Many credit cards provide travel protections such as cancellation, delay or interruption coverage, lost luggage insurance and rental car damage insurance. When selecting one with such features, make sure you understand their available coverages, limitations, annual fees, deductibles and exclusions before selecting it.
Travel cards with travel insurance provide solutions for frustrating and expensive travel problems; however, terms of this cardholder perk may differ depending on which issuer offers it.
Trip cancellation
Many premium credit cards provide travel insurance benefits that include trip cancellation coverage. This reimbursement of non-refundable travel purchases due to sudden illness, jury duty or bad weather varies between policies; some offer trip interruption coverage while others allow users to cancel with partial refunds if needed.
Other travel credit card insurance benefits can include trip delay reimbursement, lost luggage coverage and medical coverage for overseas trips. When considered along with annual fee and rewards program expenses, additional trip cancellation insurance or an individual policy might be needed.
Trip interruption
Trip interruption coverage reimburses prepaid travel expenses when your journey is interrupted for reasons covered under its protection such as severe weather, terrorism, illness or the passing of cardholder or traveling companion. It may come included with your credit card’s benefits package or can be added as an add-on feature; please refer to your card’s guide of benefits for more details.
As it can happen anytime you travel, unexpected incidents can arise during your vacation or business trip that add up quickly if paying out-of-pocket. Luckily, most credit cards offer trip cancellation and interruption insurance can help cover these expenses – although certain situations won’t qualify such as getting food poisoning or breaking an ankle while hiking and having to cut short your journey. Be sure to read your terms and conditions thoroughly – most cards limit coverage to certain travel expenses while having exclusions like high-risk activities or trips in conflict zones that could exclude this type of incidental coverage altogether.
Baggage insurance
Credit card travel protections typically cover unexpected events like weather or health concerns; however, their terms and conditions vary from card to card so it’s essential that you read them thoroughly prior to traveling with one.
Chase Sapphire Reserve(r) and American Express Platinum Card(r) provide baggage delay/loss coverage, providing reimbursement of items you purchase while waiting for or replacing a delayed/lost bag carried by common carriers such as an airplane, train or cruise ship. Unfortunately, however, these benefits only cover up to a set limit per person/per bag so comprehensive travel insurance plans may also provide necessary coverage.
Notably, most credit card travel protections are secondary, meaning you would first need to file your claim with primary insurance (auto or homeowners) before the credit card pays out. Furthermore, many travel perks on credit cards exclude family members traveling with you.
Medical coverage
Medical coverage is one of the key advantages of credit card travel insurance. This protection supplements any existing health coverage you may already have; some policies charge an international travel deductible while others do not provide any coverage at all, including Medicare coverage.
Savvy travelers should conduct thorough research into available benefits and compare cards with differing annual fees and coverage limits, and compare primary or secondary coverage limits. They should also check whether each type of coverage has its own limit. Typically, cards with higher annual fees tend to offer more protection; however there are exceptions such as Chase and American Express cards typically offering more travel protections than smaller card companies.
