Credit Card Travel Insurance Vs. Separate Travel Insurance (2024)

Credit cards tout travel benefits as a way to offer value in exchange for annual fees. Four of the most popular cards that offer travel insurance are the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, The Platinum Card® from American Express (Terms apply) and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.

With all of these cards, you must pay for your trip transport (such as a flight ticket, cruise, package tour or train ticket) using your credit card to be eligible for coverage. You must also remain a cardmember at the time you file your claim and have an account in good standing. Immediate family members are covered, assuming you paid for their travel with your card. Keep an eye on age limits for children: coverage varies not only by card, but by benefit. All benefits cover children up to 18, but some benefits will cover older adult children if they’re still students.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Travel Insurance

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers trip insurance without a high annual fee. This mid-range card includes several noteworthy benefits for a $95 annual fee.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Collision Damage Waiver

One of the strongest benefits the card offers is an auto rental collision damage waiver (CDW). If you rent a car, pay with your Sapphire Preferred and decline the CDW coverage sold by the rental agency and you’ll be covered. The coverage offered is primary—meaning it pays before your auto insurance at home kicks in—and will pay associated costs for theft or accidental damage.

Keep in mind it doesn’t cover liability for other property (such as a second car in a collision), medical or legal expenses. The Preferred’s CDW also has limitations regarding luxury, sports and electric cars that could cause you unexpected headaches, so be sure you know what’s not covered before renting that Tesla.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Insurance

Another valuable included benefit is trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance. This coverage reimburses you for nonrefundable, prepaid expenses you incurred if you unexpectedly have to cancel the trip (trip cancellation) or have to cut the trip short (trip interruption). You can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per covered traveler with a maximum of $20,000 per trip and $40,000 annually. Some examples of covered reasons include hospitalization or death of an immediate family member, named storm warnings, court subpoenas or terrorist activity.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Trip Delay Insurance

All travelers have experienced trip delays at one point or another, for example when thunderstorms cancel your flight or cause you to miss a connection. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can be reimbursed up to $500 per ticket purchased if you’re delayed 12 or more hours or overnight for covered reasons (most commonly severe weather or mechanical issues). It will cover costs such as hotel rooms, taxis and meals.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Lost and Delayed Luggage Insurance

The card also offers insurance of up to $3,000 per covered passenger per trip for lost luggage or up to $500 for delayed luggage ($100 per day for up to five days) so you can buy what you need while waiting for your suitcase to arrive.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Travel Accident Insurance

The last major coverage this card includes is travel accident insurance, which is essentially accidental death and dismemberment insurance. This insurance pays out a lump sum if you lose your sight, speech, hearing, a limb or life while traveling. But it only covers accidental death, such as a car crash or fall. The coverage maxes out at $100,000 unless the loss happens while traveling on a common carrier (e.g. while in-flight) in which case it increases to $500,000.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Insurance

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a premium version of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. With an annual fee of $550, you’re paying a lot more—but you’ll receive more benefits and higher coverage limits in exchange. Coverage follows the same pattern as the Sapphire Preferred, but with higher limits and additional features.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Collision Damage Waiver

With the Sapphire Reserve, you’ll get rental car CDW insurance that reimburses up to $75,000 for covered damages, whereas the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card reimburses “up to the Actual Cash Value of most rented cars.” This is an important distinction if you are a luxury car fan, as the Preferred specifically excludes brands such as Corvette and Porsche.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Insurance

Trip interruption and trip cancellation coverage is identical to the Sapphire Preferred, reimbursing up to $10,000 in expenses per covered traveler, or $20,000 per covered trip. The annual maximum is also the same, at $40,000.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Trip Delay Insurance

The Sapphire Reserve’s maximum benefit for Trip Delay Reimbursem*nt is $500, but kicks in after six hours where the Preferred requires 12. This means it is useful on much shorter delays.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Lost and Delayed Luggage Insurance

Baggage loss and delay insurance shares its primary features with the Sapphire Preferred. If your bags are delayed beyond the first six hours, Chase will reimburse reasonable expenses up to $100 per day for up to five days of delay. If your bags are lost entirely, Chase will pay up to $3,000 to replace the contents, with sub-limits of $500 for jewelry and watches and another $500 for electronics.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Emergency Evacuation Insurance

If you or a family member needs emergency evacuation while traveling, the card will potentially reimburse up to $100,000 for transportation, medical services and necessary medical supplies. In some cases, this may not cover the entire cost of evacuation, especially if you require an international air ambulance and/or are traveling through a remote location. In order to be covered, the evacuation must be arranged in advance by the benefits provider.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Accident Insurance

Travel accident insurance for the Sapphire Reserve is double that of the Preferred, with a maximum $1 million payout for loss of life while traveling on a common carrier, and lower limits for other types of injury.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Emergency Medical and Dental Insurance

The Sapphire Reserve is the only credit card on this list that offers emergency medical and dental insurance. However, it tops out at $2,500 in reimbursem*nts and carries a $50 deductible. While that amount will cover some medical treatments, hospital bills in some countries could easily surpass that.

