Editor’s note: This post has been updated with current information. It was originally published on Nov. 7, 2018.
Some credit cards offer valuable travel protections that can save you significant money if something goes wrong. For example, the travel insurance provided when you pay for travel with select cards can reimburse you for expenses if your baggage is damaged, you’re stranded overnight due to a flight delay or cancellation or you have to return home to handle a family medical emergency.
This guide presents some of the best travel credit cards that provide both travel insurance and solid earnings when you use the card to purchase flights, trains, buses and other scheduled transportation.
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Best credit cards with travel insurance
- Chase Sapphire Reserve: Best overall card
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Best sub-$100 annual fee card
- The Platinum Card® from American Express: Best for earnings on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel
- U.S. Bank Altitude
Reserve Visa Infinite® Card: Best for U.S. Bank customers
In This Post
Comparing credit cards with travel insurance
Let’s start with a quick comparison table of these four cards and the major perks they offer:
| Card | Welcome bonus | Bonus for airfare purchases (return based on TPG’s valuations) | Protection notes | Annual fee |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening | 3x points (6%) | Good protection in all areas; the biggest flaw is the low limit for high-risk items under the lost/damaged baggage protection | $550 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred Card | 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening | 2x points (4%) | Weaker across the board than the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but good enough for most situations | $95 |
| The Platinum Card from American Express | 60,000 points after you make $5,000 in purchases in your first three months | 5x points when booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel (10%) | Doesn’t offer baggage delay protections and has more restrictions on what trips are covered | $550 (see rates and fees) |
| U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite Card | 50,000 points after you spend $4,500 in the first 90 days of account opening | 3x points (4.5%) | Doesn’t offer baggage delay protections; a guide to benefits isn’t publicly available to non-cardholders | $400 |
The information for the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Now let’s take a closer look at each one to determine how you can use these perks when things go wrong on a trip.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Sign-up bonus: 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Based on TPG’s valuations, these points are worth $1,000.
Rewards: 10 points per dollar spent on Lyft rides through March 2022; 3x points per dollar spent on dining and travel; 1x point per dollar spent on everything else
Travel insurance:
- Baggage delay: Up to $100 reimbursed per day for up to five days if your baggage is delayed more than six hours
- Lost/damaged baggage: $3,000 per passenger, but only $500 per passenger for jewelry, watches, cameras and other electronic equipment
- Trip delay reimbursement: Up to $500 per ticket if you’re delayed more than six hours or require an overnight stay
- Trip cancellation and interruption protection: Up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses
- Medical evacuation benefit: Up to $100,000 for necessary emergency evacuation and transportation when on a trip of five to 60 days and traveling more than 100 miles from home (100-mile requirement waived for New York residents)
- Travel accident insurance: Accidental death or dismemberment coverage of up to $100,000 (up to $1,000,000 for common carrier travel)
- Emergency medical and dental benefit: Up to $2,500 for medical expenses when on a trip arranged by a travel agency and traveling more than 100 miles from home (100-mile requirement waived for New York residents)
- Rental car coverage: Primary coverage for damages caused by theft or collision at up to $75,000 on rentals of 31 days or less
Annual fee: $550 ($75 for each authorized user)
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is my go-to card for travel expenses since it offers three Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on all travel and dining purchases. Due to an effective 6% return and excellent travel protections, I purchase most of my flights, trains and buses using the Sapphire Reserve. Plus, the Sapphire Reserve provides protections on award tickets even when only the taxes and fees are charged to the card.
Related reading:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve card hub
- Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card review
- Maximize your wallet with the perfect quartet of Chase credit cards
- Four things to do once you get your Chase Sapphire Reserve
APPLY HERE: Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Sign-up bonus: 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Based on TPG’s valuations, these points are worth $1,200.
Rewards: 5x points per dollar spent on Lyft rides through March 2022; 2x points per dollar spent on dining and travel; one point per dollar spent on everything else
Travel insurance:
- Baggage delay: Up to $100 reimbursed per day for up to five days if your baggage is delayed more than six hours
- Lost/damaged baggage: $3,000 per passenger, but only $500 per passenger for jewelry, watches, cameras and other electronic equipment
- Trip delay reimbursement: Up to $500 per ticket if you’re delayed more than 12 hours or require an overnight stay
- Trip cancellation and interruption protection: Up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses
- Travel accident insurance: Accidental death or dismemberment coverage of up to $100,000 (up to $500,000 for common carrier travel)
- Rental car coverage: Primary coverage for damages caused by theft or collision up to the actual cash value of most rented cars on rentals of 31 days or less
Annual fee: $95
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the best travel rewards credit cards for infrequent travelers. Although an effective 4% return on travel purchases is the worst of the cards discussed in this guide, it’s still respectable considering the card’s modest $95 annual fee and decent travel protections. As with the Sapphire Reserve, you’ll be protected on award tickets even when you only use your Sapphire Preferred to pay the taxes and fees.
Related reading:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred card hub
- Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card review
- Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Which card is right for you?
- Who should (and shouldn’t) get the Chase Sapphire Preferred?
APPLY HERE: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
The Platinum Card from American Express
Welcome bonus: 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards points after you use your new card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first three months. Based on TPG’s valuations, these points are worth $1,200. However, you may be able to snag a targeted 100,000-point offer through the CardMatch Tool (offer subject to change at any time).
