Change in Platinum Card Travel Insurance?

[obrienja]

I spoke to them a few days ago, pointed out there was no definition of "full fare" and ended up being transferred from Amex to ACE who explained everything must be put on the card. When I asked about situations like cabs and was told "our claims team would then look at it" I advised them I wasn't confident not knowing an outcome ahead of time and the customer service agent "Amy" didn't have a any response. I'm betting the Amex & ACE reps are hoping we'll all just shutup & take it.

 

[11sjw]

Letter arrived today. What a whole lot of nothing.

 

[Stephen65]

I spoke to them a few days ago, pointed out there was no definition of "full fare" and ended up being transferred from Amex to ACE who explained everything must be put on the card. When I asked about situations like cabs and was told "our claims team would then look at it" I advised them I wasn't confident not knowing an outcome ahead of time and the customer service agent "Amy" didn't have a any response. I'm betting the Amex & ACE reps are hoping we'll all just shutup & take it.

I've been given three different definitions of "full fare" by ACE agents so far:

- all travel to your destination and back must be put on the card including any surface travel by taxi, train etc

- international flights into and out of Australia plus any international travel (including surface travel) while overseas must be put on the card

- only the international flights into and out of Australia must be put on the card

It's just bad drafting not to define "full fare" in the policy. Other policies define with precision exactly what has to be paid for for coverage to kick in. An insurance policy where you are not sure whether you are covered or not is useless.

 

[Terryi02]

I am another who will ultimately dump my Plat card (when i research the alternatives)because the implied value is no longer there.
I am also now exempt due to PEMC from 2002 and yet I have been on 5 overseas trips since. I have also had little satisfaction with AMEX concierge (lost passport in Bern etc) 3 times last year while travelling to Europe. Sad but it was good while it lasted!!

 

[aschmid]

I wrote them an email on Monday (12-Feb) which i posted here earlier. The reply I got was:

Thank you for contacting us through the secure message centre. Your complaint/message has been received by the Executive Customer Relations Office.

We are currently reviewing your concerns and one of our analysts will contact you again shortly.​

Today is Friday evening (16-Feb) and I have heard nothing. This is the so called premium customer service that not even takes a complaint serious enough to have the courtesy to reply to you within 5 business days.

Every time I need to deal with them they make me so angry because they are just so absolute hopeless in customer service.

I just don't know how they get away with it with so many people pissed off about them but they still sell their cards?

 

[Atom]

I wrote them an email on Monday (12-Feb) which i posted here earlier. The reply I got was:

Thank you for contacting us through the secure message centre. Your complaint/message has been received by the Executive Customer Relations Office.

We are currently reviewing your concerns and one of our analysts will contact you again shortly.​

Today is Friday evening (16-Feb) and I have heard nothing. This is the so called premium customer service that not even takes a complaint serious enough to have the courtesy to reply to you within 5 business days.

Every time I need to deal with them they make me so angry because they are just so absolute hopeless in customer service.

I just don't know how they get away with it with so many people pissed off about them but they still sell their cards?

Wow!, I got that same message, word for word on 6th Feb. still no response.

 

[greenfish]

Just got home to see the letter explaining the new insurance T&Cs and then found this thread. I only went up to Gold from Platinum last year, it was a perfect storm of heavy travel and a nice MR bonus.

I almost always do pay for my fare in full on my Amex, but sometimes my customer pays for my travel and I liked knowing I had cover from the Amex Platinum Card.

So it is bye-bye Amex. I'm sufficiently irritated by the change that I'll ditch Amex completely, having held a Gold or Platinum care continuously for more than 20 years (had Platinum years ago but dropped it when I stopped travelling).

Looks like my Velocity account maybe coming into some extra points...

 

[thehound]

I have to disagree on that interpretation.

There is no relevance to looking to the new T&C for the conditions to activate cover under the old terms - so "paid in full" doesn't come into it.

My interpretation (IANAL), is that as long as you have booked and paid a depost before 15 June 2012 you are covered under the old policy terms .

The wording is poor, but I definitely wouldn't rely on your interpretation of the second stipulation ("or trips booked prior, but for which you still need to pay a deposit"). The intent is that for the old T&Cs to be in play your trip is booked and paid for prior to 15 June. It is possible to book a trip but not pay for it, which is the reference of the deposit line - they're saying that if you've booked a trip but you'll be paying for the tickets after 15 June, then you won't be covered by the old T&Cs.

You're right to point out that the concept of "full fare" doesn't come into this - but you're forgetting that booking and paying for your trip prior to 15 June doesn't have to be done with your Platinum card - you can use your CitiBank, CBA, Westpac etc.

I'm going to England and France in September this year, and have already booked my flights to LHR with Emirates (paid business class on the Platinum card), flights back with QF (paid with QFF points, taxes on Plat Reserve), and have yet to book my Eurostar tickets from London-Paris return. From my interpretation, I need to have paid for the Eurostar tickets before 15 June if I want the trip to be covered by the old T&Cs. Otherwise it will be a "trip booked prior, but for which still have to pay a deposit".

