The recently refreshed Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard includes travel protections. This was a surprise since Citi had dumped travel protections from their cards several years ago. Apparently someone on the Citi/AA team was smart enough to realize that travel protections are a good idea for a card that is intended to be used to purchase travel. Thanks to Frequent Miler Insiders member, Prash, I obtained the new benefit guide (you can download a copy by clicking here) and added details about the Executive card to this post. Read below to see how this card’s travel protections compares to other ultra-premium cards. Does the AA Executive Card offer the same peace of mind offered by Chase’s Sapphire Reserve or Amex’s Platinum cards?
Below you’ll find a summary of credit card travel protections provided automatically by various ultra-premium travel cards such as Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, Amex Platinum, Citi AA Executive, and US Bank Altitude Reserve.
Caution: I’m far from an expert on credit card travel insurance. I did my best to read through the benefit guides to figure out what was covered and when, but I can’t promise that I got all of the details correct. For complete information, please consult your card’s benefits guide: Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Ritz-Carlton, Capital One Venture X, Amex Platinum Benefit Directory, US Bank Altitude Reserve, CNB Crystal Visa Infinite, Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard, Citi Prestige
Credit card travel insurance overview
As you’ll see below, Chase continues to lead the field with the best automatic travel protections. Chase’s Sapphire Reserve card and their Ritz-Carlton card offer the same excellent travel protections benefits. They’re the only cards in the roundup to provide baggage delay reimbursements, and the only to provide emergency medical and dental coverage. Meanwhile, Amex Platinum cards offer a killer feature: Uncapped Emergency Evacuation and Transportation, even if you don’t pay for your travel with your Platinum card. If cost were no object, the ideal combination would be to pay for travel with your Chase Sapphire Reserve or Ritz card, but to also have a Platinum card in case you need more than $100,000 worth of emergency evacuation and transportation ($100K is Chase’s cap to that benefit).
How does the Venture X compare? It’s good, but not best-in-class. Its travel protections (provided by Visa Infinite) are nearly identical to USB’s Altitude Reserve, but Capital One’s card does not include $10K worth of emergency evacuation and transportation like USB’s card does.
How about the USB Altitude Reserve? Same answer as Venture X, above: it’s good, but not best-in-class. USB throws in $10K of emergency evacuation and transportation, but I’m not sure $10K will get you very far.
How does the new Citi AA Executive card compare? Not great, but it’s far better than nothing (“nothing” is a summary of protections that this card offered prior to mid July 2023). I do like that most of the coverage they offer is still available if you pay at least in part with your AA card or with your AA miles, but they fall short in other areas: 1) Rental car coverage is secondary within the U.S.; 2) Trip cancelation coverage payout is limited to the amount you pay with your card and/or with AA miles (if you pay for everything with your AA card and AA miles, that won’t be an issue, though); and 3) The card is missing other travel protections such as travel accident insurance, and emergency evacuation coverage.
The following chart summarizes travel protections provided automatically by each ultra-premium card. Cells in green indicate best in class coverage. “Pay partial” means that you can get full coverage even if you pay only part of your transportation costs with this card. For example, you could pay just the taxes and fees for an award flight. Or, you could pay part of a cruise with gift cards and the rest with your credit card.
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | Capital One Venture X | Amex Platinum1 | USB Altitude Reserve | Citi AA Executive2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ritz-Carlton | Delta Reserve1 | ||||
| Bonvoy Brilliant | |||||
| Hilton Aspire | |||||
| Rental Car | Primary | Primary | Secondary3 | Primary | Secondary |
| Roadside Assistance | 4X / Year | $69.95 per Use | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Trip Cancellation | Pay Partial | Pay Partial4 | Pay in Full5 | Pay Partial | Pay Partial6 |
| Trip Delay | 6 Hour Pay Partial |
6 Hour Pay Partial |
6 Hour Pay in Full5 |
6 Hour Pay Partial |
6 Hour Pay Partial |
| Lost Luggage | Pay Partial | Pay Partial | Pay in Full | Pay Partial | Pay Partial |
| Luggage Delay | 6 Hour Pay Partial |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Travel Accident Insurance | Pay Partial | Pay in Full | N/A | Pay in Full | N/A |
| Emergency Evac | $100K Limit Pay Partial |
N/A | No Limit No Pay Rqmt |
$10K Limit Pay Partial |
N/A |
| Emergency Medical & Dental | $2500 Limit Pay Partial |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
-
- Amex offers the same coverage for all versions of the Platinum card, including the Business Platinum card and Platinum cards branded with Schwab and Morgan Stanley. Similarly, the Delta Reserve consumer card and Delta Reserve business card share the same coverage.
- Travel protections are the same regardless of whether cardholders use AA miles or the AA Executive Card to pay for travel.
- Amex does offer primary coverage, but you have to pay extra for it. Details here.
- The Common Carrier ticket must be purchased using the covered Capital One Account and/or rewards programs associated with Your covered Account.
- Amex covers round-trip travel paid “in full” with their card, but “in full” includes situations where you pay full award taxes and fees or when you pay with Amex points for travel.
- You are covered when you pay partial, but coverage is limited to the lesser of the actual amount paid for with Your Citi Card (including AAdvantage miles) or the maximum coverage per Trip
Summary by insurance coverage type
Each of the tables shown below summarize the benefits available with each card. With each type of coverage, I’ve listed whether you must pay for travel with the card in order to get coverage. In most cases, it is OK to pay with points rather than the credit card directly (e.g. you can pay with Ultimate Rewards points for Sapphire Reserve coverage, or Membership Rewards points for Amex Platinum coverage, or AA miles for Citi AA Executive coverage).
