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Your Complete Guide To Trip Cancelation Insurance Offered By Credit Cards [2021]

- Aug 29, 2021 Credit Card Info, Travel0 comments

The last thing anyone wants to hear is that they’re trip was canceled, for whatever reason. If you want to go, you want to GO! 

How can you make sure that some expenses at least get paid for by insurance?

The benefits of trip cancelation and trip interruption insurance are offered by many credit cards. In most cases, they’ll refund you for the prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses. 

The scenarios in which you’ll get refunded are as follows: if travel is canceled due to a medical emergency (whether with you or an immediate family member), or if severe weather conditions force you to cancel your trip. (Hurricane Henri, anyone?)

Now, there’s a big question that is constantly asked: what expenses will the insurance cover? 

That depends on how nicely you ask. (Ok, not true). It depends on the card. 

Some will only cover the airfare expenses, while some will cover all the travel expenses- including the hotel, car rental and more. 

In order for the insurance to cover the expenses, you need to pay for ‘em with the eligible card. While some cards allow you to pay only part of the expenses on the eligible card, some cards will require you to pay for all of the expenses on said card.

Let’s go through the nitty gritty details of the trip cancelation and trip interruption insurance that is offered by the biggest credit card issuers.

Amex

Amex offers trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance on their luxury credit cards. Coverage is for a broad range of travel expenses, as detailed below. 

Who is covered? Coverage applies to you and your family members (family members do not need to travel with the cardholder to receive coverage).

Do I need to book with my Amex card to activate coverage? To be eligible for coverage, the full amount will need to be charged to your Amex card or Amex membership rewards. (You can also use redeemable certificates, vouchers, coupons, or discounts, as long as the remaining portion is charged to your Amex card.)  

What is covered? Many non-refundable travel expenses are covered  including non-refundable airline tickets, hotels, cruise lines, railroad fare, and more.

What type of cancellations are covered? Coverage is only if you need to cancel due to an emergency including health, death, severe weather, etc. Covid will only be covered if you’re unable to fly due to being in quarantine. 

Which Amex cards have coverage?

Annual Fee Trip Cancellation Insurance
Amex Platinum $695  Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person per trip, max $20,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Amex Platinum Schwab $695  Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person per trip, max $20,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Morgan Stanley Platinum $695  Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person per trip, max $20,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Amex Platinum Business $695 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person per trip, $20,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Delta Reserve Business  $650 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person per trip, max $20,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Delta Reserve  $650 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person per trip, max $20,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Amex Marriott Brilliant $650 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person per trip, max $20,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Hilton Aspire $550 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person per trip, max $20,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.

 

Barclays

Barclays offers trip cancellation insurance on many of their credit cards. 

Who is covered? Coverage applies to you and your family members (family members do not need to travel with the cardholder to receive coverage).

Do I need to purchase the travel with my Barclays card? Barclays will cover whatever percentage of the trip was purchased using your Barclays card or Barclays points. To get full coverage, you will need to charge the full amount to your Barclays credit cards or Barclays points. 

What is covered?  Many non-refundable travel expenses are covered  including non-refundable airline tickets, hotels, cruise lines, railroad fare, and more.

What type of cancellations are covered? Coverage is only if you need to cancel due to an emergency including health, death, severe weather, etc. Covid will only be covered if you’re unable to fly due to being in quarantine. 

Which Barclays cards have coverage? 

Annual Fee Trip Cancellation Insurance
Miles & More $89 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $5,000 per trip, $10,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Hawaiian Airlines $99 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $5,000 per trip, $10,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Barclays Aviator $99, waived 1st year Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $5,000 per trip, $10,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Emirates Skywards Rewards $99 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $5,000 per trip, $10,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Frontier $79, waived 1st year Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $1,500 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Emirates Skywards Premium $499 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $5,000 per trip, $10,000 per year for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Carnival Mastercard $0 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $1,500 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Diamond Resorts Mastercard $0 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $15,000 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
JetBlue $0 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $1,500 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.

Chase

Chase provides one of the best trip cancellation insurance, however only on some of their credit cards. Their coverage is extremely broad- they will even cover award redeposit fees or refunds for lost Chase Ultimate reward points, as long as you paid at least part of the travel expenses with your card. Coverage extends to you and/or your immediate family members, and covers all travel expenses including air, hotels, cars, and more. 

Who is covered? Coverage applies to you and your family members (family members do not need to travel with the cardholder to receive coverage).

Do I need to book with my Chase card to activate coverage? At least a portion of the travel expenses will need to be booked using your Chase card or Chase Ultimate Rewards.

What is covered? Most Chase cards cover all non-refundable travel expenses including airfare, hotels, award redeposit fees, car rentals, cruise line fare, mobile homes, and more. Some Chase cards will only cover airline tickets and fares paid to a common carrier (see chart below).  

