We just used our Venture no fee card to rent a car this week. I called the company before I left to let them know I was traveling outside the country and mentioned car rental. They told me it was covered (the collision part of it). BTW those points can be used in a variety of ways including putting money back on the card. Check both options out and figure out what fits you the best. We usually travel only once a year and try to pay cash for most of our purchases so the points don't help us as much. We do charge purchases and dental appts. in Canada so it helps us then as well.

I use my Cap One Venture in SXM and have had no issues with Rental Car Insurance. It isn't my primary card in the states however. So I'm not about to start paying for the one with a fee.

It used to be we would annually receive 2 free Board Room passes, 2 First class upgrades, and companion-fares that could be used for any class travel. Now all you get is one companion-fare that is only good for coach.

As far as using our Alaska miles to get to where we want to go- I am glad that you have been successful. Our last booking to Cabo required the wife and I to book on separate flights as there was not two seats available on the same Alaska flights from PDX-SJD. Now before you say it, we did not wait until the last minute to book, this was 10 months out. I say booked because hurricane Odile wiped out our resort, which forced us to cancel our trip.

While we have AA accounts, we choose to have mileage credited to our Alaska MileagePlan accounts. This was fine because up until a couple years ago we did not have a problem redeeming them!