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
| Sapphire Reserve / Ritz | Capital One Venture X | Amex Plat, Delta Reserve, Bonvoy Brilliant, Hilton Aspire | Altitude Reserve | Citi AA Executive | CNB | Citi Prestige | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Outside USA | Yes |
N/A |
| Limit per claim | $75K | $75K | $75K | $75K | $75K | $75K | N/A |
| Amount required to pay w/ card to be eligible for benefit | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | N/A |
| Where coverage is not available |
Israel, Jamaica, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland | Australia, Italy, New Zealand | Israel, Jamaica, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland | Israel, Jamaica, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland |
Roadside Assistance
Towing, jump-start, tire change, lock out service, fuel delivery
| Sapphire Reserve / Ritz | Capital One Venture X | Amex Plat, Delta Reserve, Bonvoy Brilliant, Hilton Aspire | Altitude Reserve | Citi AA Executive | CNB | Citi Prestige | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limits | $50 per service; max 2 gallon fill-up, 4X per year; | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | None | N/A |
| Amount required to pay w/ card to be eligible for benefit |
None | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | None | N/A |
| Amount charged per use to cardholder if within limits |
$0 | $69.95 | N/A | N/A | N/A | $59.95 | N/A |
Trip Cancellation and Interruption
| Sapphire Reserve / Ritz | Capital One Venture X | Amex Plat, Delta Reserve, Bonvoy Brilliant, Hilton Aspire | Altitude Reserve | Citi AA Executive | CNB | Citi Prestige | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limit per person, per trip | $10K | $2K | $10K | $2K | $5K | $5K | N/A |
| Max per trip |
$20K | $2K per Person | $10K | $2K | $5K | $5K | N/A |
| Amount required to pay w/ card to be eligible for benefit | Any part of travel arrangements |
Entire fare less less redeemable certificates, vouchers, or coupons |
Entire round-trip fare* | Entire fare less less redeemable certificates, vouchers, or coupons |
Any part, but… ** | Entire passenger fare | N/A |
* Amex covers round-trip travel paid “in full” with their card, but “in full” includes situations where you pay full award taxes and fees or when you pay with Amex points for travel.
** Will reimburse the lesser of the actual amount paid for with Your Citi Card (including AAdvantage® miles) or the maximum coverage per Trip.
Trip Delay Reimbursement
| Sapphire Reserve / Ritz | Capital One Venture X | Amex Plat, Delta Reserve, Bonvoy Brilliant, Hilton Aspire | Altitude Reserve | Citi AA Executive | CNB | Citi Prestige | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # hours delay required | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | N/A |
| Max coverage per person per trip | $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 | N/A |
| Amount required to pay w/ card to be eligible for benefit | Any part of common carrier transportation | A portion of the Common Carrier fare | Entire round-trip fare* | A portion of the Common Carrier fare | A portion of the Common Carrier fare | Pay entire common carrier fare | N/A |
* Amex covers round-trip travel paid “in full” with their card, but “in full” includes situations where you pay full award taxes and fees or when you pay with Amex points for travel.
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
| Sapphire Reserve / Ritz | Capital One Venture X | Amex Plat, Delta Reserve, Bonvoy Brilliant, Hilton Aspire | Altitude Reserve | Citi AA Executive | CNB | Citi Prestige | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max coverage per person per trip | $3K | $3K | $3K ($2K for checked bags) | $3K* | $3K** | $5K | N/A |
| Amount required to pay w/ card to be eligible for benefit | Any part of common carrier transportation | Purchase a portion of the Covered Trip | Full cost of transportation | Purchase a portion of the Covered Trip | A portion of the Common Carrier fare | Full cost of Common Carrier tickets | N/A |
* Lesser of the following three amounts: the original purchase price of the item(s), the actual cash value of the item(s) at the time of theft or misdirection (with appropriate deduction for depreciation), and the cost to replace the item(s).
** $2K per bag for NY residents; Up to $10K total per trip.
Baggage Delay Reimbursement
| Sapphire Reserve / Ritz | Capital One Venture X | Amex Plat, Delta Reserve, Bonvoy Brilliant, Hilton Aspire | Altitude Reserve | Citi AA Executive | CNB | Citi Prestige | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # hours delay required | 6 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Max coverage per person per trip | $500 ($100 per day) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Amount required to pay w/ card to be eligible for benefit | Any part of common carrier transportation | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Travel Accident Insurance
| Sapphire Reserve / Ritz | Capital One Venture X | Amex Plat, Delta Reserve, Bonvoy Brilliant, Hilton Aspire | Altitude Reserve | Citi AA Executive | CNB | Citi Prestige | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max coverage per person per trip | $1M | $1M | N/A | $500K | N/A | $1M | N/A |
| Amount required to pay w/ card to be eligible for benefit | Any part of common carrier transportation | Entire common carrier fare | N/A | Entire common carrier fare | N/A | Entire common carrier fare | N/A |
Emergency Evacuation and Transportation
| Sapphire Reserve / Ritz | Capital One Venture X | Amex Plat, Delta Reserve, Bonvoy Brilliant, Hilton Aspire | Altitude Reserve | Citi AA Executive | CNB | Citi Prestige | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max coverage per person per trip | $100K | N/A | No set limit | $10K | N/A | $10K | N/A |
| Amount required to pay w/ card to be eligible for benefit | Any part of trip | N/A | None | Purchase either a portion or the entire cost of the Covered Trip |
N/A | Trip purchased entirely with CNB card | N/A |
Emergency Medical and Dental
| Sapphire Reserve / Ritz | Capital One Venture X | Amex Plat, Delta Reserve, Bonvoy Brilliant, Hilton Aspire | Altitude Reserve | Citi AA Executive | CNB | Citi Prestige | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max coverage per person per trip | $2,500 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Amount required to pay w/ card to be eligible for benefit | Any part of common carrier transportation | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
American Express Platinum Emergency Evacuation and Transportation Coverage
It’s important to note that this coverage is part of the Amex “PREMIUM GLOBAL ASSIST HOTLINE” which is available to Platinum and Centurion cardholders, but not to cardholders of other ultra-premium Amex cards. In other words, cardholders of the following cards do not get this benefit: Hilton Aspire, Delta Reserve, Delta Reserve for Business, and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant.
