roadside assistance up to 4 times per year, although you cannot use the benefits offered through Chase cards more than once in a 7-day period for the same issue.
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 7-day period. Chase cards providing free roadside assistance include:
- United℠ Explorer Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- United Club℠ Infinite Card
- United MileagePlus® Club Card
- The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card
- United℠ Business Card
- United℠ Explorer Business Card
- United Club℠ Business Card
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. This is the same full-service roadside assistance that is ordinarily offered on premium cards costing hundreds of dollars per year. The United Explorer Card waives the annual fee for the first year, and both cards charge less than $100 per year to hold for the long term.
Chase Roadside Assistance will cover you for:
- Battery Boost if your vehicle won’t start due to a dead or weak battery
- Flat Tire Service if you have a flat tire, they'll install your inflated spare
- Fuel Delivery if you run out of gas, an emergency supply will be delivered to you. The cost of fuel is covered for up to 2 gallons.
- 24 Hour Towing Assistance in the event of a vehicle breakdown that requires a tow. The representative will arrange to transport the 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 should you accidentally lock yourself out of your vehicle; a qualified locksmith will be dispatched to remedy the situation, up to $50 value for each event. (Replacement key costs are the responsibility of the Cardholder.)
To be eligible for the coverage you must be driving a vehicle you own or lease, or a car furnished to you by the owner (no rentals), and services must be arranged through Cross Country Motor Club at 1-866-860-7978. The policy only covers private on-road transportation, with trucks limited to a carrying capacity of up to 2,000 pounds, and no commercial vehicles. Coverage is valid only when traveling in the U.S. and Canada.
As of 01/01/2020, American Express cards no longer provide Roadside Assistance benefits.
Final Thoughts
Complimentary roadside assistance is one of the hidden benefits of credit cards that many cardholders may not realize they can claim. There is no need to buy anything or make a specific purchase with your card to qualify for free roadside assistance. You receive the benefit free of charge merely for being a cardholder of any of the rewards cards listed above. If you’re looking for free roadside coverage without paying a premium card annual fee, it’s hard to go past the United Explorer Card, which offers complimentary roadside assistance with the lowest annual fee on the list!
Ever used the roadside assistance offered with your credit card? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!
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I just looked at Chase’s website and called their roadside assistance number and the cost for a jump start is $69.95. It seems that is the “flat fee” they mention on Chase’s website. https://www.chase.com/card-benefits/benefit-details/slate/roadside-assistance
I don’t think Amex is offering roadside assistance any more.
Amex Plat Biz has taken 4 hours and now the rental company says i owe 130 over even though it is 4.1 miles
These terms and conditions state 10 miles fully covered
Disgraceful
This may be an old thread but people need to know that American Express is discontinuing their roadside service as of 12-31-2019. They charge $95 a year for what?
Thanks! Working on updating this.
Love the idea of a cheat sheet so I know which card to use for what. Can you give us a breakdown of benefits in a checkbox format like Consumer Reports and lots of others? Please???
Can you share an example?
USAA Roadside Assistance also subcontracts with Cross Country Motor Club at 1-866-860-7978. They use above average tow providers . A tow in major metropolitan area will run a lot more than $50. Mine was $180 for twenty mile drop-off for collision work. The vehicle did have to be stowed on a flatbed trailer.
BMO World Elite Mastercard also offers roadside assistance – free – up to 4 times per year. It comes with a $150 annual fee (though it is waived the first year).
This is incorrect or I have been lied to. I have a United Explorer MileagePlus card and just got off the phone with them and they said it is NOT free and that there is a 69.95 charge every time, which is NOT a benefit at all. Definitely will keep this in mind and bring this up when I CHANGE credit card companies.
Sorry about your experience. I’d suggest you review the guide to benefits of your card. Your experience does not match up what we’ve seen and experienced personally.
Thanks for this. I didn’t even know these cards had roadside assistance!
Did not know this info before. Nice to know. Got ambushed by big US Corp “H”. Next trip if Time permits local dealer or body shop
Great information, I did not know this. I have a few of those cards so I am good to go.
