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![Full List of Travel Insurance Benefits for the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card [2023]](https://upgradedpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Chase-Sapphire-Reserve-Upgraded-Points-LLC-Large-9.jpg?auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=1420&height=650&fit=crop)
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Few credit cards can compete with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® when you’re looking for a premium travel rewards credit card. There are also few, if any, travel rewards cards that offer a better selection of travel insurance benefits.
Travel insurance benefits and protections that come with your credit card can provide valuable assistance if your trip is disrupted, reimburse you for expenses if things go wrong during your journey, and much more.
It’s become increasingly more important to have a level of travel insurance for peace of mind and to make you whole after an unexpected event. While the travel insurance that comes on your credit card is not meant to take the place of a comprehensive travel insurance policy, it can provide sufficient coverage for most trips you make.
Today, we’ll dive deep into the assortment of travel insurance benefits that come with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
We’ll also look at how the coverages work, glance at the process for filing a claim if something does go wrong, and in the end, give you all the other reasons we like the card for frequent travelers.
There are so many reasons we like the Chase Sapphire Reserve card overall and we’ll cover those later in our article. For now, we’re going to jump right into the focus of our review, the travel insurance benefits and protections offered on the card.
Some benefits or protections can save you money, others provide assistance during your travels, and yet others offer peace of mind.
Here is our breakdown of the travel insurance coverages that can be found on your Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
The auto rental insurance coverage on your Chase Sapphire Reserve card could save you hundreds of dollars on your car rental bill. Simply reserve and pay for your car rental with the card, decline the car rental agency’s collision damage waiver (CDW) or loss damage waiver (LDW) coverage, and receive primary car rental coverage for theft or damage to the rental car.
Primary coverage means that you do not have to file a claim with another insurance company first.
Additional coverage includes loss of use charges and reasonable and customary towing charges.
You and authorized drivers listed on the rental agreement are covered.
Coverage limitations and conditions apply, including:
Bottom Line: The Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with primary car rental insurance. If a car rental agency charges $20 per day for this coverage, you could save $140 on a 7-day rental by declining the rental car agency’s collision damage waiver or loss damage waiver coverage.
When you pay for your trip partially or in full with your Chase Sapphire Reserve card, with Ultimate Rewards points earned on your card, or a combination of both, you could receive a benefit if your trip has to be canceled or is disrupted for a covered reason.
Examples of covered events could include:
Examples of expenses reimbursed include:
The trip cancellation/interruption coverage that comes with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card pays up to $10,000 per person, per trip, up to $20,000 per occurrence, and up to a maximum of $40,000 in a 12-month period.
Examples of losses that would not be covered could include:
Hot Tip: The trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance that comes with a credit card, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, does not cover voluntary trip cancellations. If you think you might have to cancel a trip, you should purchase Cancel for Any Reason Insurance which provides coverage regardless of the reason for cancellation.
Trip delays of more than 6 hours or an overnight stay trigger the trip delay reimbursement coverage on your Chase Sapphire Reserve card. You and your eligible family members could receive up to $500 for each purchased ticket, per trip, for unreimbursed expenses for incidentals, lodging, and meals.
If your checked or carry-on luggage is lost, stolen, or damaged, you could receive up to $3,000 per person, per trip. There is a sub-limit of $500 included in the $3,000 maximum for valuable items such as jewelry watches, and specific electronics.
When your bags are delayed for more than 6 hours, you could receive up to $100 per day for 5 days for reimbursement of essentials such as clothing, toiletries, and a cell phone charger.
Make just a call if you have a roadside emergency and receive assistance with services such as flat tire replacement, emergency fuel, jump-start service, towing, lock-outs, and more.
The number of covered service calls each 12-month period is limited to 4 and the maximum coverage is $50 per service call. Any charges over that amount will be charged to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
Pay for at least a portion of your common carrier trip with your Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Then, if you or an immediate family member become injured or sick during your travels and need emergency evacuation, the card could provide up to $100,000 in coverage.
Trips must be at least 5 days in length, not more than 60 days, and the traveler must be more than 100 miles from home.
This is not reimbursement coverage — you must call the benefits administrator at the time of the incident to initiate emergency transport.
It’s rare to find any medical or dental coverage provided on a credit card, but the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers this benefit for its cardholders and qualifying family members.
Here’s how the coverage works:
Travel Accident Insurance is a benefit seldom ever used but it can provide peace of mind knowing that if a covered death or dismemberment occurred during you or your family’s common carrier trip, there could be a benefit provided.
The card comes with up to $1,000,000 in coverage.
Whether you need assistance planning your trip or need help during your travels, you’ll have access to a dedicated phone line 24/7. Receive assistance such as help securing emergency transportation, translation, medical, and legal referrals, help with lost passports, or emergency ticket replacement.
The cost of the actual services received is the responsibility of the cardholder.
Bottom Line: The Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with one of the best collections of travel insurance benefits and protections available. To learn about additional credit cards also offering travel insurance, check out our list of the best credit cards for travel insurance.
The best time to think about filing a travel insurance claim is before an event happens. Before setting off on your trip, it’s wise to take a few minutes to learn how you or your travel companions could receive assistance, should your trip be disrupted.
Reviewing the process of how to contact the claims administrator en route, should it become necessary, could save you money and frustration after the fact for not following the correct procedure for coverage to be valid.
Reviewing the claims process in advance also makes it easier to gather needed information at the time of disruption, such as photos or a statement from the travel provider, versus trying to secure the needed documentation once you’ve arrived home from a disrupted trip.
Here’s what you’ll need to know about filing a claim for Chase credit card travel insurance benefits and/or protections.
Each specific travel insurance coverage has stated time limits to report a claim, submit the completed and signed claim form, and for supplying all of the required documentation. Failing to do so could jeopardize the processing of your claim.
The best rule of thumb is to contact the claims administrator as soon as an event occurs. This action can also help you receive proper instructions on how to proceed to make sure your expenses will be covered.
You will be asked to submit documentation for your claim to be processed properly. Keep in mind that Chase is not processing your claim as the card issuer utilizes a third-party claims administrator.
You could be asked to provide any of the following information:
Hot Tip: The claims process will be easier if you have saved receipts, kept travel provider cancellation/refund policy documentation, and have copies of your ticket information and itineraries.
Our list of Chase Sapphire Reserve card travel insurance benefits is an overview only. We have also abbreviated the coverage descriptions. You will need to access the official Guide to Benefits for the card for terms, conditions, current coverage limits, and claim procedures.
Also, note that most travel insurance benefits that come with credit cards are normally secondary to other insurance you might have that would otherwise cover the loss. If you are compensated by an airline for lost luggage, for example, you would only have coverage via your credit card for any excess loss you incurred above the airline’s payment (up to the limits of coverage).
In addition to having one of the best travel insurance offerings among credit cards, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card comes with strong earnings, redemption options, statement credits, and additional benefits.
Here are some of the reasons we like this premium travel rewards card.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card earns valuable, flexible Ultimate Rewards points on every purchase you make.
Here’s how you’ll earn points on the card:
When it comes time to redeem your Ultimate Rewards points, you’ll have several options offering various values:
Other redemption values vary, but always strive to receive no less than 1 cent per point redeemed as you can cash out points for that amount. Transferring Ultimate Rewards points to travel partners can potentially result in the most value for your points. You may also find good value via the Chase travel portal utilizing points at 1.5 cents each for inexpensive flights.
Receiving statement credits for purchases you’ll be making anyway is an effective way to offset the card’s annual fee. Here are the statement credits you can expect from the Chase Sapphire Reserve card:
Bottom Line: With powerful earning and redemption options, statement credits for specific purchases, worldwide lounge access, and a long list of travel and shopping benefits/protections, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card can be worth the annual fee.
While we think the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is an excellent choice for a travel rewards card, here are a couple of equally appropriate alternatives for the frequent traveler.
Also packed with a generous collection of travel insurance benefits, the Amex Platinum card shines as a companion for the frequent traveler.
Its lounge access benefits are second to none, plus it offers hotel program elite status, rental car perks, and statement credits for specific purchases. It also earns valuable, and flexible, Membership Rewards points via a generous bonus earnings on eligible travel.
