Traveling can be a ton of fun, but on every trip, there’s potential for things to go wrong. The chances of mishap are increased for frequent travelers.
Fortunately, many of the best travel credit cards not only earn you rewards points that could be redeemed for things like nearly free airfare, but they also offer travel insurance that provides protection when issues arise.
Check out our list of some of the best credit cards for travel insurance below to learn more about the various offers available from a number of credit card issuers. We chose these cards based on their insurance coverage, but also to show the variety of credit card offers available that earn different rewards and provide a variety of perks.
Best credit cards with travel insurance
There are many different travel credit cards that come with various types of insurance. These cards could be powerful in earning you Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, or other travel rewards, but they can also give you some peace of mind. The table below shows some of the protections offered by popular credit cards:
Card | What does it cover? |
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
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Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card
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Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card1
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The Platinum Card® from American Express
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United℠ Explorer Card
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Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
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Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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What does travel insurance cover?
The specific protections you’ll get vary by card, but some of the most common types of insurance credit cards provide include:
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance or trip delay insurance to reimburse you for losses when your vacation can’t go forward as planned.
- Coverage for lost or delayed baggage so you can be reimbursed if you have to replace items when your luggage is lost permanently. You could also get reimbursed to buy clothing and toiletries while you wait for your delayed luggage to arrive.
- Accident or death insurance to provide compensation if accidental death occurs on your trip.
- Medical evacuation coverage to transport you to a hospital if you experience a medical emergency and require care you can’t get at your travel destination.
- Collision damage waivers or loss damage waivers (CDW or LDW): This type of insurance protects you if a rental car is stolen or damaged while under your care. A CDW or LDW can pay for the costs of repairs and sometimes for other expenses, such as the rental company’s loss of use of the vehicle while it’s out of commission.
The travel insurance coverage your card provides can be quite valuable. If you were to buy your own travel insurance plan, you could pay an average of $105 for basic coverage and up to $164 for a more comprehensive policy, according to a recent study by ValuePenguin.
Similarly, lost luggage benefits on your credit card could reimburse you for several thousand dollars in possessions that can’t be recovered if your baggage never makes it back to you after you put it on a bus, train, or plane. While you’ll need to check your card’s terms and conditions to find out the maximum compensation for lost luggage, it’s common for cards to set a $3,000 limit on the amount of reimbursement available.
Be aware of the fine print
While credit cards with trip cancellation benefits or similar protections are common, there’s usually some fine print to be aware of when it comes to your travel purchases. For example, some common caveats include:
- Your trip may not be considered to be a covered trip if it was canceled because of a preexisting medical condition or a change in travel plans or financial circumstances. Your credit card details should inform you of the covered reasons for making an eligible claim.
- You must report any covered losses within a specific timeframe. For example, to make a claim for lost luggage insurance, you may have to alert the common carrier upon exiting that your luggage has been lost.
- Your credit card’s travel insurance often serves as secondary insurance, which means you must take advantage of other coverages available — such as airline reimbursement for lost luggage — before your credit card will reimburse you.
- Receipts or other documented proof of loss are usually required to file any type of claim with your credit card travel insurance.
How to pick the best travel card for you
Be sure you can afford the annual fee, and look for other travel perks that may benefit you as well, like an application fee credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. An ideal travel rewards credit card will also not charge you any foreign transaction fees.
Make sure the card you're applying for earns the rewards you're trying to collect. For example, American Express cards earn Membership Rewards, whereas Chase cards earn Ultimate Rewards points.
Be sure that the card's bonus categories line up with your spending. For example, if you spend a lot on fuel, you'll want to make sure that among the eligible purchases for bonus points are purchases at gas stations. This could make the Amex Platinum a good fit for you since it earns 5X points per dollar spent on eligible airfare (on up to $500,000 per calendar year, after that 1X) and eligible hotel purchases, and 1X points per dollar on all other eligible purchases. Cardmembers also get access to booking trips through Amex Travel. The benefits of this card can easily outweigh its annual fee of $695.
Many cards can also give you a big boost of rewards toward your next trip by offering either a welcome bonus or a sign-up bonus. The Chase Sapphire Preferred is currently offering a chance to earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening (that's worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel). Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year.
If you are planning to make large purchases in the near future, you may also want to compare interest rates among the cards available to you as well.
If your current credit score isn't high enough to qualify you for the kind of premium travel card you want, then take some time to improve your score and plan to apply in the future.
FAQs
Which credit card has the best travel insurance?
One of the best credit cards for travel insurance is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Other cards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and The Platinum Card from American Express, offer similar travel coverages, but the travel insurance on the Sapphire Reserve tops their offerings.
Reserve cardholders get primary rental car insurance, trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, trip delay reimbursement, roadside assistance, and emergency evacuation and transportation.
Which credit cards offer trip cancellation?
There are a number of travel credit card offers that include trip cancellation insurance, including the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and The Platinum Card from American Express.
Both the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve offer up to $10,000 in trip cancellation or interruption insurance per person and up to $20,000 per trip. The Amex Platinum offers up to $10,000 in trip cancellation or interruption insurance per trip and up to $20,000 every 12 consecutive months.
Can you rely on credit card travel insurance?
As long as you follow the terms and conditions of your credit card travel insurance, it could prove to be useful. The terms and conditions vary by credit card product, but they typically require you to pay for travel expenses with your eligible card to get the applicable insurance.
This may include paying for flights, hotel stays, car rentals, tours, and more. Be sure to carefully review the terms of your credit card insurance so you understand how it works and can take advantage of your coverage should the need arise.
What is typically not covered by travel insurance?
Travel insurance typically won’t cover:
- Pre-existing medical conditions (including pregnancy)
- High-risk activities like skydiving or rock climbing
- Mental illness
- Declared wars or undeclared wars
- Anything involving illegal activity
- Accidents while you’re intoxicated or under the influence of a drug
- Deciding you don’t want to travel
- Fear of travel (including fear of coronavirus)
- Epidemics and pandemics
- Anything not mentioned in the travel insurance policy
Bottom line
There are a number of credit cards with trip cancellation benefits and other kinds of travel insurance benefits as well. To make sure this coverage is worth it for you, the key is to find a card that provides the protections you’re looking for when things go wrong on your trip — but which is also affordable and provides other features or perks that benefit you.
Remember, once you have a card with travel insurance, always read the cardmember terms so you’ll know how much protection you have and what you need to do in order to make an insurance claim. When you do, you’ll have peace of mind knowing your financial loss is limited, even if a disaster occurs on your trip.
Methodology
To select the best credit cards for travel insurance, we assessed cards that offer various travel protection benefits, including trip cancellation insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, and emergency assistance services. We compared the cards’ rewards rates and annual fees to identify the best options for travelers. We did not include all cards available.