Capital One Venture X Travel Insurance

Another card with a large suite of travel benefits, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (rates & fees) might be a useful option for your wallet. It comes at an annual fee of $395 though the insurance benefits alone could cost more than that if purchased separately. Among the included travel protections are trip cancellation and interruption benefits, trip delay reimbursem*nts, travel accident insurance, lost luggage reimbursem*ntand rental car collision damage waivers.

Capital One Venture X Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver

The Venture X provides primary insurance coverage for rentals up to 15 days long in your home country or 31 days abroad. It covers most vehicles up to their Actual Cash Value, though expensive cars (defined as those with an MSRP of more than $75,000 when new), exotic cars, vans, trucks, motorcycles and some other vehicles are excluded, as are rentals in Israel, Jamaica, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Capital One Venture X Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance

Trip cancellation and interruption insurance can be a huge help when the unexpected arises, but it’s worth noting the benefits here are limited. Assuming the cause of your cancellation is covered—such as the death or illness of you or an immediate family member—you may be reimbursed for up to $2,000 per eligible traveler toward the cost of common carrier tickets. Additional prepaid expenses, such as hotel stays, are not reimbursable.

Capital One Venture X Trip Delay Coverage

For trip delays, you can receive up to $500 per ticket toward eligible expenses on delays of six or more hours (overnight delays are automatically included).

Capital One Venture X Lost Luggage Coverage

If your luggage is lost, you’re covered up to $3,000 toward the cost of replacement items, similar to the Chase cards above. However, delayed bags aren’t covered at all, so you’ll have to buy your own shampoo if you caught your flight, but your suitcase didn’t.

Capital One Venture X Travel Accident Insurance

The travel accident insurance included on the Venture X is quite generous. It maxes out at $1,000,000 per traveler per covered reason, such as the accidental loss of life, limb, sight, speech or hearing while traveling on a common carrier. This is similar to the Sapphire Reserve’s limit in this category, but this is coverage you hopefully never have to use.

Overall, the travel protections on your Venture X card are a mixed bag, with some lagging the benefits offered on other cards (or separately purchased policies).

American Express Platinum Card Travel Insurance

The Platinum Card® from American Express is another ultra-premium credit card with a $695 annual fee (terms apply, see rates & fees) offering several forms of travel protection.

Platinum Card from American Express Collision Damage Waiver

The Amex Platinum offers CDW for car rentals¹, but it’s important to know that Amex’s coverage is secondary, not primary. This means that you will need to make a claim with any other insurance you have first, then Amex will cover any excess.

Platinum Card from American Express Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance

Trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance is also provided, but coverage maximums are only half of what’s offered by the Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards: $10,000 per trip and $20,000 per year.⁴

Platinum Card from American Express Trip Delay Insurance

For common occurrences, travelers are protected with up to $500 per trip for unforeseen expenses associated with trip delays of six hours or more.²

Platinum Card from American Express Lost Luggage Insurance

Amex will reimburse up to $2,000 for lost checked baggage and $3,000 for lost checked and carry-on baggage combined.³This coverage is mostly in line with the coverage of its competitors, although you’ll receive slightly less coverage for a single lost bag.

Platinum Card from American Express Emergency Evacuation Insurance

The Platinum Card from American Express provides emergency evacuation. The evacuation cost will be covered in full, but their Premium Global Assist Hotline determines what they consider adequate medical care.⁵ They’ll decide how and when you’re evacuated and which hospital you’re evacuated to. Unlike the Sapphire Reserve, the Platinum card doesn’t offer medical or dental coverage, so you’re responsible for all medical bills after you’ve arrived at the destination of their choice. Note that the Platinum Card’s coverage does not specify that the trip in question has to be charged to the card.

Other American Express Cards That Offer Travel Insurance

Though we’re only covering the Platinum card here, it’s worth knowing that other premium Amex cards also offer travel insurance. Check your benefits guide for details if you carry cards such as the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express*, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (Terms apply. See rates & fees) or Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (Terms apply. See rates & fees). Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company. Terms Apply.

All information about Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor