Best credit cards that offer roadside assistance

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new card details and information. 

Need a jump or help changing a flat tire? When things go wrong, especially on the road, it can be easy to panic and forget about all the options you have, but one or more of your credit cards may provide a roadside assistance benefit that can help.

The level of assistance and terms vary widely. Some cards cover assistance up to a certain amount per event while others simply arrange for the help. Here’s what you need to know about the different types of roadside assistance provided by select credit cards.

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The best credit cards with roadside assistance in 2020

• Chase Sapphire Reserve: Best for overall travel protections, including roadside assistance
• United Explorer Card: Best for roadside assistance with a sub-$100 annual fee
• Chase Freedom Unlimited: Best for roadside dispatch at a set rate with no annual fee
• Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card: Best Capital One card for roadside dispatch at a set rate
• Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card: Best Bank of America card for roadside dispatch at a set rate

Comparison of the best cards offering roadside assistance

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months

Rewards rate: Three points per dollar spent on travel and dining; one point per dollar spent on everything else

Roadside assistance benefit: Covered up to a maximum of $50 for each service event, up to four events each year

Annual fee: $550

Even though American Express has added some travel protections to select cards, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is still my pick for best overall travel rewards card. The travel and shopping protections offered by the card are solid. And though the card’s annual fee is now $550, you are now getting added Lyft and DoorDash benefits in exchange. Earning 3x points per dollar spent on travel and dining results in an effective 6% return, based on TPG’s valuation of Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents each. You likely won’t sign up for the Sapphire Reserve solely due to its roadside assistance benefit, but it’s one more reason to consider getting the card if you travel at least semi-frequently.

Related reading:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card review
• Amex Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Which card is right for you?
• Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Which card is right for you?
• Sapphire Reserve math: When to book travel through Chase and when to transfer points

Apply here for the Chase Sapphire Reserve

United Explorer Card

Sign-up bonus: 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open.

Rewards rate: 2x miles per dollar spent on purchases with United, at restaurants and on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel; 1x mile per dollar spent on everything else

Roadside assistance benefit: Covered up to a maximum of $50 for each service event, up to four events each year

Annual fee: $95 (waived first year)

The United Explorer Card is the lowest annual-fee card to provide complimentary roadside assistance of up to $50 per service event, up to four times each year. However, the United Explorer Card can also help you defeat United basic economy. This is because you can get priority boarding and the first checked bag free on United-operated flights for you and one companion on the same reservation when you purchase the flight with your card. The United Explorer Card can make financial sense even if you only check a few bags each year on United flights.

Further reading:

• Premium perks without a high annual fee: United Explorer Card review
• 4 reasons someone in your family needs a United credit card
• How United credit cards fit into the new MileagePlus program
• How to unlock additional award availability with United credit cards

Apply here for the United Explorer Card

Chase Freedom Unlimited

Sign-up bonus: Earn $150 cash back after you spend $500 on purchases in your first three months

Rewards rate: 1.5% cash back on everything

Roadside dispatch benefit: Access to select roadside services at a set price

Annual fee: None

The Chase Freedom Unlimited is an excellent starter card, and it can easily become one of the most rewarding cards in your wallet if you plan to get a Chase Ultimate Rewards card such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card in the future. This is because although the Freedom Unlimited earns cash back, you can save your cash back until you get a card that earns Ultimate Rewards points — at which point you can turn your cash back into Ultimate Rewards points. Based on TPG’s valuation of Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents each, you can get about double the return when you redeem Ultimate Rewards points for travel instead of cash back. All of this from a card that doesn’t charge an annual fee makes the Chase Freedom Unlimited one of the top choices for everyday spending.

Further reading:

• Best cash back credit cards
• Chase Freedom Unlimited: A surprisingly great credit card
• Chase Freedom vs. Chase Freedom Unlimited: Which card is right for you?
• When should you use the Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card?
• Why the Chase Freedom Unlimited should be the first card in every student’s wallet

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months

Rewards rate: Two miles per dollar spent on everything

Roadside dispatch benefit: Access to select roadside services at a set price

Annual fee: $95

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a popular credit card that earns miles that can be redeemed at a fixed rate of 1 cent per miles or transferred to travel partners. Based on the value that you can get from transferring your miles to travel partners, TPG values Capital One miles at 1.4 cents each. All purchases earn 2x miles per dollar spent, so you don’t have to worry about determining whether a purchase will earn bonus points. Capital One has continuously expanded its list of transfer partners since the program first launched in 2018, and even recently added its first two hotel transfer partners.

