Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, deta...
Edited by: Jessica Merritt
A long-time points and miles student, Jessica is the former Personal Finance Managing Editor at U.S. News and World Report and is passionate about helping consumers fund their travels for as little ca...
& Juan Ruiz
Juan has been involved in credit cards, loyalty, travel, and personal finance for more than 10 years. He has worked for several outlets including The Points Guy and Forbes and was previously Editor-in...
6 comments
Catherine
September 24, 2021
If I pay for my trip using frequent flyer miles from an airlines’ loyalty program and pay only the taxes for the airlines’ award ticket with a Chase Sapphire Preferred or AmEx Platinum or AmEx Green card, would the card’s travel protections be activated, or would my use of airlines miles to buy an award ticket invalidate the credit card’s protections. Likewise, if I pay for part of a trip’s hotel stay using points earned in the hotel’s loyalty program, would the use of hotel points invalidate the card’s travel protections because the trip would not be paid in its entirety using the card? Thank you in advance for your help and courtesy! : )
Christine Krzyszton
September 24, 2021
The answer is, it depends, as each card issuer has its own terms and conditions. For example, for trip cancelation/interruption coverage, Chase states that for the trip to be eligible, the “Cardholder charges all or a portion of a Trip to his or her Credit Card Account and/or rewards programs associated with the Account”. Amex states that “the Eligible Traveler charges the full amount of the cost of transportation by Common Carrier(s) to the Eligible Card”. Amex goes on to state that trips that are paid for with American Express loyalty program rewards, including Membership Rewards or Pay with Points are eligible but non-American Express loyalty program rewards for payment, such as frequent flyer miles, are not eligible. The best source for determining coverage eligibility is the specific card’s Guide to Benefits. If you have a card currently, you can also call the benefits administrator using the number on the back of your card or access the benefit guide online.
Sam
August 21, 2022
Any idea, on which credit cards, even if the cardholder is not traveling, it still covers trip cancellation for immediate relatives? I could find that Chase Sapphire falls in this category, but could not find information about other cards.
Christine Krzyszton
August 22, 2022
Hi Sam. For the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, and the United Club Infinite card, the Guide to Benefits clearly states that the cardholder does not need to be traveling as long as the trip is paid for with the card. For the Amex Business Platinum card, coverage language states that: “Eligible Traveler means you and your Family Members and Traveling Companions who purchase a
Covered Trip to your Eligible Card”. This statement is a bit more vague as to whether the cardholder needs to be traveling in order for coverage to be valid. To find out if a card offers coverage without the cardholder being a travel companion, you can just Google the card’s Guide to Benefits and look under Trip Cancelation coverage. If you’re looking for this specific coverage with American Express, I would make a call using the number on the back of the card to clarify coverage.
Dean
January 17, 2023
The BOA premium rewards card offers emergency evacuation coverage for a much lesser annual fee of only $95.00 and a $500.00 sign up bonus after spending $3000.00
Dean
January 18, 2023
The card also gives you $100 incidental airline credit per year which offsets the annual fee
Any thoughts or questions? Comment below!
Email needed if you'd like comment updates. It will NOT be published.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.