Complimentary Travel Insurance on Credit Cards

[akky]

Hi Guys,
I was just wondering when we book classic award flights using points and pay the taxes using our amex card (Ie ANZ black card, or Westpac altitude black card which offer complimentary travel insurance), does the travel insurance apply for these purchases?

Thanks in advance?

 

[hossein_au]

Nope! They require either the full price be paid on the card, or the points to come from the card directly.

I recently had a claim rejected for a JASA where points had been accrued by flying, on flights paid for in the card. They still rejected it nevertheless because the points had not come directly from the card.

EDIT: This is/was for AmEx Plat Edge.

 

[Cynicor]

That's not true. Please read your PDS. Unless there have been recent changes the ANZ may only require a small purchase (~500iirc).

 

[ProggerPete]

I've got the ANZ black. I activated the travel insurance by paying $250 AUD of my hotel costs with it and then stuck it in a drawer. As Cynicor mentioned, read the PDS.

 

[mooingchicken]

Each card is different, some need upto 1k spend, others need a % of the flights ect ect. ANZ black is pre spend only. and is $250 on either flights, tours, accomadation, few other clauses about return ticket and things like that
Premium Cards- insurances | ANZ

 

[albyd]

I'be got a reward flight coming up paid for by redemption of Citi points to Virgin. The Citi policy will cover me because I've redeemed points from Citi so I agree I think depends on individual card.

 

[jgm]

Westpac Altitude Black requires $500 to be spent on "costs of their return overseas travel ticket; and/ or airport/departure taxes; and/or their prepaid overseasaccommodation/travel; and/or their other prepaid overseasitinerary items"

 

[akky]

Thanks guys, some really helpful info

 

[ellen10]

We have flights to the US in September.
We have made the required purchase to activate the complimentary travel insurance.

I am a little nervous about relying on this CC insurance.
Any thoughts or experiences?

 

[cardiology]

Re: Complimentary Travel Insurance on Credit Cards - which card is better?

I am going to purchase some return tickets to KL using one of the following credit cards, which one offers the best coverage with a low "excess"? Any tips?

• Woolworths Platinum Visa
• NAB Black VISA
• Westpac Platinum
• Citibank Signature

Thanks

 

[Pushka]

I never rely on just the card insurance. Often the gap payment is much higher.

 

[Austman]

Re: Complimentary Travel Insurance on Credit Cards - which card is better?

I rely on just the card insurance and have done so for years. It has been fine when I have claimed. The excess is $200 (or less) in my case and I'm OK with that. This is a CC insurance covered by Zurich.

 

[Willie]

Re: Complimentary Travel Insurance on Credit Cards - which card is better?

I never rely on CC insurance.. Too many 'enhancements' that frighten me.

I buy an annual multi trip for Peace of Mind... never had any issues just prefer never to rely on something that can be interpreted as vague.

Peace of Mind costs around $400 with existing conditions that are never generally covered in the CC insurance!

Ooh Roo

Willie...

 

[Anna]

I am a little nervous about relying on this CC insurance. Any thoughts or experiences?

As with any insurance, make sure that you read what you are covered for and up to what limit so that you know whether you have the cover you want. Saves getting a nasty surprise when you try and claim for something, only to find it's not covered, or not covered enough.

 

[ellen10]

The CC insurance that we are eligible for is with Earth Black.
Husband downloaded about 40 pages of "fine print". Covered by Zurich.

Used it last year for our trip to UK and Europe.
Just a little nervous with using it for the USA.

We have never claimed on travel insurance.

 

[Austman]

Re: Complimentary Travel Insurance on Credit Cards - which card is better?

I've also taken out other travel insurance when my CC insurance would not cover it (eg because flights were not paid for with the CC).

Sometimes the excess then was only $100. But the rest of it looked similar (or actually worse) for me.

So perhaps it's a situation where you have to decide according your own circumstances.

 

[Austman]

Husband downloaded about 40 pages of "fine print". Covered by Zurich.

And other travel insurances I've purchased have had even more fine print! 52 pages for TID. So I'm not sure that this is any sort of a vaild comparision measure.

 

[hossein_au]

I like to know what people's actual experiences have been in making claims.

As a data point, I am with AmEx Plt Edge, and they require the entire airfare to have been paid on the card, or if there is any points involved in the purchase of airfare, for the points to have come from the card. Excess is $200.

If I can get a CC with a decent insurance cover, I'm happy to pay the CC annual fee to get the cover (as opposed to purchasing separate travel insurance). I presume many top-tier cards have premiums in the neighbourhood of $400-$500 per annum (not considering the absolute top-shelf cards costing around or beyond the $1k mark).

 

[dajop]

On the CC insurance vs paid insurance debate .... READ AND UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE GETTING. It is not automatically true that paid insurance is better than credit card insurance. I've had a situation in the past where claim was denied by paid insurance but covered by CC insurance.

The only way to assess is to know what is important for you and compare inclusions and exclusions. Remember many of the cc travel insurance schemes are underwritten by the same companies as credit card schemes and often have similar conditions.

 

[hossein_au]

On the CC insurance vs paid insurance debate .... READ AND UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE GETTING. It is not automatically true that paid insurance is better than credit card insurance. I've had a situation in the past where claim was denied by paid insurance but covered by CC insurance.

The only way to assess is to know what is important for you and compare inclusions and exclusions. Remember many of the cc travel insurance schemes are underwritten by the same companies as credit card schemes and often have similar conditions.

Precisely! That is why I like to collect (maybe even collate) some data points about people's experiences.