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The best credit cards with roadside assistance
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Best for overall travel protections, including roadside assistance
- Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Best for roadside dispatch at a set price with no annual fee
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Best Capital One card for roadside dispatch at a set price
- Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card: Best Bank of America card for roadside dispatch at a set price
- Wells Fargo Autograph® Card (see rates and fees): Best Wells Fargo card for pay-per-use roadside dispatch with no annual fee
Comparing the best cards for roadside assistance
| Card | Roadside assistance type | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | Covers up to $50 for each service event, up to four events each year | $550 |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited | Provides select services at a set price per service call | $0 |
| Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card | Provides select services at a set price per service call | $95 |
| Bank of America Premium Rewards | Provides select services at a set price per service call | $95 |
| Wells Fargo Autograph Card | Provides select services at a set price per service call | $0 |
Roadside assistance with the Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Chase Sapphire Reserve provides roadside assistance when you’re stranded away from home in the U.S. or Canada with a roadside emergency. Call Cross Country Motor Club at 1-866-860-7978 for assistance. You’ll be covered up to $50 per service event (up to four events each year) when using this service.
The coverage is available when traveling away from home and driving a vehicle you own, being leased or being furnished to you by the owner. Although the guide to benefits notes that you must be “away from home,” the most recent Chase Sapphire Reserve guide to benefits doesn’t define a required distance away from home.
Coverage includes jump-start, tire changing (if you have a good, inflated spare), fuel delivery (up to two gallons), towing (up to $50), standard winching and lockout services (up to $50; does not include key replacement).
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. Commercial vehicles, however, are not covered.
Related: Chase Sapphire showdown: Sapphire Preferred vs. Sapphire Reserve
Roadside dispatch provided by all Visa credit cards
All Visa cardholders have access to roadside dispatch by calling 1-800-847-2869.
This assistance gets you the following services for a set rate per service call (currently $79.95):
- Fuel delivery (up to five gallons, though you must pay the cost of fuel)
- Jump-start
- Lockout service (no key replacement)
- Standard towing (up to five miles included for vehicles that weigh 10,000 pounds or less)
- Standard winching (within 100 feet of a paved or county-maintained road)
- Tire changing (if you have a good, inflated spare)
Even Visa credit cards with no annual fee include this type of protection.
Related: Best Visa cards
Roadside benefits provided by other credit cards
Although roadside assistance is no longer a benefit on most Citi and American Express cards, some other cards still offer roadside assistance as a benefit. However, many only help with arranging services that you need to pay for yourself.
This benefit can still be valuable since it saves you from searching for a provider on your own. But, you might end up with a hefty bill.
To determine whether your card provides roadside benefits, check your guide to benefits or call the number on the back of your card.
Related: The best credit cards with travel insurance
How does credit card roadside assistance compare to AAA?
If you have a AAA membership for the discounts and benefits, especially at places like hotels and amusement parks, it may be worth keeping. But if you typically call AAA for roadside assistance and this is the only reason you’re a AAA member, you might be better off replacing that membership with a credit card that offers roadside assistance.
This is especially true if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which 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. This access may be adequate if you don’t utilize the benefit too frequently. Just remember that the roadside assistance benefit supplied by some credit cards technically requires you to be traveling away from home. So, the benefit might not apply if your car battery goes dead in your driveway.
Related: Common travel mistakes and how to avoid them
Bottom line
Roadside assistance, like travel insurance, is a benefit that’s easy to forget about because it’s one you hope never to need. You likely won’t apply for new cards solely based on roadside benefits. But, it’s worth figuring out if any of your current cards offer roadside assistance benefits.
After all, it’s always good to know who to call for the cheapest and fastest fix if you need roadside assistance.