Detailed benefits of the hotline can be found by clicking here.
There is no requirement to pay for any part of your trip with your Amex Platinum card to use this benefit.
Here are the relevant terms from the above linked document:
Premium Global Assist Hotline can help you prepare for your trip with customs information and more. While you’re traveling more than 100 miles from home, coordination and assistance services such as lost passport replacement assistance, translation services, missing luggage assistance, and emergency legal and medical referrals are only a phone call away. Plus, we may provide services related to emergency medical transportation assistance. Card Members may be responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers. Additional restrictions apply, see below.
Please note that any assistance provided by this benefit cannot be in violation of U.S. economic or trade sanctions.
Premium Global Assist Hotline Toll Free: 1-800-345-AMEX (2639) Direct Dial Collect: 1-715-343-7979
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
Emergency Medical Transportation Assistance In the event that the Card Member or another covered family member (your spouse or domestic partner, dependent up to age 23, or age 26 if full-time student) traveling on the same trip itinerary as the Card Member becomes injured or ill while traveling and is seeking or has sought medical treatment, the Premium Global Assist Hotline medical department can assess the medical need for transportation and provide the service.
A medical evacuation may be provided at no cost to the Card Member or covered family member from point of illness or injury (when the Card Member or covered family member is under the care of a local medical service provider or facility) to a more appropriate medical facility or to a hospital near the person’s home as determined by the Premium Global Assist Hotline designated physician. The Premium Global Assist Hotline designated physician, in consultation with the local medical service provider or facility, will determine whether such transport is medically necessary and advisable. The event must be within the first 90 days of the trip and cannot be a pre-existing condition. A pre-existing condition is any sickness, illness, or injury that has manifested itself, become acute, or was being treated in the 60 day period immediately prior to the start of a trip. The person needing evacuation may need to complete a medical information release as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (a “HIPAA Release”), or provide authorization for next of kin to complete the release. Emergency transportation services in connection with the medical emergency may also be provided to a covered family member pursuant to the full Emergency Medical Transportation Assistance Terms and Conditions at the end of this document. Subject to additional important terms, conditions and exclusions. Please see full Terms and Conditions at the end of this document.
Very Important: Any costs for medical transport not authorized and arranged through the Premium Global Assist Hotline Program are solely the responsibility of the Card Member and such costs will not be reimbursed. Premium Global Assist Hotline does not cover medical expenses (with the exception of cost incurred during the transport) nor transportation of personal possessions including luggage.
Repatriation of Mortal Remains In case of death of a covered Card Member or covered family member (your spouse, dependent up to age 23, or age 26 if full-time student) while traveling with the Card Member, the Premium Global Assist Hotline medical department can provide the necessary administrative services to effect the transportation of the mortal remains back to the person’s principal place of residence or place of burial, whichever is closer. As an additional benefit, Premium Global Assist Hotline can pay for the cost of the transport and, subject to approval, the cost of a coffin or other encasement of the remains suitable for travel.
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Note: The AA Executive has “Secondary” rental coverage in the United States, but is “Primary” elsewhere. I will be using this card for a Europe rental to use up the $120 credit.
BOA premium card? Trip delay, baggage delay, cancellation/interruption, lost luggage, etc; but would welcome a more educated evaluation.
One thing I think it’s important to point out is that the Trip Delay and Trip Cancellation/Interruption policies are “named peril” policies and not “open peril” policies. That means that the situations they identify in the guide to benefits aren’t just examples of things that are covered, they are quite literally the only situations that are covered.
For example, Chase only covers 4 hazards for trip delay: weather, common carrier mechanical failure, terrorism, and strike.
If you’re delayed for 6 or 12 hours and it’s not due to one of those 4 hazards, you’re not covered. So the common problems lately like United cancelling flights because of aircraft/crew positioning problems, or delays due to ATC ground stoppages, or delays due to crew timeout / crew shortage are all not covered events. Even weather as a covered event needs to be a direct impact and not knock-on effects. So this last winter the first couple days of Southwest flight issues were covered, but the weeks that followed were not.
Kudos to you for this fantastic guide. Never realized that you don’t have to pay for trip with Amex Plat to get medical evacuation coverage, making that card and the Sapphire Reserve quite the dynamic duo. This info will help me with coverage for our free Carnival Cruise, which, of course, i wouldn’t be getting had it not been for Nick’s tips on parlaying player’s cards into free cruises. Frequent Miler is the best!
