Many travel credit cards offer benefits like trip cancellation/interruption insurance, emergency medical evacuation coverage and rental car collision damage waivers; the terms of such benefits will depend on both card provider and provider.
Based on your individual travel needs, it may make more sense to purchase an additional policy rather than rely on credit card travel insurance perks alone. Here’s how it works:
Cancel for Any Reason
Many credit cards come equipped with travel protection options to safeguard travellers in case of unexpected travel complications, including trip cancellation, interruption and delay insurance as well as baggage loss protection and rental car damage coverage.
Credit card travel insurance policies vary widely by card issuer and can include exclusions that might surprise you, such as preexisting medical conditions not being covered, adventure travel with risky activities not covered or trips impacted by war, natural disaster or terrorism not being covered; many of these policies also do not extend coverage beyond just cardholder.
Supplementary travel insurance might be worth your while if you plan to use credit card travel benefits often. A good policy will cover more costly, non-refundable expenses that would otherwise come out of pocket and offer broadened medical coverage. Some policies allow cancellation for any reason while others only reimburse if something unexpected comes up, like inclement weather or job-related emergencies.
Emergency Medical Evacuation
Credit card travel insurance policies tend to have restricted coverage that can become prohibitively expensive if your trip goes over its limits, and many credit cards exclude activities and travel to areas with specific government advisories as high-risk activities or travel destinations.
Emergency medical evacuation coverage is one of the cornerstones of credit card travel insurance policies, according to Durazo. This provision reimburses transportation costs if a severe injury or sickness prevents access to proper healthcare in your destination country, and proper travel insurer can arrange medical flights either on an air ambulance or commercial airline; some mid-tier policies even offer patients this privilege!
Travelers looking for an exciting adventure abroad will appreciate this benefit, although standard card policies only cover up to $10k of expenses related to such trips – if this does not meet all your expenses for off-the-beaten-path adventures, a separate policy might make more sense.
Trip Delay
Credit card travel insurance policies vary by card and issuer, but typically provide coverage for various aspects of travel-related issues. Some cards provide automatic protection that covers flight or hotel reservations automatically while others require you to purchase the trip with them in order to take advantage of certain protections.
Chase offers trip delay reimbursement of up to $500 per common carrier ticket (air, bus, train or cruise transportation), should your travel be delayed six hours or longer due to known hazards like hurricane warnings. Your coverage may also be restricted depending on other conditions that apply.
Additionally, different cards provide coverage only for primary cardholders while others extend coverage to spouses/domestic partners and dependent children as well. Always read through the fine print carefully in order to understand who’s covered under trip protection – you may require proof from airlines in order to file a claim and file for compensation if there’s been an unexpected flight delay or disruption.
Baggage Loss
Credit card travel insurance policies differ between cards, but most provide coverage for various situations and issues – including trip cancellation and interruption, emergency medical evacuation, lost luggage and car rental collision damage waivers if available on that card.
Baggage loss coverage typically provides secondary payments after any initial compensation from airlines or carriers responsible. Chase Sapphire Preferred offers this coverage on its cards, up to $3,000 of coverage per bag lost and its contents. Learn more on its Guide to Benefits page.
Some travel card protections come with deductibles and coverage limitations that should be carefully evaluated against your particular card policy. Card issuers may impose geographical exclusions that limit coverage. Finally, annual fees can make or break some travel cards.