Rewards: Five points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines, flights booked with American Express Travel and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com; one point per dollar spent on everything else
Travel insurance:
- Lost/damaged baggage: Up to $3,000 per traveler for carry-on baggage and up to $2,000 per traveler for checked baggage, but only $1,000 per traveler for high-risk items
- Trip delay reimbursement: Up to $500 per covered trip and up to two claims per 12-month period per card if you’re delayed more than six hours. Coverage only provided on round-trip flights purchased entirely with an eligible card (paying taxes and fees on award tickets or Pay With Points tickets is covered)
- Trip cancellation and interruption protection: Up to $10,000 per covered trip and $20,000 per eligible card per 12-month period for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses. Coverage only provided on round-trip flights purchased entirely with an eligible card (paying taxes and fees on award tickets or Pay With Points tickets is covered)
- Medical evacuation benefit: Offered with no cap on trips of less than 90 days but excludes pre-existing conditions; no requirement to put any trip expenses on your card
- Rental car coverage: Secondary coverage for damages caused by theft or collision at up to $75,000 on rentals of 30 days or less, can pay per rental to upgrade to primary coverage through the American Express Premium Car Rental Protection program
Annual fee: $550 ($175 for up to three additional Platinum cards, then $175 for each additional card after the first three; see rates and fees)
The Amex Platinum provides an impressive 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel. Using TPG’s latest valuations, this means you’ll get a 10% return on these purchases. But even with a 10% return on select airfare purchases and the recent addition of additional travel insurance protections, I still use the Amex Platinum primarily as a membership card, since the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s travel insurance protections are more comprehensive for my travel style.
Related reading:
- Amex Platinum card hub
- The Platinum Card From American Express review
- Is the Amex Platinum once again the king of travel rewards cards?
- Maximizing benefits with the Amex Platinum Card
APPLY HERE: The Platinum Card from American Express
U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite Card
Sign-up bonus: 50,000 points after you spend $4,500 in the first 90 days of account opening. These points are worth $750 when redeemed to offset eligible travel purchases. This card is only available to U.S. Bank customers who have an eligible U.S. Bank account relationship open and active a minimum of five business days prior to applying.
Rewards: 3x points per dollar spent on eligible net travel purchases and Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay mobile-wallet systems; 1x point per dollar spent on everything else
Travel insurance:
- Trip delay reimbursement: Up to $500 per air travel ticket purchased with your card if you’re delayed more than six hours or require an overnight stay
- Trip cancellation and interruption protection: Up to $2,000 per trip when you use your card to purchase eligible transportation
- Lost/damaged baggage: Yes, but details aren’t available publicly
- Medical evacuation benefit: Yes, but details aren’t available publicly
- Travel accident insurance: Yes, but details aren’t available publicly
- Rental car coverage: Yes, but details aren’t available publicly
Annual fee: $400 ($75 for each additional card)
The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite Card can be an excellent choice for daily spending as well as travel purchases, especially if many of the merchants you shop with accept mobile wallet payments. It’s difficult to compare this card’s protections to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, since the guide to benefits isn’t publicly available, but one obvious downside of the card is a lack of baggage delay protection and the limitation that trip delay protection only applies to air travel. However, it provides a solid alternative to those who can’t get accepted for a Chase card.
Related reading:
APPLY HERE: U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite Card
What types of travel insurance are offered by select cards?
Travel rewards credit cards often offer various types of travel insurance when you use your card to purchase at least part of a common carrier fare. See the links below for more information on these types of insurance as well as the best cards for each type of insurance.
- Baggage delay protection
- Lost/damaged baggage protection
- Trip delay reimbursement
- Trip cancellation and interruption protection
- Medical evacuation benefit and travel accident insurance
- Emergency medical and dental benefit (only offered with the Chase Sapphire Reserve)
- Rental car coverage
As you likely noticed in this guide, the types and levels of protection vary significantly across credit cards. Many protections have some exclusions or limitations, so be sure to read the guide to benefits on your card before assuming something or someone will be covered.
Related reading: Why you might want to get a premium credit card instead of purchasing travel insurance
What business cards offer travel insurance?
My two top picks for small businesses who need travel protections are The Business Platinum® Card from American Express and Ink Business Preferred Credit Card. The protections offered by the Amex Business Platinum are similar to those offered by the Amex Platinum, while the protections offered by the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card are similar to those offered by the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
Related reading: Best business credit cards
What card should I use for travel insurance?
I could make an argument for each of the four cards featured in this guide. The Amex Platinum‘s 5x points for airfare booked directly through airlines or Amex Travel is impressive. But, the lack of baggage delay protection and the requirement of round-trip travel usually discourages me from using the card for flights.
Instead, I use the Chase Sapphire Reserve when booking flights and other common carrier travel due to the solid mix of earning and protections. Or, if you can’t quite justify the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s $550 annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card also provides good travel protections for a sub-$100 annual fee.
Related reading: Here’s why I’m keeping my Chase Sapphire Reserve
Related guides
- The best travel credit cards for 2020
- The best credit cards for airfare purchases
- Battle of the premium travel rewards cards: Which is the best?
- When to buy travel insurance versus when to rely on credit card protections
- The best travel insurance policies and providers
- The best airline credit cards
- Airline credit cards ranked by their return on spending
- Best credit cards with no foreign transaction fees
- Top credit cards for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, please click here.
Featured photo by Benjamin Wu/EyeEm.
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