 

[Flashback]

I'm going to England and France in September this year, and have already booked my flights to LHR with Emirates (paid business class on the Platinum card), flights back with QF (paid with QFF points, taxes on Plat Reserve), and have yet to book my Eurostar tickets from London-Paris return. From my interpretation, I need to have paid for the Eurostar tickets before 15 June if I want the trip to be covered by the old T&Cs. Otherwise it will be a "trip booked prior, but for which still have to pay a deposit".

That's right, you'll need to book/pay the Eurostar trip before 15 June if you want the cover. The other way is when booking, just pay on the AMEX and then no issues....

 

[thehound]

That's right, you'll need to book/pay the Eurostar trip before 15 June if you want the cover. The other way is when booking, just pay on the AMEX and then no issues....

Not quite unfortunately, since I paid the taxes for my LHR-SIN flight with my Plat Reserve, before I had the Plat Charge! So I wouldn't be covered under the new T&Cs even if I pay for the Eurostar with the Charge card. In any event, I want to be covered under the old policy with no excesses for anything

 

[tinkybelle]

I did get the letter last week.
I pointed my rep to this thread
Ihave had no reply at all.
I do hope he has pointed amex in this direction so they can see how stupid their t and cs are
I do not know which taxi I will take from the airport on my trips, but fear that I am not covered if I dont prepay.
or will I be covered for that taxi trip on the new card I have paid for-no wait- havent allighted the cab yet!!
oh wait I didnt pay for the flights to and from the airport where I am taking the taxi

which insurance will kick in??
Im confused

 

[Flashback]

Not quite unfortunately, since I paid the taxes for my LHR-SIN flight with my Plat Reserve, before I had the Plat Charge! So I wouldn't be covered under the new T&Cs even if I pay for the Eurostar with the Charge card. In any event, I want to be covered under the old policy with no excesses for anything

Do you not have the Plat Reserve anymore? Would you not be covered under that?

 

[thehound]

Do you not have the Plat Reserve anymore? Would you not be covered under that?

I cancelled the Plat Reserve to try and do what another family member did - reapply to get the 35,000 bonus points, then get the $395 fee waived from the account (with hers the fee showed up on the first statement since she'd applied online - so she waited until bonus points posted, then called up and they swiftly removed the fee as she was a Charge card holder. So 115,000 bonus points all up for her!). Bizarrely I got knocked back from the online application despite holding the Charge card! That's a follow-up phone call for tomorrow though...

In any event, I still wouldn't be covered even if I had the Reserve, since I charged one direction of my flights to the Charge card (for Reserve insurance to kick in all flights need to be on the card). Plus the Charge card does have better limits for personal baggage than the Reserve, so I want the Charge T&Cs to apply...

 

[pshepvic]

I cancelled the Plat Reserve to try and do what another family member did - reapply to get the 35,000 bonus points, then get the $395 fee waived from the account (with hers the fee showed up on the first statement since she'd applied online - so she waited until bonus points posted, then called up and they swiftly removed the fee as she was a Charge card holder. So 115,000 bonus points all up for her!). Bizarrely I got knocked back from the online application despite holding the Charge card! That's a follow-up phone call for tomorrow though...

In any event, I still wouldn't be covered even if I had the Reserve, since I charged one direction of my flights to the Charge card (for Reserve insurance to kick in all flights need to be on the card). Plus the Charge card does have better limits for personal baggage than the Reserve, so I want the Charge T&Cs to apply...

But if you've booked and paid in full before June 15, you are covered by the old policy...

You just have to pay for Eurostar before June 15 and you're covered. Doesn't matter what card you use.


Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly app

 

[turtlemichael]

I'm really having trouble grasping this.

My lack of understanding. Why doesn't the expression "the changes apply to any trips that are booked after 15 June 2012 or trips booked prior but for which you still need to pay a deposit" mean what it appears to say? I have a complicated trip booked for October to December this year. It involves flights on five airlines, a cruise, Eurostar and a bus trip. It is all booked and fully paid for with the exception of the Eurostar journey from Paris to London, because bookings for my dates are not open and do not open until July, and the bus trip which can only be booked two months in advance. Isn't my international trip the totality rather than the component parts? In the sense of he expression in the covering letter haven't I paid a "deposit" prior to 15 June even though I haven't paid for all the separate elements? Add in taxis etc which are of course not booked. Are they part of the trip? The matter is important to me because the revised amex insurance terms do not meet my needs.

Any help appreciated.

 

[awilcockson]

Anyone else get the email from Amex yesterday trying to flog their "add-on" insurance?

Golf Clubs. Lucky charm. Plan B. You've packed all the little extras into your holiday, now you can put any worries out of your mind with American Express Add-on Travel Insurance.

