Roadside assistance is one of those conveniences you generally never think about until you really need it. Especially until you are stranded in your car on the side of the road late at night or stuck on the highway during inclement weather. In short, it is one of those benefits that although less celebrated is absolutely worth it. Roadside service is available to all Visa card holders. If you have a car that breaks down, sometimes the cost of towing the vehicle to a garage to fix it can cost just as much as the actual repair.
By calling 1-800-VISA-TOW, you can access Visa’s Roadside Dispatch service and be able to get the services you need for a $69.99 flat fee. This includes 5 miles of towing, changing a flat to a spare you have, jumpstarting a car, and up to 5 gallons of fuel delivered. This feature is available to all drivers in Canada and the United States.
Visa also offers all card holders a limited protection against collision and theft when using a rental car. The only thing that needs to be done to activate this coverage is to decline the collision damage waiver from a rental agency and process the transaction on your Visa card.
Let us look at some of the best and affordable credit cards with roadside assistance.
Triangle World Elite Mastercard
This card is offered by the renown Canadian automotive retailer Canadian Tire. The Triangle World Elite Mastercard roadside assistance offers a Gold – Level Plan including 24/7 towing, lock out services, flat tire change, fuel delivery and battery boost.
As a Gold – Level Plan Cardholder you will get not only 5 emergencies each year and unlimited tows to any Canadian Tire Auto Service center within a 250 km radius in Canada or the United States, but also meal and/or hotel reimbursement as much as up to $200 when you’re stranded due to a car emergency.
If you do not want to apply for the card you can easily purchase your Canadian Tire roadside assistance Gold – Plan directly which in that case will cost an annual fee of $99.95.
- Annual card fee: $0
- Other benefits: 3% in Canadian Tire Money for each dollar when shopping at any grocery store (excluding Costco and Walmart), 4% at Canadian Tire stores, $0.07 per liter of gas purchased at Gas+ and affiliated Husky stations as well as 1% on all other purchases.
- Income requirement: A minimum personal income of $80,000 or $150,000 (household).
- Purchase interest rate: 19.99%
View more information about the Triangle Mastercard Review.
If complementary access to a Deluxe Auto Club membership is something you would not normally expect from your local Canadian bank, then get ready for something special. The TD Cash Back Visa Infinite Card offered by TD Canada Trust comes not only with roadside assistance for tire change, it also includes lockout services, gas delivery (5L free), and towing services. This includes within 200 km to the nearest service center in Canada and the Continental United States but also cash reimbursements of up to $200 for meals/hotel accommodations when you’re stranded due to an auto emergency.
Additionally if you’re ever in need of legal advice due to an auto incident, in specific circumstances, as a member of the TD Auto Club you can receive a cash benefit of as much as up to $300 towards your total fees paid.
- Annual fee: $120 (waived for the first year)
- Cash Back Welcome Bonus: For your first $2,000 in purchases you will receive a 10% cash back within the first 3 months.
- Other benefits: 3% cash back on groceries, gas, and recurring bill payments; 1% cash back on everything else.
- Income requirement: You will need a personal income of at least $60,000 to be eligible for this card.
- Purchase interest rate: 20.99%
- Note: Supplementary cards cost $50 per year.
View more information about the TD Cash Back Visa Infinite.
Home Trust Preferred Visa
Not only does the Home Trust Preferred Visa provide free roadside assistance, but unlike any other card we have looked at, is the only no-fee credit card waiving the 2.5% foreign currency transaction fees.
Home Trust Preferred visa with its minimum income requirement of just $15,000 annually, perfect for people on a low budget and students, comes with 24/7 complementary roadside assistance for up to four emergencies annually within Canada and the United States, gas delivery (up to 5 liters), battery boosts and tire changes. Towing is restricted to a maximum distance of 5 km with an additional charge of $3 for every additional km.
- Annual card fee: $0
- Earn rate: 1% cash back on purchases.
- Other benefits: No-FX exchange fees, car rental insurance, hotel reservation guarantees, 90 days purchase protection insurance.
- Purchase interest rate: 19.99%
View more information about the Home Trust Preferred Visa.
Which Roadside Assistance Plan is best for You?
Well it depends. If you prefer not to have an extra credit card in your wallet, then you can always pay the additional cost for a CAA or Costco roadside assistance. Roadside assistance from CAA costs somewhere between $70 to $100.
If you are looking for a no-fee card, then both the Triangle World Elite Mastercard and Home Trust Preferred Visa come at a great value. If you are in the market for a premium credit card, then it is hard to beat the infinite offers of the TD Cash Back Visa roadside assistance plan.