Is Your Credit Card Secretly Offering Free Roadside Assistance? Here’s How to Find Out

Several major credit card companies have cards that offer roadside assistance without an annual membership fee.

Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America are among the companies that offer credit cards with a roadside assistance benefit. For some consumers, one of these credit cards could provide enough value that it makes sense to skip paying for a roadside assistance membership.

Key Takeaways

• Roadside assistance comes in handy if run into issues like getting a flat tire, being locked out of your car, or needing a tow.
• You can pay for a roadside assistance membership through companies like AAA. Or you can explore roadside assistance benefits through your credit card issuer.
• Comparing the costs and benefits of a membership versus a credit card benefit can help you decide which route for roadside assistance works for you.

What Is Roadside Assistance, and What Does It Typically Cover?

Roadside assistance is a service that helps drivers when they run into car trouble on the road. You can get coverage for issues like:

• Towing
• Battery jump or replacement
• Emergency lock-out
• Fuel delivery
• Flat tire

Do Some Credit Cards Really Offer Free Roadside Assistance?

Roadside assistance is a benefit of several premium travel rewards credit cards, though there is usually a cap on each claim and on the number of claims a cardmember can make each year. Other less-premium cards that may or may not charge an annual fee may also offer some degree of roadside assistance as a pay-per-use service; you pay a fee only when you need roadside help or in the form of pre-negotiated discount rates for services like towing.

Capital One offers travel rewards cards and cash-back cards with roadside assistance via Visa and Mastercard.

Chase offers several credit cards with roadside assistance. Some cards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, have a lofty annual fee, while others, like the Chase Slate Edge, do not. Bank of America and Wells Fargo also offer a roadside assistance program for people with Visa credit cards.

The only way to determine if your credit card provides coverage for roadside assistance and how it works is to consult your cardmember agreement under its benefits section or visit the issuer’s website. You can also call the customer service number on the back of your credit card to inquire.

Is Paying for Roadside Assistance Really Worth It?

Over the course of a year, more than half of drivers ran into an issue that required roadside assistance, according to a survey from Agero. If you end up being one of those drivers, you can expect a tow to cost you an average of $109.

You can buy an roadside assistance membership. AAA, for example, offers plans ranging from $64.99 to $124.99 per year. Some car insurance policies include roadside assistance benefits, such as towing, as well.

As a credit card benefit, you will most likely only pay for roadside assistance if you use it unless you have a premium travel card that provides flat coverage amounts per incident.

If you are deciding between an annual membership and roadside assistance offered by your credit card, consider:

• The cost of a membership
• Membership benefits as described in your cardmember agreement
• Your credit card’s annual fee, if any
• Your card’s coverage or its pay-per-service options and charges for roadside assistance
• Any limits to payouts, frequency of claims, and the service area for roadside assistance via membership or your credit card

The Bottom Line

You could potentially save money by leveraging your credit card benefits and ditching the annual fee for a roadside assistance membership. Unless you carry one of the premium travel rewards credit cards you will likely pay for roadside assistance if you leverage your card benefits, but you only pay if you need it.

Do your research on roadside assistance memberships, card benefits, and fees to help you find the right coverage and cost for you.