If you’re looking for a travel rewards credit card but are reluctant to pay a high annual fee, or you won’t use all of the benefits offered on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you might want to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred comes with many of the travel insurance benefits and protections offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and it’s one of our favorite travel rewards cards.
The newest premium travel rewards card on the block is the Capital One Venture X card. We like that the card comes with an annual up to $300 statement credit for travel purchased via Capital One Travel.
The card’s annual fee is also lower than most premium travel rewards cards but you’ll still find travel insurance, worldwide lounge access, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee reimbursement, stellar earnings on travel, cell phone protection, and a respectable 2x earnings on all other purchases.
While the high annual fee may be off-putting, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is packed with plenty of benefits to justify the expense — if you’ll utilize the majority of those benefits.
Our focus today was on travel insurance benefits that alone could save you money, provide compensation, and/or reimbursement if your trip is disrupted. But there is additional value in all the other benefits offered on the card.
A Priority Pass Select membership, for example, will set you back as much as $469 each year, plus $35 for each guest, per visit. The Priority Pass membership that comes with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers unlimited access for the cardholder and allows 2 additional guests at no charge.
The card also comes with a $300 travel credit, and up to $100 for Global Entry, NEXUS. or TSA PreCheck fees.
If you can utilize the benefits, the card can be worth it.
All information and content provided by Upgraded Points is intended as general information and for educational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as medical advice or legal advice. For more information, see our Medical & Legal Disclaimers.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
Enrollment required through Capital One website or mobile app. Upon enrollment, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
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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, detailed content for UP.
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25 comments
James
October 29, 2020
Great informative article. Thanks!
For emergency evac/medical/dental coverage, what is the required payment of the trip using a car? For example, can I just charge any travel expense during the trip, and that will allow me to file a claim during the trip?
Jarrod West
October 30, 2020
Hi James,
Yes, that is correct. Any non-refundable travel expenses from your trip should be covered in the event of an emergency evacuation.
Christine Krzyszton
October 30, 2020
Hi James. Thanks for your comment and for reading. According to the terms and conditions, a covered trip is defined as the following: “Covered Trip – arrangements that are made by a commercial licensed travel establishment consisting of travel agencies and/or common carrier organizations for which the expense has been charged to an Eligible account.” While a road trip doesn’t totally fit this definition, I would call the number on the back of your card to see if there are circumstances where portions of your trip could be covered (tour, organized hike, guides, etc.).
Pete
July 26, 2021
So reading the bit about “commercial licensed travel establishment” does that mean if you book the trip yourself you won’t be covered by this travel insurance? A little confused here, thanks.
Christine Krzyszton
July 27, 2021
Hi Pete. Each individual travel insurance coverage has its own terms and definition of a “covered trip”. The above description is not for trip interruption/cancelation coverage so I apologize for the confusion. If you book a trip with your card that includes hotel, flights, transportation, etc., it would qualify for covered losses. For trip interruption/trip cancelation coverage, for example, the Guide to Benefits defines a qualifying trip as: “A covered Trip means any pre-paid tour, trip or vacation when some portion of the cost for such travel arrangements, less any redeemable frequent flyer miles, points, coupons or certificates, is charged.” If you have a specific situation that you’d want to find out if there is coverage for, you would need to contact Chase at the number on the back of your card.
Lewis
January 25, 2022
This June my wife and I are planning a three-week trip to Germany that will include a 7 day Viking river cruise from Amsterdam to Brussels. I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card primarily for its travel insurance and have paid the crazy annual fee ($450 going up to $550) for the past 2 years without taking a single trip. I know that I’ll need additional travel coverage to cover us in the event we test positive and have to disembark from the boat and have to find a way home, or if we test positive prior to our flights and get delayed or denied. Is there a policy rider that I could purchase that would add to the Chase coverage or should I just buy a separate ‘cancel for any reason’ policy? Thank you
Christine Krzyszton
January 25, 2022
Hi Lewis. This sounds like a wonderful journey. Yes, for a trip with such a significant investment, and length, I would certainly purchase travel insurance. There is no additional insurance (or rider) available for purchase through Chase. Since it sounds like one of your main concerns is getting ill, know that many travel insurance policies cover COVID the same as other illnesses. You may not need “Cancel for Any Reason” insurance unless you think you might cancel due to your fear of getting ill, or other reasons that might not otherwise be covered. I would contact your cruise company to find out the insurance options they offer. If you purchased your flights from the cruise company, they may have a package that can cover much of your trip or just the cruise portion. Beyond that, you can check out travel insurance comparison sites like Squaremouth, Travelinsurance.com, or Insuremytrip to cover the flight/ground portion of your trip. Be sure the policy you select covers Covid-related illness since that is a priority for you. Safe travels.
Silvia Munoz
February 02, 2022
Thank you for the excellent review. One of the main reasons we got the CSR was for its broad travel protection, so in order to benefit from it we paid our upcoming 25-day cruise in its entirety with the card.
I have read Chase’s travel protection terms and conditions more than a couple of times, and frankly, I can’t see that coverage for medical, or emergency medical evacuation caused by Covid is negated any way. The definition of “sickness” doesn’t exclude it either. Am I missing something? Your comments will be much appreciated. Thank you. Silvia
Christine Krzyszton
February 02, 2022
Hi Silvia. How wonderful that you have an upcoming cruise. I’m sure you’re excited but also want to make sure you have coverage just in case. While I agree with you regarding the terms and conditions not excluding COVID, keep in mind that there is only $2,500 worth of emergency medical available on the card. Evacuation coverage limits are much more, of course. You may want to consider purchasing additional travel insurance for a trip such as this, however. Perhaps contact the cruise line and inquire about their coverage and visit one of the travel insurance comparison sites such as Squaremouth, Insuremytrip, or Travelinsurance.com. You may be surprised at how affordable it can be and it may be worth the investment for peace of mind during your journey. Thank you for reading.
Silvia Munoz
February 02, 2022
Thank you for the speedy response! I wanted to make sure something was not going over my head 🙂
In our case, we live in South Florida and are covered by a Medicare Advantage plan that includes emergency medical costs incurred while traveling on a reimbursement basis. This coverage was “tested” in 2019 when we got reimbursed for treatment received aboard a cruise, so our main concern would the emergency evac protection which isn’t covered by our plan. Thank you again.
Teresa Davis
February 09, 2022
Thanks for a great article. But a word to the wise, I have had Chase Sapphire Reserve for 6 years and the one time my flight was canceled (traveling abroad), they were not able to get me another flight and they did not cover anything. I was left with a $200 hotel phone bill that occurred trying to get help from Chase and paying $600+ for a last-minute flight to replace the $75 flight I had originally purchased through Chase portal months in advance. After returning to the US, I called to try to remedy the situation and after talking to several people, the best they would do is to cover the original $75 flight. The end. EXTREMELY disappointed in what I always considered to be a reliable travel card. The promises sound good but if they don’t deliver….
Santiago
September 13, 2022
Hello, this is a great article! But I did want to let your readers know that while Chase Sapphire offers these benefits, actually receiving these benefits its almost impossible. I’ve had the Sapphire for over 4 years, and I have submitted 3 claims so far, and all have been denied. They used a third party provider whose sole job is pretty much denying any claims you make. Per example, if your bag gets lost by an airline, they ask you for original receipts for all items in the bag in order to re-imburse you. Who keeps original receipts for all items and clothes they have? They also ask for a custom letter from the carrier, which now a days is almost impossible to get as well. While these benefits sound great, its all marketing and you should not rely on any of them.
Christine Krzyszton
September 13, 2022
Hi Santiago, and thank you for the comment. Some card coverages, such as the baggage insurance you mentioned, are secondary or excess coverages that require you to first file a claim with, in this case, the airline. Once the airline denies or pays a limited amount, then the card coverage kicks it. But yes, to your point, these coverages do not take the place of a comprehensive travel insurance policy.
Richard N. Golden
October 23, 2022
Regarding trip cancellation:
Does an “immediate family member of a cardholder” include the “father-in-law” of a cardmember?
Christine Krzyszton
October 24, 2022
Hi Richard. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s Guide to Benefits defines an immediate family member as follows and appears to include in-laws: “Immediate Family Member means an individual with any of the following relationships to the Cardholder: Spouse, and parents thereof; sons and daughters, including adopted children and stepchildren; parents, including stepparents; brothers and sisters; grandparents and grandchildren; aunts or uncles; nieces or nephews; and Domestic Partner and parents thereof, including Domestic Partners or Spouses of any individual of this definition. Immediate Family Member also includes legal guardians or wards. Immediate Family Members do not need to be traveling with the Cardholder for benefits to apply”.
Karthik Krishnakumar
January 23, 2023
Good luck getting the 3rd party to process any claim that you have. I had to cancel our family trip to India because I got really sick a couple of days before the trip, I have a doctors note saying that I cannot travel, along with test results that show that I was sick. 3 months and counting there is no resolution from the benefits team. They keep asking for the same documents that I have already submitted multiple times. Chase Customer service will not help and basically tell you to call the 3rd party and will not do anything to help processing the claim.
Aaron Arizmendi
February 11, 2023
To access trip protection and insurance using the Chase Sapphire Reserve, do I have to book through Chase or can I use Expedia, etc.?Thanks!!
Christine Krzyszton
February 11, 2023
Hi Aaron. There is no requirement to book through Chase, only that you pay with your Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
Andrea
March 18, 2023
FWIW: I would not recommend booking via a third party, such as Expedia. Anytime there is an issue (cancellation, delay, weather, etc) you will need to handle it through the 3rd party website, not directly with the airline. Always, always book airfare directly from the airlines.
Scott
March 21, 2023
I have a specific scenario regarding Trip Cancellation/Interruption.
I am going on a cruise which was paid for 100% with CSR. I am flying to the cruise, same day, on a flight purchased 100% with CSR. My question is if there is a mechanical issue or other interruption to my flight which caused me to miss the cruise, would CSR reimburse the cost of the cruise (and any pre-paid excursions)? My question, then, is coverage for the flight, and coverage for the cruise, in the event the airline causes me to miss the cruise.Thanks,Scott
Christine Krzyszton
March 22, 2023
Hi Scott. The trip cancelation and trip interruption coverage that comes with your card only covers specific reasons that your trip would need to be canceled,(illness of a covered person, for example) or if it is interrupted (severe weather). We’ve listed some of the covered reasons in the article. If your trip is interrupted for a covered reason, some non-refundable costs that aren’t covered by the airline or cruise line could be covered. However, the coverage that comes on your card does not replace a comprehensive travel insurance policy. If you have a lot invested, you may want to consider purchasing coverage. I would highly recommend that you review your Guide to Benefits, though, because there are coverages in there you can use. For example, be sure to take the phone numbers for emergency evacuation with you. There is also some limited coverage for emergency medical. You can also make a call to Chase for clarification.
Barb Newbauer
July 30, 2023
Trying to get clarification on coverage of travel to certain countries BEFORE I visit SE Asia. So far, I have been going in phone circles with Chase and their benefit administrator. Chase says to call the benefits number; benefits number says “We just go by whatever the ‘Guide to Benefits” says. Chase’s 56-page “Guide to Benefits” at https://www.chasebenefits.com/sapphirereserve2 lists exclusions to coverage, but nobody can tell me how the insurance administrator decides what countries “may be determined by the U.S. Government from time to time to be unsafe for travel” and therefore excluded. I assume that the U.S. Government source they reference is the U.S. State Dept, which posts travel advisories; however, if that’s the case, why does Chase list travel to Vietnam as excluded when the State Department shows it as a safer place than even most European countries? The Guide seems very outdated. See https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/.
Christine Krzyszton
July 30, 2023
Hi Barb. I cannot provide any clarification as to which countries the U.S. Government has determined are unsafe and therefore excluded by Chase. However, since it’s common for Chase to issue cardholders a letter of coverage for the country in which they’re renting a vehicle, you could probably just ask Chase for a coverage letter before you go. If they will not issue you a letter for a particular country, you may have to buy the rental agency’s CDW/LDW coverage.
Barb Newbauer
August 08, 2023
Thanks, Christine, for your July 30 answer.
Do you have a proven-effective Chase Sapphire Reserve benefit phone number, email address, or mailing address for obtaining such a “letter of coverage?”
Keri Stooksbury
August 09, 2023
Hi Barb – I have been able to receive this letter of coverage after requesting it through Secure Message when logged into my account. Thanks for reading!
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