Does Your Credit Card Offer Travel Insurance? 2025 Benefits & Coverage

Is Travel Insurance Available from Your Credit Card? 2025 advantages and coverage

Understanding Credit Card Travel Insurance

Travel insurance can help protect against financial losses resulting from unanticipated events on a trip. Many credit cards provide some degree of travel insurance, often included with the annual cost of the card. Although these plans cover a range of travel catastrophes, it's essential to know the degree of coverage and any restrictions.

Trip Cancellation/Interruption Coverage

Should you have to cancel or shorten your trip for a covered cause, this benefit returns prepaid, non-refundable travel charges. Usually covered include illness, injury, bad weather, or family member death. Usually excluded are things like travel anxiety or changing your mind. With an average coverage of $5,947, only 29% of consumer credit cards provide trip cancellation insurance, according to a 2024 WalletHub research. While some cards, such as the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, have a smaller cap of $2,000 per person, others, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, give up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip.

Trip Delay Reimbursement

Usually spanning six to twelve hours or more, this covers costs resulting from significant travel delays brought on by covered circumstances such as mechanical problems or weather. Reimbursable expenses include food, lodging, and toiletries. With an average coverage of $445, the 2024 WalletHub research reveals that 18% of consumer cards offer this protection. On the other hand, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card provides the same amount but only after a 12-hour delay, while the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers up to $500 per ticket.

Baggage Insurance: Delay and Loss

If your checked baggage is delayed for a designated period—usually six hours or more—baggage delay insurance reimburses you for necessary purchases such as toiletries and clothes. Should the carrier misplace or damage your luggage, lost luggage insurance pays to replace your items. According to WalletHub's research, sixteen percent of cards provide baggage delay insurance (average $380 coverage), and thirty-two percent provide lost luggage insurance (average $2,159 coverage). For baggage delays, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card pays up to $100 daily for five days and up to $3,000 for missing baggage.

Rental Car Insurance

Usually, this comes as a collision damage waiver (CDW), covering rental automobile damage or theft. Coverage might be primary or secondary. Primary coverage lets you avoid initially submitting a claim with your auto insurance. Several Capital One cards and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, among other cards, provide basic CDW up to $75,000.

Travel Accident Insurance

Should death or dismemberment strike during a covered trip, this offers compensation. With an average of $764,706 in coverage, 25% of consumer cards offer this, according to the 2024 WalletHub show. While many other cards have fewer limits, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® boasts up to $1,000,000.

Medical Evacuation/Transportation and Emergency Medical Coverage

Medical evacuation pays for transportation to a medical facility during a medical emergency. Certain upscale cards, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, offer limited emergency medical coverage. These advantages, meanwhile, may have modest coverage caps and often pale in importance relative to your primary health insurance. Many cards hardly provide any medical coverage at all. Find out if your health insurance covers medical events overseas.

Travel and Emergency Assistance Services

Though they often do not pay the expenses of these services, they can assist with things like medical treatment, replacement of missing documentation, or emergency transportation planning. American Express's Platinum Card® provides a 24/7 Global Assist Hotline for these circumstances.

Credit Card Travel Insurance vs. Standalone Policies

Although credit card travel insurance has advantages, it's usually less thorough than coverage sold separately. Generally speaking, standalone insurance provides better coverage limits, more coverage for medical emergencies (including evacuation), and "cancel for any reason" coverage—not available with credit cards.

Choosing the Right Card and Coverage

Your travel patterns and demands will determine which credit card is best for travel insurance. If you hire cars often, give cards with primary rental car coverage a top priority. Consider adding a standalone policy to augment credit card coverage for long journeys with more possible charges. To learn certain coverage specifics, restrictions, and exclusions, always review the fine print of your credit card benefits guide. Side-by-side comparison of credit cards will enable you to fit the finest.