What type of cancellations are covered? Coverage is only if you need to cancel due to an emergency including health, death, severe weather, etc. Covid will only be covered if you’re unable to fly due to being in quarantine. 

Which Chase card has coverage?  

Annual Fee Trip Cancellation Insurance
United Business $99 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $1,500 per passenger and $6,000 per trip for non-refundable flight tickets.
Chase Sapphire Preferred $95 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
United Quest $250 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $1,500 per passenger and $6,000 per trip for non-refundable flight tickets.
Ink Business Preferred $95 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $5,000 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
United Explorer $95, waived 1st year Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $1,500 per passenger and $6,000 per trip for non-refundable flight tickets.
United Club Business $450 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Chase Sapphire Reserve $550 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
Chase Freedom Unlimited $0 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $1,500 per passenger and $6,000 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more. Only Visa Signature cardholders are eligible.
United Club Infinite $525 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person, max $20,000 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and more.
United Gateway $0 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $1,500 per person, and max $6,000 per trip.
Chase Freedom Student $0 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency, etc. Max $1,500 per passenger and $6,000 per trip for non-refundable flight tickets.
World Of Hyatt $95 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $5,000 per trip for non-refundable travel expenses including flight tickets, hotels, and tours.
IHG Rewards Traveler $0 Coverage for max $5,000 per person per trip, and max $20,000 per year, for reimbursing non-refundable travel expenses.

Citi

No Citi credit card currently offers trip cancellation insurance.

Capital One

Some Capital One cards offer coverage for trip cancellation. The coverage is pretty limited and will only cover non-refundable travel expenses on common carriers. 

Who is covered? Only the cardholder. 

Do I need to book with my Capital One card to activate coverage? To be eligible for coverage, the full amount will need to be charged to your Capital One card or Capital One points. (You may also use redeemable certificates, vouchers, coupons, or discounts, as long as the remaining portion is charged to your Capital One card.)  

What is covered?  Coverage is only for non refundable fares on a common carrier (airline, cruise etc). 

What type of cancellations are covered? Coverage is only if you need to cancel due to a health emergency or the airline files for bankruptcy.

Which Capital One cards have coverage?  

Annual Fee Trip Cancellation Insurance
card_name $0 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel (airfare only) due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $1,500 per trip.
BuyPower $0 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel (airfare only) due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $1,500 per trip.

Discover

No Discover credit card currently offers trip cancellation insurance.

US Bank

Some US Bank cards offer coverage for trip cancellation. The coverage is pretty limited and will only cover non-refundable travel expenses on common carriers if travel is canceled due to death, accidental injury, disease or physical illness, or default of a common carrier resulting from financial distress. 

Who is covered? Coverage applies to you and your family members (family members do not need to travel with the cardholder to receive coverage).

Do I need to book with my US Bank card to activate coverage? To be eligible for coverage, the full amount will need to be charged to your US Bank card. (You may also use redeemable certificates, vouchers, coupons, or discounts, as long as the remaining portion is charged to your US Bank card.) 

What is covered?  Coverage is only for non-refundable fares on a common carrier (airline, cruise etc). 

What type of cancellations are covered? Coverage is only if you need to cancel due to a health emergency or the airline files for bankruptcy.

Which US Bank cards have coverage?

Annual Fee Trip Cancellation Insurance
Altitude Reserve Infinite $400 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency, etc. You will be refunded up to $2,000 for non-refundable common carrier tickets.

Wells Fargo

Some Wells Fargo cards offer coverage for trip cancellation. The coverage is pretty limited and will only cover non-refundable travel expenses on common carriers. 

Who is covered? Coverage applies to you and your family members (family members do not need to travel with the cardholder to receive coverage).

Do I need to book with my Wells Fargo card to activate coverage? To be eligible for coverage the full amount will need to be charged to your Wells Fargo card. (You may also use redeemable certificates, vouchers, coupons, or discounts as long as the remaining portion is charged to your Wells Fargo card.)

What is covered?  Coverage is only for non refundable fares on a common carrier (airline, cruise etc). 

What type of cancellations are covered? Coverage is only if you need to cancel due to a health emergency or the airline files for bankruptcy.

Which Wells Fargo cards have coverage?  

Annual Fee Trip Cancellation Insurance
Hotels.com Rewards Visa $0 Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $2,000 per person.

 

Although we’ve gone through the details, here’s to hoping you’ll have safe travels! 🥂

Frequently asked questions
Do any credit cards offer insurance if I book a flight and choose to cancel it?
Some cards offer trip cancellation insurance. But it's only if you cancel due to a health emergency or extreme weather condition. Not if you voluntarily choose to cancel

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Sam Sam has nearly a decade's worth of experience educating his many readers on everything credit. Sam spends his days checking out credit cards for a full report, from the minute benefit details to the shebang of welcome bonuses. Plus studying the ins and outs of building proper credit. It’s his favorite pastime and he loves sharing it with others.

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