The Ultimate Guide to Credit Cards
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Does My Credit Card Have Travel Insurance? How to Check (Feb. 2024)

Does My Credit Card Have Travel Insurance How To Check
Aaron Crowe

Written by: Aaron Crowe

Aaron Crowe
Aaron Crowe

Aaron Crowe is a seasoned journalist who specializes in personal finance writing and editing. Aaron has written for a variety of websites, including AOL, Learnvest, U.S. News & World Report, Wells Fargo, WiseBread, AARP, and many insurance and investing sites. He is a self-proclaimed storyteller who enjoys explaining — in layman's terms — personal finance and how it affects consumers’ lives. Aaron has several years’ experience working as both a reporter and editor in newspapers where he won several awards, including a Pulitzer Prize.

See full bio »

Edited by: Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro
Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to the CardRates team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct journalism instructor at the University of Florida. Today, Lillian edits all CardRates content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

See full bio »
Advertiser Disclosure

Planning months in advance for a vacation can be a smart way to save money with airfare deals that may not be around in the weeks before your trip. One drawback, however, is you can lose most or all of that nonrefundable expense if you have to cancel the trip because you’re ill or have to deal with some sort of emergency.

If you used a credit card to pay for the flight or hotel accommodations — which is the main way to make reservations — then you may be covered if your credit card offers free travel insurance as a perk of being a customer. If you’re like me, at this point you’re probably thinking, ‘Wait, does my credit card have travel insurance?'” How to check on this valuable perk will be detailed in the article below, and we’ll also explore some of our top choices for credit cards with travel insurance.

Check Issuer Restrictions | Top Cards with Travel Insurance

Check the Restrictions With Your Issuer

Checking if your credit card provider offers trip cancellation insurance is pretty easy: Just call the customer service phone number on the back of your credit card and ask.

There are a range of travel insurance types offered by credit cards, with the actual benefits varying greatly by card. Most cards offer basic secondary rental car collision coverage and travel accident insurance, while others include more specific benefits like lost luggage reimbursment and cellphone replacement. Some of the best cards will even offer reimbursement for expenses if your baggage is severely delayed.

However, of all the travel insurance packages offered, one of the most valuable type when planning a trip is trip cancellation or interruption insurance. Like other benefits, the exact coverage of your trip cancellation/interruption insurance will vary by card, but most will reimburse up to $10,000 in nonrefundable travel expenses if you have to cancel or cut short your trip due to covered events.

Events that are considered to be covered under most plans include:

  • death of an immediate family member
  • serious illness or injury that prevents you from flying
  • extreme weather

Not all events are covered, of course. Some cards won’t cover your if a pre-existing condition flares up or your destination becomes a war zone, for example, and the types of weather events that qualify may be limited. In some cases, you may need to provide documentation from a medical professional.

Credit Cards With Travel Insurance

A few cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, offer trip cancellation and interruption insurance for severe weather.

According to the Chase website, “If your trip is cancelled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.”

BEST OVERALL RATING

★★★★★
4.7

OVERALL RATING

  • Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
  • $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
  • Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel.
  • 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
  • Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™; Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
Intro (Purchases)
Intro (Transfers)
Regular APR
Annual Fee
Credit Needed
N/A
N/A
22.49%-29.49% Variable
$550
Good/Excellent

BEST OVERALL RATING

★★★★★
4.9

OVERALL RATING

  • Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
  • Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, and $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, plus more.
  • Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
  • Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024.
  • Member FDIC
Intro (Purchases)
Intro (Transfers)
Regular APR
Annual Fee
Credit Needed
N/A
N/A
21.49%-28.49% Variable
$95
Good/Excellent

BUSINESS CARD RATING

★★★★★
4.6

OVERALL RATING

  • Earn 100k bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠
  • Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
  • Round-the-clock monitoring for unusual credit card purchases
  • With Zero Liability you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
  • Redeem points for cash back, gift cards, travel and more - your points don't expire as long as your account is open
  • Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Travel℠
Intro (Purchases)
Intro (Transfers)
Regular APR
Annual Fee
Credit Needed
N/A
N/A
21.24%-26.24% Variable
$95
Good/Excellent

Another option from Chase with trip cancellation insurance benefits is the Ritz-Carlton Credit Card, which offers the same insurance protection as the cards above.

Most of the higher limits for trip reimbursement are offered on Chase credit cards

Only one Citi credit card — the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi — offers travel accident insurance as well as travel and emergency assistance.

Select American Express cards offer trip cancellation and interruption insurance on its credit cards. Terms vary by card. For example, The Platinum Card® offers trip cancellation insurance of up to $10,000 per covered trip and $20,000 per eligible card in a 12-consecutive-month period.

Read the Fine Print

Whichever credit card you use to pay for a flight, remember its travel insurance shouldn’t be a replacement for more comprehensive coverage you can buy yourself from a travel agent or travel insurance company. Read the fine print of your credit card’s travel coverage and make sure any exclusions are covered by your own policy.

Advertiser Disclosure

CardRates.com is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. To keep this resource 100% free, we receive compensation for referrals for many of the offers listed on the site. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across CardRates.com (including, for example, the order in which they appear). CardRates.com does not include the entire universe of available offers. Editorial opinions expressed on the site are strictly our own and are not provided, endorsed, or approved by advertisers.