Numerous credit cards provide valuable perks like free miles and points for travel purchases, but each benefit often has specific terms and conditions which must be carefully read through to take full advantage.
Find a credit card with comprehensive travel insurance perks to cover cancellations, delays and any potential issues along the way. Also keep an eye out for roadside dispatch services to assist should anything go wrong while travelling.
Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance
Credit cards with trip cancellation and interruption coverage may provide reimbursement of travel expenses if your vacation is interrupted or cut short, including meals, hotels and transportation back home when your flight is delayed. They also compensate if you need to cancel an prepaid, nonrefundable trip for reasons covered by their specific card – such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or weather. Typically this policy covers you, your spouse or domestic partner and dependent children up to an age limit.
While trip interruption coverage shouldn’t replace comprehensive travel insurance policies, it can help get you home quickly if your vacation is interrupted due to illness or injury. It covers any unused prepaid expenses as well as cancellation penalties imposed by tour operators or cruise line. As different card issuers have slightly different terms and conditions, make sure that you read through them thoroughly prior to purchasing coverage.
Rental Car Insurance
Many credit cards offer rental car insurance that runs alongside your personal auto policy, covering deductibles and costs that exceed primary coverage limits. This coverage only becomes available if the rental is booked and paid for entirely on your card; some credit cards also offer roadside dispatch assistance to make traveling easier, including flat tire repair, jump starts or help unlocking locked vehicles.
Some travel cards include accidental death and dismemberment coverage, which pays out a lump sum in case of your loss of life or limb while traveling. However, this kind of protection may not be worth investing in for people with preexisting medical conditions.
Travel Accident Insurance
Travel accident insurance is a specialized form of coverage designed to cover individuals for injury or death while traveling both domestically and internationally. Such policies typically cover medical expenses, emergency evacuation costs, repatriation of remains or other benefits in case of accidental loss of life, limbs or dismemberment during your journey. Some credit cards offer complimentary travel accident policies when booking travel using their credit cards.
Faculty and staff traveling on University business outside their usual workstation are covered by this insurance, such as vacation, leave of absence (sabbatical), or approved personal travel. Petersen International Underwriters – a correspondent of Lloyd’s – provides this coverage, subject to state limitations; it should not be seen as a replacement for personal life or health policies held individually, and coverage may also be suspended upon layoff, retirement, termination or change to ineligible status status.
Emergency Travel and Evacuation Assistance
Medical emergencies are always a risk when traveling, but especially so in remote areas where incidents could be life-altering. Certain credit cards offer emergency evacuation coverage within their trip insurance policies for trips paid in full with credit cards; typically these plans (also referred to as medevac or med evac plans) cover up to certain maximum benefits the cost of transport from remote locations to facilities with appropriate treatment that offer treatment suitable for them up to certain maximum benefits.
Travel insurance assistance teams act as liaisons between doctors and travelers to provide optimal healthcare, and arrange transport if needed to higher-level hospitals. Some plans offer travelers the ability to select which hospital they’d prefer being evacuated to; this varies by plan. Other features may include bedside visits, language interpretation services and transportation for any necessary family members who may have to return home after treatment has commenced.