Further reading:

• Capital One Venture Rewards card review
• To transfer or not to transfer: What to do with Capital One miles
• Starter card showdown: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture
• The best Capital One credit cards   

Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card

Sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 points after you make at least $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days

Rewards rate: 2x points per dollar spent on travel and dining (2-3.5% return); 1.5x points per dollar spent on everything else

Roadside dispatch benefit: Access to select roadside services at a set price

Annual fee: $95

The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card is one of the highest-earning cash back credit cards — but only if you belong to the highest tier of the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program. At this tier, which requires you to maintain a three-month average balance of $100,000 or more in qualifying Bank of America and Merrill investment accounts, you’ll get a 75% rewards bonus on the points earned by the Premium Rewards card. This means you’d earn 3.5 points per dollar spent on travel and dining, as well as 2.625 points per dollar spent on everything else.

The information for the Bank of America Premium Rewards card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Further reading:

• Not to be underestimated: Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card review
• 5 reasons to get the Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card
• Your guide to the Bank of America Premium Rewards card airline fee credit
• Step by step: How to redeem points using the Bank of America Premium Rewards card

Roadside assistance provided by premium Chase cards

The Chase Sapphire Reserve, United Club Infinite Card and United Explorer Card provide roadside assistance when you’re stranded away from home in the U.S. or Canada with a roadside emergency. Call the number on the back of your card and they’ll arrange assistance. When using this assistance, you’ll be covered up to a maximum of $50 for each service event, up to four events each year. Assistance will only be provided for one service event for the same cause during any consecutive seven-day period.

Related: My experience using my credit card’s roadside assistance benefit

These premium Chase cards offer coverage when you as a cardholder are traveling away from home and driving a vehicle you own, lease or that is furnished to you by the owner. Although the guide to benefits for each card notes that you must be “away from home,” no minimum distance away from home is defined in the most recent guide to benefits for each card, found here:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve guide to benefits
• United Club Card guide to benefits
• United Explorer guide to benefits

Coverage includes battery boost, flat tire service (if you have an inflated spare), fuel delivery (up to two gallons), towing (up to $50) and locksmith services (up to $50). Self-propelled, four-wheel vehicles designed, licensed and used for private on-road transportation — as well as trucks with a carrying capacity of up to 2,000 pounds — are covered, although commercial vehicles are not.

Two additional Chase cards — the Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card and the United Presidential Plus Card — also offer this type of roadside assistance, but are no longer available to new cardholders.

Related: Maximize your wallet with the perfect quartet of Chase cards

Roadside dispatch provided by all Visa credit cards

All Visa cardholders have access to roadside dispatch by calling 800-847-2869. This assistance gets you the following services for a set rate (currently $69.95 for many cards) per standard service call:

• Standard towing (up to five miles included for vehicles that weight 10,000 pounds or less, a secondary unit towed behind is not included but can be accommodated for an additional fee)
• Tire changing (must have good, inflated spare)
• Jump starting
• Lockout service (no key replacement)
• Fuel delivery (up to five gallons; you pay the cost of fuel)
• Standard winching (within 100 feet of paved or county maintained road only)

Even Visa credit cards with no annual fee, such as the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Freedom, include this type of protection.

Related: The best Visa credit cards

Protection provided by other credit cards

Although roadside assistance is no longer a benefit on most Citi and American Express cards, some other cards do still offer roadside assistance as a benefit. However, many only help with arranging services that you then need to pay for yourself. This benefit can still be valuable since it saves you from needing to find a provider on your own — especially when you’re traveling. But, this could leave you with a large bill.

Related: The best credit cards with travel insurance

How does credit card roadside assistance compare to AAA?

I keep a AAA membership for the discounts and benefits it provides, especially at hotels and amusement parks, so I’ll usually call AAA if I need roadside assistance. But, if you only maintain your AAA membership for roadside assistance, it may not be as necessary as you’d previously assumed if you have a credit card such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the United Explorer Card that offers complimentary roadside assistance up to $50 four times each year.

Some other credit cards — including all Visa cards — provide paid access to roadside assistance, which may be adequate if you don’t utilize the benefit too frequently. Just remember that the roadside assistance benefit provided by some credit cards requires you to be traveling away from home, so it might not work if your car battery goes dead in the driveway.

Related guides

• The best credit cards for gas purchases
• The best credit cards for purchasing a car
• The pros and cons of Amex’s Auto Purchasing Program
• Best credit cards for rental car coverage
• Five steps to a perfect car rental
• Credit cards that offer elite status for car rentals

Bottom line

Roadside assistance, like travel insurance, is a benefit that’s easy to forget about because it’s one you hope to never need. While you likely won’t be applying for any new cards solely based on their roadside assistance benefits, it’s worth figuring out if any cards you already have offer assistance here. When things go wrong, it’s always good to know who to call for the cheapest and fastest fix.

Featured photo by Maradon 333/Shutterstock.