In order to avail yourself of Amex’s coverage you need to be admitted to a hospital for treatment and the Global Assist medical team has to reach a consensus with the local medical team treating you that it would be medically advisable to transfer you to a facility with improved capabilities.
It won’t pay for any aspect of your care other than the logistics specifically related to moving you from one facility to another.
Not to diminish the value of this coverage which can cover a very expensive piece of a very unfortunate event, but it’s important to understand the coverage is very narrow. If you search on CruiseCritic you can find several examples of people needing to use the ship’s on-board medical services, and none of that would be covered by Amex and those services are not cheap.
Are the benefits the same for Amex Business Platinum or any other Platinum?
+1
Yes, all Platinum cards have the same coverage.
Do these insurance benefits only for roundtrip airline tickets? Or I can just pay one way ticket, or can two one-way tickets work?
Two one-ways work for Amex. I’m too lazy to go find the verbiage but Amex explicitly states that as long as you are taking a round trip itinerary i.e. you are going to a place or several places and then returning home, one ways, multi stops, etc. all count as long as you pay for them with the Amex.
Could you consider adding the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite card to the matrix?
Yep, I’ll add it in a future version
So valuable, thank you Greg! I have been looking for a summary like that.
If you ever consider expanding it I would love to see the CSP covered as there a slight difference but I am still wondering how it stacks up against the Venture X.
Good suggestion. I’ll see if I can squeeze it into a future version
Awesome, thank you!
Would love to see the same charts for the non premium cards, and please add a row to include the annual fee for each card.
Good ideas. I’ll consider for the future
Can you also add the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite card to the list? Had no idea until I read Mango’s post below from 2 months ago that it offered Primary Rental Coverage.
Yep, I’ll add it to a future version
I think you made an error in the Roadside assistance for AX Platinum. It should be n/a across the board as per the summary table, the card does not provide Roadside coverage.
I don’t understand. Doesn’t it already show that it’s not covered?
It should n/a for the AX Platinum column in Roadside Assistance. While the first row says n/a other rows say, for example, that the amount charged is $0. IT should say n/a
Thanks for being the only site that includes Altitude Reserve in discussions. However, your information on the Hilton Aspire is incorrect. The Aspire does have Premium Global Assist Hotline as well as uncapped emergency medical transportation (evacuation) coverage, identical to the Platinum. (click on the Aspire benefit guide pdf here: Global Assist® Hotline¹ and Premium Global Assist® Hotline² | AMEX US (americanexpress.com). It also comes with
You are right! Delta Reserve and Bonvoy Brilliant cards also have this! I’ll update the post now.
Secondary car on the AA Executive makes the $120 Avis credit card less valuable for those who have a card with primary.
True
Great write up! I know it’s not an ultra premium card, but would love to see how the CSP stacks against these other cards. I know they have overnight/12 hr. trip delay/cancellation vs. overnight/6 hr., but I thought that also provides medical/dental coverage? I would imagine on your chart, the CSP would outperform most of these ultra-premium travel benefits.
This post shows how the coverage stacks up comparing Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, and Ink Business Preferred. https://frequentmiler.com/chase-sapphire-reserve-vs-preferred/#Travel_Protection_Comparison
The Sapphire Preferred coverage is pretty good but it doesn’t cover medical/dental
Would it be possible to summarize the protections offered by lower-tier cards? Since some airline cards require you to pay with the card in order to get benefits like checked bags, I think it would be nice if at least those cards were included (or given their own article if they’re substantially different from the ultra premium cards).
Yep that’s a good idea for a future post!
Can you also compare what’s covered under Trip Cancellation and Interruption and Trip Delay for each card? The comparison will be more meaningful if we look at both their coverage limits and their covered events. For example, Chase Sapphire Reserve will NOT reimburse your trip cost if you cancel the trip due to work. Besides, it will NOT reimburse additional hotel nights if you must stay longer because your passport is stolen in a foreign country. In this case, I will not rely on Chase Sapphire Reserve when I travel abroad. Thank you.
Great suggestion
Something to note: “round trip” for AMEX trip delay insurance is pretty loose (covers one ways, multiple flights purchased separately as part of a round trip).
https://onemileatatime.com/guides/amex-platinum-trip-delay-insurance/
I have received the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite card and here is a summary of the benefits to match the table in each section:
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
Primary
$75K Limit
100%
Excludes Israel, Jamaica, Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland
Roadside Assistance
“No limit on usage”, 5 miles towing, max 5 gallons
None
$69.95
Trip Cancellation and Interruption
$2500
$2500
“Entire cost of passenger fare for such transportation, less redeemable certificates, vouchers, and coupons… Coverage shall also be provided when free flights have been awarded from frequent flier or points programs provided that all of the miles or points were accumulated from charges on that card.”
Trip Delay Reimbursement
6 hours
$500″
A portion or the entire cost of your common carrier fare using your account.”
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
$3000″
A portion or the entire cost of the covered trip.
“Baggage Delay Reimbursement
6 hours
$500 ($100 per day)
“A portion of the cost of the trip”
Travel Accident Insurance
$1M
“The entire cost of the passenger fare for such transportation, less redeemable certificates, vouchers, or coupons”
Emergency Evacuation and Transportation
$100K”
A portion of the entire cost of the trip”
Emergency Medical and Dental
N/A
N/A
The most useful travel credit card article I have ever read. Kudos Greg. I hope you will keep this article updated and consider adding other premium travel cards.
I just wanted to make a comment based on my new experience using AMEX Platinum trip cancellation insurance. Initiating a claim requires a phone call which is a time consuming process. Chase Sapphire Reserve travel insurance claims are handled completely on line from start to finish. I realize that holiday 2022/23 problems placed a huge demand on AMEX/AIG but it would be more customer friendly to have the ability to initiate the claim on line. Due to this, I will likely no longer use my Platinum card to purchase airfare since the Chase experience is so easy.
Thanks for sharing this!
Also AIG takes an age to process a claim. I had to wait 6 months and follow up regularly
Am I correct in thinking that the Travel Accident Insurance Coverage only applies to the primary cardholder and not any travel companions?
No, usually others are covered. For example the Sapphire Reserve benefits guide says that immediate family members are covered. And they have a very expansive view of “immediate”:
“Immediate Family Member means an individual with any of the following relationships to the Cardholder: Spouse, and parents thereof; sons and daughters, including adopted children and stepchildren; parents, including stepparents; brothers and sisters; grandparents and grandchildren; aunts or uncles; nieces or nephews; and Domestic Partner and parents thereof, including domestic partners and spouses of any individual of this definition. Immediate Family Member also includes legal guardians or wards.“
It seems to me that the best approach to travel insurance is to have an AMEX Platinum card but pay for a trip with the Sapphire Reserve. This should get you the best coverage. I plan on always having both cards.
Is an authorized user of an Amex Platinum card covered by these protections? Does the answer change depending on the type of AU (free gold vs $175 platinum)?
Emergency evacuation?
I don’t think so.
Has this situation has been covered in your reviews?
My wife and I are booking expensive lodging for multiple nights, but we will be driving rather than flying. I want to use a credit card that offers trip cancellation coverage for this “trip”.
My reading of the travel cancellation coverage from AmEx (Plat) and USBank (Alt) suggest that their coverage is applicable only when a common carrier is involved, but they are silent about the case when the only expense is lodging. Chase (Pref/RC), on the other hand, seems to cover travel even when a common carrier is not involved.
Has anyone had experience with this scenario?
Huh, I was looking something up in my United Visa Infinite benefits guide and also noticed the following:
1) unlike the CSR, there is no cap on the rental car CDW amount, though the usual vehicle restrictions apply
2) there is no cap on the emergency evacuation and transportation benefit
Greg, Amex Platinum car rental insurance is NOT available in Australia, Italy, and New Zealand. Please update the table.
Fixed. Thank you!
Any plans to include the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite card?
No plans, but I’ll keep it in mind for a future update. Thanks for the suggestion.
Does the Amex Plat travel protection kick in for one-way trips? In the AMEX guide, it states “The period of round-trip travel may consist of roundtrip, one-way, or combinations of roundtrip and one-way tickets with Common Carrier(s).” So I assume yes unless I’m misinterpreting it.
No, it doesn’t cover you for one-way trips. It will cover you on a round-trip trip booked via two or more one-way tickets with common carriers, so long as all the legs of the trip are paid with the card. But if you’re moving someplace, or traveling someplace for a while with no return leg booked, you are not covered.
Suggestion – You may want to update the benefits table for roadside assistance. Venture X offers roadside assistance through the Visa Infinite program at a flat fee of 69.95 per dispatch or first five miles of tow (I just called them and verified this)
Updated. Thank you!
Suggestion … update this to include both the CSP and United Club cards, as their travel protections are “almost” (or just) as good and might be a better choice for some people at a lower cost.
Thanks. Good idea.
Does paying for seat upgrade with the Ritz card (aiming for incidental credit) count for the “Any part of common carrier transportation” as the “Amount required to pay w/ card to be eligible for benefit”?
I don’t know. My guess is no, but maybe you can get away with it.
Fantastic article. I might also add a comparison of damaged bag protection. CSR will pay to repair things like broken wheels and zippers that airlines don’t have to cover, while Venture X will not.
Good idea, thanks
The Amex evacuation benefit does not cover those over 80 years old. Unfortunately, my mom does not qualify.
Terms and Conditions applicable to Medical Emergency Expenses Cover
1. You must be under eighty (80) years of age and in a good state of health and fit to travel.
Where did you see that restriction? I don’t see it.
Here is a PDF.
https://www.americanexpress.com/content/dam/amex/nz/staticassets/pdf/platmrinsurance.pdf
Hmm, that PDF looks like it is from New Zealand.
I assume the JP Morgan Reserve (old Palladium Card) is the same on the protections as the Sapphire Reserve?
I assume the same
How does Amex define trip? If I depart on Southwest but return on AA does that still count?
Also how did Chase/Amex determine value for trip cancellation if paid with points/miles? Chase obviously can’t place my AA miles so how works they go about determining the value if a covered cancellation occurred?
Hi Greg, thanks for updating this information. Do you have a post where you dive into the details of all of these coverages? I know that Nick did a thorough writeup of cell phone insurance, for example. I’m particularly curious about trip cancelation, interruption and delay insurance. I feel like it has become more and more common for an airline to just cancel a bunch of flights for no real reason (*cough*southwest*cough*), and I’d be curious to figure out how these cards would help with those situations. I’ve read through some of the information and it seems like a lot of the cards will cover expenses like food and hotels if the airline won’t cover it from a cancelation. What about just booking another immediate flight when your flight gets cancelled? Any chance any of these insurances cover that? Thanks for the great work, as always!
No we don’t have any posts that go in-depth. Happily for me, but sadly for the blog, I haven’t been able to test these in real world conditions.
I am in a situation where BA just canceled a ton of flights. The airline won’t pay for a hotel or give compensation for the delayed itinerary. My USB Altitude reserve has trip delay and cancelation coverage so I thought I would be covered. NOT SO. and I am finding out the hard way that that their small print terms are so general that probably no situation will be realistically covered. For example:
For Trip Delay: (copied right from their handbook of terms and conditions for the USB Altitude Reserve.)
“What is covered?
Your reasonable additional expenses, such as meals and lodging, may be reimbursed as long as:
•A portion of the fare was purchased with an eligible Account and/or rewards program associated with Your covered Account
•Your Covered Trip was delayed for more than six (6) hours or required an overnight stay due to Covered Hazards
•Your Covered Trip is for a period of travel that does not exceed three hundred and sixty-five (365) days
What is not covered?
•Any delay due to a Covered Hazard which was
made public or made known to You prior to Your departure.
Covered Hazards means equipment failure, inclement weather, strike and hijacking/skyjacking.”
So, the delay has to be caused by a “covered hazard” which is like .0001% of the time, with the exception of inclement weather, BUT if they make it public before you depart, you will not be covered.
Next, if you do make a claim, they require you to get the airline to officially admit in writing what the delay was, and I have never been successful in getting anyone to give me anything in writing, especially an airline – so good luck with that!
“The Trip Cancellation or Interruption must be caused by or result from:
So basically the only realistic situation is if you or a family member got sick. BUT there are conditions on this as well:
“No Trip Cancellation or Interruption benefits will be paid for Loss caused by or resulting from:
•A Pre-existing Condition
•Accidental Bodily Injuries arising from participation in interscholastic or professional sports events, racing or speed contests, or uncertified
scuba diving
•Cosmetic surgery, unless such cosmetic surgery is rendered necessary as a result of a Loss covered under this policy
•The Insured Person or an Immediate Family Member being under the influence of drugs (except those prescribed and used as directed by a Physician) or alcohol
•The Insured Person or an Immediate Family Member: a) traveling against the advice of a Physician; or b) traveling while on a waiting list for specified medical treatment; or c) traveling for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment; or d) traveling in the third trimester (seventh month or after) of pregnancy
•Suicide, attempted suicide, or intentionally self- inflicted injuries
•Declared or undeclared war, but war does not include acts of terrorism
•An Insured Person’s emotional trauma, mental or physical illness, disease, pregnancy, childbirth or miscarriage, bacterial or viral infection or bodily malfunctions, except physical illness or disease
which prevent the Insured Person from traveling on a Covered Trip. This Exclusion does not apply to Loss resulting from an Insured Person’s bacterial infection caused by an Accident or from Accidental consumption of a substance contaminated by bacteria. ”
So in conclusion:
You most likely won’t be covered by your credit card “benefits” that they advertise. Our BA flights (they canceled like 4000 flights) were canceled because of either a shortage of workers, a shortage of passengers (who canceled because of COVID outbreak), COVID Precautions, or something related to this effect – none are covered by the CC and all were disclosed publicly before the departure. BA completely canceled our flights (one was on the day we left, and the other was our return flight, now requiring us to have an overnight stay in London (with no hotel room, meals, transportation, etc). I thought these extra expenses would be picked up by the credit card benefits but it turns out not to be. (BTW, I also had Chase Sapphire and they basically the same terms (both are Infinite Visa) so I think it is safe to say that all credit cards claiming to have trip coverage is pretty a lie because it’s only in a rare instance that maybe you might have some protection.). That said, I don’t think even supplemental “trip insurance” is any different either. Basically you are screwed! BTW, you can Google the terms and conditions of probably any card out there.
Great article!
I’m confused. If I have Amex Plat, my husband and I are traveling together, is he covered for uncapped emergency evacuation? He is not an AU on my Platinum.
(Assume tickets etc are paid with CSR.)
My read of the Amex terms is yes:
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
Emergency Medical Transportation Assistance In the event that the Card Member or another covered family member (your spouse or domestic partner, dependent up to age 23, or age 26 if full-time student) traveling on the same trip itinerary as the Card Member becomes injured or ill while traveling and is seeking or has sought medical treatment, the Premium Global Assist Hotline medical department can assess the medical need for transportation and provide the service.
Thanks for the amazing article. Just to be clear, is Amex plat Evacuation coverage unlimited or up to $100K?
Also are there any terms in the insurances excluding coverage for.cancellations or evacs due to Covid?
Do we need to buy any extra insurance in case someone in our travel party gets covid? What about coverage for having to quarantine in a hotel for a week or 10 day’s due to covid?
Thanks Greg for looking into this.
When you talk about premium card “protections” I have a vision of someone getting shot, only to find the bullet was stopped by back-to-back Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve cards in their wallet.
Yeah, Amex Platinum used to have built-in bullet protections, but they gave that up in exchange for free Walmart+ subscriptions.
How does the Bank of America premium rewards travel insurance factor into this comparison?
I don’t remember the specifics, but I don’t think it compares well to the ultra-premium cards (nor should it be expected to since it is a $95 card)
Actually the premium rewards card’s coverage is pretty competitive considering its fee. $5k trip cancellation, baggage delay and lost baggage coverage, and emergency evacuation coverage. Unfortunately, the website doesn’t list the full terms afaict. Also, it only has 12 hour trip delay and a secondary rental CDW.
As a visa infinite, the new BoA card will probably have really good travel insurance.
Yes I particularly like the bag delay benefit not available on the Platinum. I am always choosing between the two cards for travel purchases.
Thank you Greg! My initial plan was to downgrade my Ritz card for a year while I got the Venture X to reduce annual fees, but looks like the net annual fee on the Ritz is probably worth it to keep the better travel protections.
Would it be possible to get CSP added to the chart even though it isn’t a premium card since so many of us have it so that we could compare it against the premium card?
This post has the CSP and CSR side by side: https://frequentmiler.com/chase-sapphire-reserve-vs-preferred/
Broken link now Greg
Which link is broken?
Strange, apparently none now, it was 404ing yesterday. Thanks!
Chase trip delay question – I think I’m covered per the terms, but would we be covered if I (as the cardholder) booked my Southwest ticket w/ travel funds (so no credit card, at least not directly) and I used my CSR to pay for my spouse’s award booking taxes?
I don’t think we would be able to claim $500 per person instead just a total of $500 for the spouse, correct?
And hopefully there’s then no issue if the extra hotel night is in my name.
As long as you are travelling, I think you’re covered. I don’t think it matters if the points come from your spouse’s account.
Oh I guess the points came from my account but right I don’t think that matters.
More or less the story is I paid for her travel with the CSR but not any of my travel with the CSR :). I filed a claim and I think we’ll be covered up to $500, at least, I will report back when I have a resolution.
We ended up getting out of Denver a day earlier, so our charges were only ~$400, so I won’t know if we were going to be able to get $500 for the one person who paid with CSR or $1000 since there were 2 ppl traveling.
As my DH and I are getting ready to retire and increase traveling, I’m wondering whether one of us should always keep an Amex Plat for the emergency medical transportation/evacuation/repatriation of remains. Almost like an insurance policy. Thoughts?
As long as you can get decent value from some of the Platinum card’s other perks, I think that makes sense.
Very helpful article. Three years ago I contacted Amex prior to a trip to Antarctica. The Global Assist staffer I spoke with said they will cover evacuation anywhere a rescue plane can reach. He said he personally arranged an evacuation from South Georgia Island – an unpopulated island often visited on Antarctic cruises. It doesn’t get much more remote than that.
Awesome
Do AMEX Platinum authorized users get the evacuation coverage?
If they have the Platinum au card, yes. If they have the free Gold or Green card as an AU to the Platinum card then I think the answer is no
Amex still seems to offer primary car insurance on premium cards (and some others). It’s roughly $25 at most for the entire trip. I’ve used it before and it worked for me. I think it’s worth noting as the grid above states Amex has no primary coverage.
https://feeservices.americanexpress.com/premium/car-rental-insurance-coverage/home.do
Thanks. I added that as a footnote.
Nice summary, Greg.
If you pay the fees and taxes for an award ticket with the Ritz or CSR, does that count as paying for “any part of the trip” and thus being eligible for corresponding benefits?
Yep
Hi Greg,
I think the Altitude Reserve trip cancellation and delay reimbursement requirements are now different, specifically regarding the “paid in full” aspect.
For trip cancellation, it says, “You, Your spouse (or Domestic Partner) and Your Dependent Children are eligible for coverage if You charge the entire cost of the Trip using Your Account, less redeemable certificates, vouchers, or coupons, or rewards program associated with Your covered Account.”
For trip delay reimbursement, it says, “To be eligible for this coverage, You need to purchase either a portion or the entire cost of Your Common Carrier fare using Your Account”
To me, this language implies you will be fully reimbursed for trip delay, and at least partially for the trip cancellation. Whatever you put on the AR should be covered. What do you think? For reference, I found the benefits guide on the US bank site for the AR. It’s downloadable from the Protections section
Great find! I’ve updated the chart to show that you can pay partial for trip delay, lost luggage, and emergency evac. I’m not sure about the ones that say you are are eligible for coverage if you charge the entire cost of the Trip using Your Account, less redeemable certificates, vouchers, or coupons, or rewards program associated with Your covered Account. It’s the “associated with your covered account” part that gives me pause. For example, I’m pretty sure that you can pay with Altitude Reserve points and you’ll be fully covered, but what if you pay partially with Delta miles? Those aren’t “associated with your covered account”.
Is the Altitude Reserve table wrong for some of the items? According to the AR Visa Benefits Guide, these only require partial payment:
[…] One caveat: You may get better automatic travel insurance with other cards you own. See: Ultra-Premium Credit Card Travel Insurance. […]
[…] purchase travel. I’ve separately compared these protections for ultra premium cards, here: Ultra-Premium Credit Card Travel Insurance. In this post, I compare protections provided by each of Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards […]
[…] When you purchase travel with this card, you’re automatically protected in many ways (see: Ultra-Premium Credit Card Travel Insurance). At $450 per year, this card is far from cheap, but it offers $300 per year in automatic travel […]
[…] Awesome: Primary rental, trip cancellation & delay, emergency medical & dental, etc. […]
[…] Best In Class Travel Protections (found here) […]
I would be interested in the benefits from the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Preferred and BoA Premium Rewards.
PS The American Express Platinum card will NOT cover the parent of a card holder. Coverage for a travel companion is very restrictive as mentioned in the article.
“Card Member or another covered family member (your spouse or domestic partner, dependent up to age 23, or age 26 if full-time student) traveling on the same trip itinerary as the Card Member “
Will you confirm that the trip delay from USB Altitude will NOT work for the award flights? Thanks.
