> I just rented a car in the UK three days ago without a credit card

Did they give you a discount for cash? If not, why on earth would you ever throw away the free extra insurance that you get with a credit card?

Credit cards with fringe benefits like that (and massive points back, etc.) are really an American thing. They're few and far between on the ground in other countries.

Also, keep in mind, you're paying for it one way or another. There is no such thing as free.

Correction, you are also paying for my fringe benefits. Very few places offer a cash discount, while CC fees are baked in into all prices.

That's not entirely true, its written in UK law that you get better protections with a credit card - see Section 75 protection. You'd be pretty foolish to use cash for large expenses due to this.

Someone is paying for it. In this case it's people who keep a balance and pay interest. If you never do that, you're getting those benefits mostly for free.

Merchants have to pay a decent sized fee on every transaction, and that fee is definitely passed on to the consumer via higher prices. But it’s also (arguably unfairly) equally passed on to consumers paying cash.

That's a fair point as well, although the fee is generally quite small.

> They're few and far between on the ground in other countries

This thread is about doing something in the United Kingdom, isn't it? Why are you bringing up America?

> Also, keep in mind, you're paying for it one way or another. There is no such thing as free.

If the choice is to pay the same amount in cash, or on a card, and you only get the insurance on a card, then for all practical purposes the insurance is free. You cannot pay less if you give up the insurance. There is no extra cost to you to use it.

In the UK, as in the rest of Europe, credit cards with benefits such as complimentary insurance (or indeed things like cash back) aren't as common as in the US. I believe Amex is the one of the few companies that include insurance in the UK. With other cards such as Barclays and HSBC, you typically have to pay a monthly credit card fee to add the feature.

Not all credit cards offer a rental car insurance benefit. Many credit cards have trimmed all those extra benefits in recent years.