As the name suggests, you can add any of the new cover options to any existing policy. It's extra cover for the specific things you like to do while travelling. For example, if bad weather keeps you off the greens Golf Cover comes into play. Should a trip to the snow turn sour Snow Cover will come to the rescue. There's also cover for the things you can't travel without, your luggage, and vehicle excess on rentals.

They're easy to add on whenever you need them, most of all, they offer a lot of extra cover for only a little.

So let's see, remove things from the base cover and then sell them as "add-ons". Good work Amex :evil:

 

[awilcockson]

Any help appreciated.

Ring Amex and ask. I'd love to here their answer.

 

[Stephen65]

You won't get an answer from Amex. All they will do is put you through to ACE and then the answer depends on which agent you get. If you get the agent who believes you only have to pay for the airfares in and out of Australia on the card then he will be fine because the eurostar trip is irrelevant. However if you get the agent who believes all travel must be on the card or the agent who believes all international travel must be on the card then he may have problems.

Probably the only way to get clarity is to write, set out the circumstances of your travel and ask for confirmation in writing whether you are or are not covered.

 

[greenfrog86]

You won't get an answer from Amex. All they will do is put you through to ACE and then the answer depends on which agent you get. If you get the agent who believes you only have to pay for the airfares in and out of Australia on the card then he will be fine because the eurostar trip is irrelevant. However if you get the agent who believes all travel must be on the card or the agent who believes all international travel must be on the card then he may have problems.

Probably the only way to get clarity is to write, set out the circumstances of your travel and ask for confirmation in writing whether you are or are not covered.

I was thinking about this again over the weekend too...

It seems that in order to get the general insurance cover (ie medical expenses, lost luggage, replacing your passport) you need to pay for the 'trip' (out of and back to Aus) on your card, in full. Then while you're away you need to pay for any 'common carrier' trips in order to be covered by the Transport Accident Cover while on that mode of transport (eg train within Italy). Then if you travel to another country this seems to be considered another 'International Trip' which then needs to be paid for on your card, in full for you to get all of the general travel insurance cover while you are in the other country...

An example...

MEL - LHR - MEL.... Paid for on Card = covered for medical, lost passport etc while in the UK

Flight London - Manchester - London... covered for the above because it is in the UK. However should you wish to 'activate' the TAC you need to pay for this flight on your card also.

Then you get a flight from London to Rome... In order for you to be covered for the basics of your travel insurance (eg medical, lost passport etc) you need to pay for this flight on your card also as this is a different international trip to the one from MEL to LHR...

So my understanding so far is that if I pay for all my flights leaving Australia and while I'm away (assuming I don't travel between countries by any means other than aircraft) then I should have continuous travel insurance
cover while I'm away.

Any modes of transport will also have the TAC activated should I choose to pay on my card, otherwise if I'm injured (and I would only get a benefit if so severely injured that I lose an eye/arm/leg/die) in those vehicles then I don't get TAC benefits.

Given I'm a fit and healthy 25 year old the PEMC issues don't concern me at this stage (but doesn't sound like it would be hard for them to apply), and I don't often travel for 'adventure sports' (and am ok with buying specialised insurance should I choose to go skiing overseas) and usually book all my travel on my card before I go... then I should be find as long as I don't worry about whether or not the TAC is activated for all parts of the trip that I'm taking.

Fair summation based on what we all understand to date??

 

[Stephen65]

It seems that in order to get the general insurance cover (ie medical expenses, lost luggage, replacing your passport) you need to pay for the 'trip' (out of and back to Aus) on your card, in full. Then while you're away you need to pay for any 'common carrier' trips in order to be covered by the Transport Accident Cover while on that mode of transport (eg train within Italy).

I agree that this seems to be the most likely interpretation.

Then if you travel to another country this seems to be considered another 'International Trip' which then needs to be paid for on your card, in full for you to get all of the general travel insurance cover while you are in the other country...

I am not sure this is right. Lets take the example of the trip Melbourne-London-Rome-Melbourne.

According to the definitions an "International Trip" is:

International Trip means:

1. a trip anywhere outside Your Country of Residence; and

2. for which the full fare has been charged to an American Express Platinum
Card Account (or paid for with equivalent American Express Membership
Rewards points)

Trip itself is not defined save to say it means a Domestic Trip or an International Trip so on the face of this any travel outside your country of origin would be an "international trip"; even say London-Manchester

But, immediately after the definition of Trip it does say:

Each Domestic Trip or International Trip must commence and end in Your Country of
Residence

So it seems that only those trips that commence and end in your country of origin count as international trips.

Going back to the example of Melbourne-London-Rome-London it seems that the London-Rome segment cannot be an international trip in its own right. However, Amex might take the view that there is a single International Trip consisting of all four segments flown and thus all of it must be paid for on the card anyway. Whether if instead of flying you travelled by surface London-Rome it would make any difference I don't know.