I had forgotten about this! Argh I could have just used that! Oh well, next time. So we would call that number you listed?
Is it on the back or through calling Chase too? I will forget it and of course lose any paper I’ve written it down on.
You can always call the number on the back of your card.
Good reference post to bookmark when you need it.
I’ve learned both from personal experience, over the years, and vicariously to carry both a primary and a backup roadside assistance plan.
Some worthwhile options to consider, in addition to the aforementioned roadside assistance plans offered by credit card issuers, are roadside assistance plans offered by some auto insurers, by some vehicle manufacturers (e.g., ToyotaCare), by AARP, and by some mobile phone service providers. For example, a Sprint PCS perq is free AAA basic membership (customers can pay the difference if they want higher level AAA plans).
I don’t drive, but do you know if you can get this benefit if you are stuck in (or outside) someone else’s car?
It depends on the specific card you have. I’d recommend you look through the various guides of benefits for your particular card to confirm the exact coverage you’ll receive https://awardwallet.com/blog/master-list-credit-card-benefits-guides/. In general, however, you’re covered as long as you’re with the car when service is required.
I had no idea this was even a possible perk!
Makes me wonder why anyone pays for AAA.
Your car insurance offer this, why do you need it in a card?
Are you sure? Mine charges extra.
Roadside assistance should be the last thing to value when looking at a new card. Purchase protection and extended warranty features are much more valuable. Free iPhone insurance that covers accidents and losses with no deductible vs something I already get with my CAA membership? No thanks.
Handy niche, thanks for the compilation
I didn’t know ANY card offered roadside assistance.
Perhaps it is worth it to ditch my AAA memership
Really did not know about it, great idea..Thanks for the heads up.
@Lee Ann says: “Now only to remember to use the right card!”
Yes, it almost requires a cheat sheet to know which one to pull out in which situation these days! 🙂
What’s the typical cost of the services? Since Chase has the $50 limit, I’m wondering if one of the other cards would be better to have.
I had a tire changed for less than $50. So it worked for that. Just call the number on the back of the card.
Great to know but $50 for each event with the CSR, isn’t much, when companies charge a lot for just showing up let alone the addition of a tire change or jump.
Never knew about this benefit!
Extremely useful post – thanks! I really had no idea this coverage was so comprehensive. I am going to print this and put a copy in each car.
Thanks Howie!
After the AAA left us stranded overnight in the car without any help for 12 hours, I will definitely look at the option of having a card that covers the road assistance. Thanks for finding this.
That 50 dollar limit makes me anxious with Chase, which is the only one I have. Luckily hasn’t been an issue yet, and it’s better than nothing!
This is also so great for when you’ve rented a car in travels and need assistance!
Be sure to check the coverage to make sure it covers your rental prior to renting.
I have a paid AAA membership for my wife and me. I have the CSR and my wife has the United Mileage Plus Explorer. Not sure if I should renew the AAA?
Time to look at what you actually get from AAA now, isn’t it?
A lot of these cards have services and perks most people never utilize. Good to see articles like this to help remind people
I didn’t realize these cards have roadside assistance. To be honest I’ve always used AAA and have been satisfied.
This will be of immense help. Thank you.
I like perks… but to be honest.. I have AAA and it is always a hassle to use it…
So, what do you do if your car breaks down?
Thanks for the information. Now only to remember to use the right card!
Good perk to know about, thanks!
Our Sapphire Reserve is definitely making up for it’s annual fee with one tow and one flat tire this year.
I love CSR. It is the best card for traveling.
This is a great benefit to have and shouldn’t have to cost much money. I hope that the banks decide to add this benefit to more cards.
So good to know!
I had no idea. Thanks.
I even didn’t know about it!!! thank you
Thanks for the summary. I had no idea cards offered these types of benefits.
I honestly did not know that these cards provided roadside assistance. I have paid for at AAA membership for years and have used it. I will now have to reassess to see if it is worthwhile keeping that membership. On the other hand, I do take a vantage of the AAA discounts so it might be a wash.