Cheapest card with travel insurance?

[SeaWolf]

Since the Citibank Gold card Fee Free seems to have disappeared I've been wondering which is the best (cheapest) card to go for if you want a card that offers travel insurance. I'm thinking the cards will fall into two groups.
1) The cheapest with a rewards/points system
2) The cheapest overall

So far the best overall I can find is the Bankwest Lite Gold at $89pa. There's no rewards scheme attached to it though. earth+ used to be the cheapest, but since the changes it's not very good value anymore. I'm basically looking to save a bit of cash by getting the insurance through the card, rather than paying every single international trip or shelling out for an annual policy at ~$350.

Any thoughts?

 

[JohnK]

In my opinion, and I could be totally wrong, the travel insurance offered with credit cards is not comprehensive and varies from credit card to credit card. One would need to carefully study the PDS of each credit card to see what is actually covered.

The only advice I can offer is to spend $250-$350 and take out an annual travel insurance policy. A small price to pay for peace of mind....

 

[serfty]

I did not renew my TID policy this year deciding to save $340 and to go with the inbuilt insurance with my Amex Gold Business Charge Card.

OK, we needed to make a claim due to a cancelled flight from June - requiring late booked overnight accommodation, travel to/from airport and meals.

Short story is the Amex insurance covers the event but with excess I'll get reimbursed ~$200 of a ~$350 claim. And only this since two people were involved - the excess would have negated any claim if just for the one person. Now the TID PDS indicates they would reimburse the entire amount an the same situation.

(I'm presuming I'll get that $200 - IF IT EVER GETS RESOLVED. :evil

 

[JohnK]

Short story is the Amex insurance covers the event but with excess I'll get reimbursed ~$200 of a ~$350 claim. And only this since two people were involved - the excess would have negated any claim if just for the one person. Now the TID PDS indicates they would reimburse the entire amount an the same situation.

(I'm presuming I'll get that $200 - IF IT EVER GETS RESOLVED. :evil

There have been other reports on AFF and Flyertalk of people having issues putting claims through credit card travel insurance. I have no faith in credit card companies and any of the products they provide especially complimentary travel insurance.

Yes I know $350 may sound like a waste of money but with all the incidents occuring recently I find it re-assuring to have a policy with a company that values its customers. I am more than happy with Travel Insurance Direct. I put in a claim almost 12 months after the incident and the claim was processed and the money in my bank account in around 2 weeks. There was no excess as I paid $25 to waive the excess.

 

[SeaWolf]

Hmm, the message I seem to be getting is that if I ever make a claim then the savings from having used a Gold card will disappear. I think for the moment I'll just continue getting insurance on a per-trip basis from Travel Insurance since I'm not spending enough per-year yet to make a $350 annual fee a cheaper option.

 

[oz_mark]

Hmm, the message I seem to be getting is that if I ever make a claim then the savings from having used a Gold card will disappear. I think for the moment I'll just continue getting insurance on a per-trip basis from Travel Insurance since I'm not spending enough per-year yet to make a $350 annual fee a cheaper option.

When I have looked at the options, have often found that the excesses on the 'free' insurance mean that this is the case. Of course, if you don't make a claim...

 

[xoithit]

Try Amex Blue Sky, still completely free.

 

[SeaWolf]

Try Amex Blue Sky, still completely free.

I think the travel insurance must be a new feature on that card, I remember looking at it a few months ago and it not having it. Might be worth looking at a bit more closely now.