[…] Frequent Miler has a great blog article comparing premium credit card travel insurance benefits here. It’s the only shortfall of an otherwise fantastic credit […]
What if I book my trip with chase reserve points and pay a portion with my ritz carlton card, does that mean I get up to $5000 for medical coverage from both cards?
Hmm. It seems unlikely to me that you’d get away with that since Chase surely uses the same insurance provider for both cards. But that’s just my guess
My understanding is that Amex is dropping the roadside assistance benefit entirely in 2020.
I published the info that Gary shared, supposedly from an Amex source. Do you have a different source?
I initially theorized that the premium benefit remains, but then Dansdeals heard from Amex that it, too, is being removed.
I see in VFTW saying an update that the premium remains, and in the comments there they quote TPG as saying that as well. But when I go to TPG I see them saying the same as Dan, so that the bottom line seems to be that the premium benefit is going away.
OK, thanks. I’ve removed that benefit from the listing for Amex
Very helpful post!
Thanks for putting together the info. The Citi Prestige looks so back on the first chart…
I think Citi may have retool benefits on the Prestige. They were the best, now they offer none, even on their premium Prestige card. It doesn’t seem like it will compete well. I have had a grandfathered Prestige for several years, but even I may cancel this upcoming year with the higher fee and lack of benefits. 5x restaurants is great, but not worth the price. I will likely transition to CSR/Amex Platinum.
I would love to see the same comparison for business credit cards.
For medical evacuation, just having an American Express card will enable you to have up to $100,000 in coverage, even charging nothing related on the card? Also, does this apply to the business card?
I get AIG Ins $100k isn’t enough to do it I have $500k for ME . I don’t want a Great Cheap trip then get hit with a $300k ME .
CHEERs
Just through their website? Any insight on single trip versus longer term? Thanks!
Christian
Be looking on their website I just did 3 weeks in Greece like $185 silver plan but $500k ME ..They upped it after the terror attacks . My Union Ins. will pay and my CC will pay then AIG I hope .It’s better to cut the trip short a day and B covered .U Yanks don’t understand ur $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ for them .
CHEERs
Citi Prestige changes really dropped me out of my groove, the additions don’t cut it, and I’ve realized CNB is weaker than I thought. I’ll have to consider upgrading my Chase Marriott to the Ritz. Wish I had kept my Rtiz over the years, found the airline credits too tedious to deal with before they added the anniversary cert incentive. I’ve got 3 Freedoms and like my quarterly 5x enough and CSR has little appeal to me.
How do you have three freedoms?
You can apply for them, but frequently people will downgrade a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve if they no longer want the card.
So there is no limit? Can i change a hyatt to freedom?
It must be an ultimate rewards earning card
Goes back a few years, 1 is application for Freedom, 2 is downgrade from CSP, 3 is when Fairmont card end it was force converted to CSP and I converted, too, to Freedom. If I need to transfer UR, a conversion to CSP or CSR is instant, though I’ve not as yet needed that.
Ritz closed to new applicants, but still available via product change?!
I should have been paying more attention earlier this week. BA lost my carry-on/gate-checked bag for a couple days intra-Europe to Rome on a flight for which I paid with my CSR. I could have been claiming $100/day until that bag arrived. Unfortunately my proof of claiming lost luggage is in the trash at a Rome hotel, but I still have a receipt of the items I bought to tide me over. Oh well, live and learn.
Thank you for this write up. Just to confirm, does the AMEX Platinum Global Medical Evac applies to immediate family members as well when traveling together with cardholder? have read different accounts but want to be sure.
If you are traveling with a parent, they are NOT covered by your Platinum card.
I was told by an Amex rep on the phone a few months that the Premium Global Assist Hotline is included with the Hilton Aspire card as well… If you go to https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/features-benefits/policies/global-assist-terms.html, the Aspire link downloads the PGA (Premium Global Assist Hotline) details, while the other Hilton cards download the GA (non-premium) details…
(Minor issue – not seeing green or red cells in Firefox/Chrome — is that on a Google docs spreadsheet?]
I do see the same benefits guide template for all AMEX premium cards such as Hilton Aspire, Delta Reserve, Delta Reserve for Business, and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant as compared to the AMEX platinum. How could Emergency Medical Transportation Assistance not be covered for these cards?
The Delta Reserve does *not* have the same template from the page I linked above — it downloads the ‘GA…’ pdf, not the ‘PGA…’ pdf file (P = Premium). I called the PGA number again to check, the rep confirmed that based on his list (maybe the same list as the link :-)), the Aspire does have PGA benefits built-in just like the Platinum (med-evac etc.), while the Delta Reserve just has the non-premium GA hotline benefits.
Thanks I’ll look into that.
Fixed the color issue (I think)
There are some critical questions to ask about the Medical Evacuation coverage ahead of time. See my article on the issue that I wrote a few years ago. Not all medical evacuation coverage is the same. Also, does the person you are traveling with know they need to call the credit card first? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-s-lintz/do-you-have-the-medical-e_b_6886954.html
I purchase things from a tree all the time…its very practical…when you live in a treehouse!
For the New Yorkers, does secondary become primary if you don’t own a car?
Really helpful info! Re: Med Evac: Does anyone know what “pre-existing conditions treated within 60 days prior” entails? For example – chronic condition controlled by meds (no dr or ER visits, but RX drugs taken). Also – food allergies where traveler carries Epi-pen?